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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!
“This is my go to chicken tikka recipe, made it many times on the bbq and in the oven with and without skewers. Actually have it in the oven now for some cold sandwiches tomorrow. It’s so tasty.”
Nicky’s Notes
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!).
Table of Contents
Ingredients for chicken tikka
Chicken Tikka Marinade
- 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 below***
- 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 or Marinated Onions
- 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
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Pin ItPro 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.
Watch how to make it
Chicken Tikka Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts (approx 500g/17.5 oz) – chopped into bite-size chunks
- 120 g (1/2 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
- pinch 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.3 chicken breasts, 120 g (1/2 cup) Greek yogurt, 2 cloves garlic, 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, pinch cinnamon, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black 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 from 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.2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Make sure the chicken is cooked by slicing it into a larger piece and ensuring it's no longer pink in the middle.
- Serve with a sprinkling of freshly chopped coriander.2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
Video
Notes
Can I make it ahead?
You can marinate the chicken up to a day ahead, but I wouldn’t recommend cooking the chicken ahead and then reheating later, as this will dry the chicken out. However, you can cook the chicken kebabs, cool them and serve them cold as part of a salad or wrap. Or you can cook, cool then refrigerate or freeze them (be sure to fully defrost them in the refrigerator), and add to curries so they won’t try out upon reheating. Add them to your curry and cook through for 10-12 minutes – until piping hot throughout.Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes, you can half or double the recipe keeping the same ingredient ratios. Nutritional information is per skewer/kebab (this information presumes you make 6 kebabs from the recipe).Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This chicken tikka recipe was first posted in July 2020. Updated since with recipe improvements and for housekeeping reasons.
Can I make this in the air fryer?
Yes, you can 100% make chicken tikka in the air fryer. I actually have an Air Fryer Chicken Tikka recipe too (it’s quicker and still gets those lovely charred edges), and if you want to level it up, try it with my Coriander Garlic Butter on top.
More fantastic Kebab recipes
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This is my go to chicken tikka recipe, made it many times on the bbq and in the oven with and without skewers. Actually have it in the oven now for some cold sandwiches tomorrow. It’s so tasty.
Hello!
Should I remove the yogurt marinade before cooking it?
Thanks very much in advance! It looks delicious!
Hi Marta,
You remove the chicken from the marinade and discard any excess in the bowl but there’s no need to remove the marinade from the chicken as such.
Hope you enjoy,
Thanks
Chris & Nicky
What temperature on the grill?
wow you chicken tikka is very nice
Made this recipe for my daughters UN day and saved some leftoverd for our family dinner. It was a HIT! Thank you ❤️🙏🏻
This recipe doesn’t mention how much of the ingredients to use.
I’ve made this a few times but without the yoghurt, instead a little water. Delicious. Thanks