Lemon herb chicken kabobs

Lemon herb chicken kabobs are perfect for summer grilling. If you use this easy but flavorful marinade, your grilled chicken will no longer end up dry and tasteless, but juicy and delicious.

There's something about the summer that puts me in the mood for food on sticks.  Roasting marshmallows on sticks, hot dogs on sticks, fruit kabobs, and grilled meat on sticks.  Food on sticks is just so much more fun than without, don't you think?  Ok, maybe I'm the only weird one.

Chicken kabobs are a favorite easy meal that I love to make in the summer when I don't feel like heating up the kitchen.  I just marinate the meat, chop up some vegetables from the garden, put them on skewers, and toss them on the grill.  Everything is cooked outside and I have very little clean up in the kitchen.

The secret to a great kabob is a good marinade.  I've had my share of dry and tasteless chicken kabobs, and it is very disappointing. I finally figured out that you pretty much have to marinate your kabobs before they hit the grill to keep your chicken breasts moist and to maximize flavor.  It takes the kabobs from decent to great!

Tips for a great marinade

• Don't overdo the oil

Using too much oil just dilutes the flavor, so keep your acids and oil about even.

• Use acid, fat, and flavor boosters.

Vinegars, lemon juice, dairy, and mustards can all work for acids. I like using oils like avocado or olive oil as my fat, and for flavor boosters think herbs, salt, garlic, etc.

• Don't marinade too long.

Marinating chicken breasts too long breaks down the fibers of the meat leaving an undesirable texture. I like to marinade chicken breasts a couple of hours. I find that larger cuts like a whole chicken with skin on can handle up to a couple of days.

• Use fresh herbs when possible.

Summer is bursting with fresh herbs, so while we can let's use them. The flavor difference is undeniable.  Fresh herbs are so much more bright and flavorful than dried.

These lemon herb chicken kabobs are marinated with a simple mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic, fresh herbs, and salt.  It comes together in minutes and makes for one tasty juicy chicken kabob.

If you are also making veggie kabobs, you can make extra of this marinade and marinate the vegetables as well. It will make them so much more delicious as well. Serve the lemon herb chicken kabobs and veggies with either my simple cucumber and dill salad or Greek quinoa salad for a yummy light summery meal.

Happy summer grilling!