How to Grill Healthy Shish Kabobs

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By Eric Reschke
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Grill Healthy Shish Kabobs

Grilling shish kabobs is not as difficult as it seems if you haven’t done it before. It is relatively simple and only takes as much time as you want to put into it. Every year I get many requests to make my version of shish kabobs and everyone really seems to enjoy them; and as an added bonus, it’s HEALTHY! Just follow some simple preparation steps and yours will turn out great!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Grill (gas or charcoal)
Lighter Fluid / Lighter
Tongs
Chicken (or choice of meat)
Green / Red Peppers
7-8 Skewers
Skewer holder (optional)
Pineapples
Rice (optional)
Soy Sauce (for marinade)
Vinegar (for marinade)

Step 1

Pick out your Food Items (serving 4 people).

I prefer to make shish kabobs with chicken because it goes so well with all my ingredients. You can usually pick up all the ingredients you need and only spend about $10 dollars. Here is your shopping list:

a) Boneless chicken breasts (I recommend using Tyson or Perdue). For 4 people I use about 3 chicken breasts. Likewise if you’re serving 8 you should get about 6 pieces.
b) 2 green peppers
c) 2 red peppers
d) ½ pound of pineapples. You can get an actual pineapple and chop it into small pieces or buy it pre-chopped directly from the store, which is usually what I do.
e) White rice which I cook and put into a bowl, then I mix all the other ingredients in after grilling; this adds a great flavor to the meal and really brings everything together.
Step 2

Prepare your Chicken.

I love to grill but this is actually my favorite part! Take out your chicken and cut it into smaller chunks. The size is up to you but they can’t be too big or small or they won’t grill-up well. I recommend cutting them in circle shapes about the size of a half-dollar. After cutting put all the chicken in a bowl and marinate it. I will put in 1-2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1-2 teaspoons of vinegar. Ideally you would let that sit overnight in the fridge but if you’re grilling the same day let that sit for at least 30 minutes.
Step 3

Prepare your Peppers.

Clean off the green / red peppers by running under water. Cut the peppers into the same half-dollar shape you cut the chicken into. If you like you can add the green & red peppers to the chicken marinade to soak up the flavor. Next, follow the instructions on your white rice and get that going on the stove (depending of course on when you plan to start grilling).
Step 4

Put Your Ingredients on the Skewers.

Fire up your grill (if charcoal) and get everything prepared. On your skewers, put in at least two of every ingredient. I’m so regimented that I have a specific way I put them on which goes something like: green pepper, chicken piece, red pepper, pineapple, green pepper, chicken piece, pineapple, red pepper. This is the minimal amount so if you have more room then keep going until you filled up the skewer to the end! Repeat for each skewer. I find that 2 skewers can feed 1 person each.
Step 5

Cooking Your Skewers on the Grill.

If you don’t have a holder then you can put the skewers directly on the grill however, you will have to watch them carefully so they do not burn the food. If you have a skewer holder then put that on the grill first. Put in each skewer one at a time. Once they are on close the grill top to seal in the heat. After about 4 minutes go and check on them. You should notice that the pineapples start cooking first so use them as a guide. Turn over each skewer and close the grill top again. After another 3 – 4 minutes check on each skewer. You might have to do some moving around on the grill to make sure each one is receiving the right amount of heat. Turn over the skewers once more and leave the grill top open this time. After about 3 minutes you should be done cooking but check on of the chicken pieces just to make sure.
Step 6

Put it All Together.

At this point your rice should be done. Take it off the stove and put it into individual bowls for your guests. Make it so that for every 1 bowl you put in 2 skewers of food. Mix everything together and enjoy!

Comments

badtea said

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on 12/6/2009 Thanks, I love shish kabobs! Pineapple sounds good; I have never tried that on mine. I'll try your recipe next time. 5* and recommend.

kamibrooks said

on 10/4/2009 love this recipe. Swap long grain brown rice for the white and add a few slices of ginger root to the cooking water... gives it a great extra spalsh of flavor.