Chicken and vegetable kabobs with chimichurri sauce
Wow. I first posted this in August of 2011! I love this recipe and continue to make it regularly, but the images (not the recipe) needed an upgrade.
Previously posted in August 2011. This summer has been a blur. My husband and I have (thankfully) been working a lot and Daughter #2 was just bat mitzvahed this past weekend. There hasn’t been too much free time to experiment in the kitchen as I like to do in the summer. In fact, one thing that my husband complains about is that there aren’t enough “repeat” recipes in our house since I’m always testing out new things. Except the last few months. Every Sunday night when I have sat down to write my menu for the week, I have included chimichurri in some variation.
Chimichurri is a flavorful herb condiment popular in Argentina where it is most commonly used on grilled meats. It’s like the ketchup of South America, but fresh, green and good for you. The base of chimichurri is finely chopped parsley combined with garlic, olive oil, vinegar and a little hot pepper. Chimichurri is dead simple to make, especially if you prep your herbs in advance, and is incredibly versatile. That, and it helps me make a dent in the parsley in my garden. I first made chimichurri to accompany grilled skirt steak and it was terrific, but I soon found so many other uses for it, including drizzled on raw sliced tomatoes, boiled or grilled potatoes, crispy tofu, scrambled eggs, grilled vegetables and chicken. Another bonus about chimichurri is that picky children can leave it off if it’s too green (hooray! more for me!).
We don’t eat a lot of beef in this house, so I’ve been serving it most often with these chicken and vegetable kabobs. I use a little of the chimichurri as a marinade for the chicken so it doesn’t get all carcinogenic on me when I grill it, and I use the rest to spoon on top of the kabobs after they have been cooked. The sauce has a nice freshness from the parsley and a tang from the vinegar that cuts the richness of meat really well. You can certainly use it on simply grilled chicken or steak, but I can’t help myself by adding vegetables wherever I can, so kabobs have been a weekly dinner item lately. Lucky for you I’ve learned a thing or two about making kabobs and I am happy to share right here.
- Here, I used one skewer, but I also like to use two wooden skewers per kabob which helps prevent the meat and vegetables from spinning around when I try to flip the kabob. Thread a round of zucchini, by taking one skewer and inserting it slightly off-center. Then insert the second skewer.
- Lightly coat your vegetables with a little oil so they stay moist when you grill them.
- Trim your vegetables so they are not thicker than the cubes of chicken/meat.
- When threading your chicken/meat, do not pack it tightly on the skewer because it won’t cook evenly.
- I don’t bother soaking my wooden skewers anymore since I find they tend to burn anyway. I just fill up the skewers so there isn’t much wood exposed.
Honestly, you can buy a rotisserie chicken and make the chimichurri to serve on the side. Or broil or grill some wild salmon! If you make any of my recipes, please tag me on Instagram so I can see (and repost!) your creations! Stay well. XOXO
You can shop the tools I used for this recipe by clicking on the images below:
Chicken and Vegetable Kabobs with Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients
- For the sauce:
- ¾ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems packed
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems packed (or mint or use all parsley)
- 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano or basil leaves or use 2 teaspoons dried oregano or omit
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 Tablespoons unpasteurized apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 6 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste
- For the Skewers:
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 small zucchini cut into ¾-inch rounds
- 1 sweet red bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces
- 8 cremini mushrooms trimmed
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, place all the herbs and the garlic. Process until well chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add remaining sauce ingredients to the herbs and combine well.
- Place the cubed chicken in a non-reactive container and add a few spoonfuls of chimichurri sauce and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate chicken up to overnight or allow chicken marinate at room temperature for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate reserved sauce.
- Heat a grill over medium heat until hot. Drizzle the vegetables lightly with olive oil. Thread the chicken onto skewers alternating with vegetables. If using wooden skewers, use two skewers per kabob, that way the chicken won’t turn around the skewer as you flip. Season kabobs lightly with sea salt. Grill on both sides until chicken is cooked through, about 5-6 minutes per side. Serve with reserved chimichurri sauce on the side.
25 Comments
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Recently made this as a sheet pan recipe. Not as fancy as serving skewers but tasted equally as wonderful with less prep time.
And so much easier! Plus, sheet pans are great if you’re trying to feed a crowd. Thanks for commenting!
I made this Chimichurri sauce tonight for the first time. I added a lot of extra oil because it seemed like it was really tart. I also only used parsley and no oregano – would that have made a difference or is there something else that might’ve made it too tart. (It was really delicious in the end – just wondered if I did something wrong)
Hi! You didn’t do anything wrong! Chimichurri is a piquant sauce and that acidity is meant to cut the richness of grilled meat. It is not at all like a pesto which has no acidity. It’s best to judge the flavor when tested with other food, like grilled veggies or meat, rather than on a spoon alone. If you still think it’s too acidic, use less vinegar and more oil to get it to the flavor that you like best!
Can I use the sauce and bake it on chicken? Or will it dry up?
Sure! Save some for drizzling on afterwards since it’s really meant to be a sauce you use raw.
Pamela
Forgot how much we love this sauce. How long can the sauce stay in the fridge? Wanted to make extra for later in the week.
Thank you,
Kathleen
A week for sure, but the olive oil will solidify so make sure you remember to take it out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before you want to use it.
OMG this the first time ive used a barbecue and all your directions were spot on. the chim–sauce was wonderful and not overpowering. I served the kabob down the center of orange tomeato rice that had corn niblets in it, and on the other side parmesan rice with peas in it. your kabobs were the jewel laying down the middle. the salad was lettuce cucumber, strawberries ,oranges and almonds. all the colours on the table-you would have smiled. I served it with a gluten free pancake cakey thing.
tomorrow we barbecue salmon-there are no broilers to clean!!!! LOL-this is wonderful!
you’re on a roll, nadia! no stopping now!
I am now asked to make the chimichurri sauce every week. My family puts it on everything – eggs, bread, fish…
That’s awesome, Sunni! Thanks for sharing.
Had it for dinner tonight, with side dish of rice. What a treat!
Perfect meal!
I tried your chimichurri sauce with grilled pork chops and red peppers and sweet onions, and it was a really great combination. Hope to try it again with chicken.
Many thanks for another delicious and versatile recipe!
Yet another way to enjoy chimichurri!
amazing!!! made it last night and there are no leftovers….wish i had made more. all the kids loved it.
Fantastic! When you make it next week (just a hunch), you’ll make extra.
Made this tonight with rice on the side to make it kid-friendly. Both kids were adding chimichurri sauce to the rice!
That’s great! I haven’t found too many things with which chimichurri isn’t delicious.
Yummy! Can’t wait to try this one!
You’ll love them, Jen!
I made this recipe for our 14 family members when we on our annual Hawaii vacation and it was a huge hit. Thank you for a great recipe that can feed a large crowd, is not hamburgers, and is delicious!
“Not hamburgers” — love that!