Chicken Tikka Kebabs in a richly spiced yogurt marinade. Grilled, barbecued or griddled to perfection, they make an easy, family-pleasing dinner!
Serve them simply with rice or chapati, or go all out with a big Indian buffet - I've got lots of ideas below!
A fantastic way to pep up chicken, pack it with flavour and ensure it's nice and juicy.
These skewers are a great option when you know you're going to be in a rush come dinner time. You can make up the kebabs ahead of time and keep them in the fridge till later. Then grill them about 10-15 minutes before you're ready to eat.
We love eating them on homemade Greek-style flatbreads with some garlic sauce and chopped coriander.
They're also a great way to jazz up the chicken in pretty much any chicken curry (we don't need to just stick to chicken tikka masala - you could add it to butter chicken, madras or jalfrezi too!).
What do we need?
Chicken Tikka Marinade Ingredients
- Greek yogurt or thick natural yogurt - go with full fat as it's a better flavour and is much less likely to split.
- Garlic, ginger and lemon juice
- Spices and seasoning - ground coriander, turmeric, cumin, paprika, mild chilli powder, cinnamon, salt, black pepper
Also:
- Chopped chicken breast meat
- vegetable oil - for brushing onto the chicken before grilling
- Freshly chopped coriander to serve
How to make chicken tikka kebabs
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Place the chicken pieces into a bowl with yogurt, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, coriander, turmeric, cumin, paprika, chilli powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
- Mix together, cover and marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
- Thread onto skewers, then brush with oil.
- Cook on a griddle plate, under the grill (broiler) or on the barbecue for 8-10 minutes until cooked through.
- Serve with a sprinkling of freshly chopped coriander.
What to serve it with
You can serve this chicken tikka with:
- Homemade Chapati
- A simple Tomato & Onion Salad
- Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce
- Boiled Rice
- Masala sauce of course! - in this Chicken Tikka Masala
- How about a bit of Indian-Mexican fusion - with these Chicken Tikka Burritos
Pro tips for perfect kebabs
Skewers:
You can use wooden or metal skewers.
Metal skewers can actually help the chicken to cook faster, as the metal heats up and helps to cook the meat from the inside. However they're HOT and they retain their heat for longer - so be careful not to burn yourself.
I like these flat skewers (<-affiliate link) as the chicken pieces don't spin around on them when you're trying to turn the kebabs over.
Wooden skewers can still be hot during cooking but they don't conduct heat within the chicken pieces and they don't retain their heat for as long. If you're using wooden skewers, soak them in water for an hour before using. This will help to prevent them from burning during cooking.
Even pieces:
Try to keep the size of the pieces of chicken even, with a little bit of space between each piece of chicken.
The chicken needs to be in contact with the griddle or BBQ all the time. If you have a mix of small and large pieces of chicken, the smaller pieces will end up being suspended above the grill (rather than in contact with it) and the chicken will be under-cooked.
Check the chicken!
Always check the chicken is cooked by slicing into a larger piece and ensuring it's piping hot and no longer pink in the middle. Check up and down the skewers to ensure the chicken looks evenly cooked throughout.
More fantastic Kebab recipes
Watch how to make it
Stay updated with new recipes!
Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when I post a new recipe. I’m also on YouTube (new videos every week) and Instagram (behind-the-scenes stories & beautiful food photos).
Chicken Tikka Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts - (approx 500g/17.5 oz) - chopped into bite-size chunks
- 120 g (½ cup) Greek yogurt - - or thick natural yogurt (full fat)
- 2 cloves garlic - - peeled and minced
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp mild chilli powder
- 1 pinch of cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil - - for brushing onto the chicken before grilling
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the chicken breast pieces into a bowl or freezer bag with the yogurt, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, coriander, turmeric, cumin, paprika, chilli powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
- Mix together so that everything is combined, then cover and place in the fridge to marinate for 2-3 hours.
- If you’re using wooden skewers, place them in water to soak while the chicken is marinating. This will help to prevent them burning during grilling.
- Remove the marinated chicken from the fridge and thread onto skewers.
- Brush the chicken with the oil, then place on a griddle plate and cook, turning a couple of times, for 8-10 minutes until cooked through. Alternatively, you can grill (broil) under a grill, or you can barbecue for the same amount of time.
- Make sure the chicken is cooked by slicing into a larger piece and ensuring it's no longer pink in the middle.
- Serve with a sprinkling of freshly chopped coriander.
Video
✎ Notes
Nutrition
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Sharon Day says
Can you freeze before cooking?
Clare Underhill says
Can these be cooked in a fan oven rather than under the grill? If so, what temp please?
Mahitha says
My family loved it! Thank you so much!
Maria says
Cooked this chicken for the family on the weekend and it was a massive HIT 🤗 chicken had so much flavour and was really tender
Kath says
I have made this three times already, my family just love it. So easy and so tasty😋
Tommy says
Sure looks nice n tasty
Love says
Juicy, flavourful chicken. I just would add a little bit more salt.
Peter sanders says
Hi Nicky I'm Peter and I'm new to cooking Currys and I'm trying to put a barbeque chicken tikka masala for my daughter's and there friends this weekend with your easy recipe is there any side dishes you could recommend to sort of make table fillers il let you know the outcome x pete