Delicious buttermilk ranch grilled chicken kabobs will become a summer favorite on your grill for an easy summer dinner the whole family will love. With tender and favorable chicken, these chicken skewers will make even picky eaters happy.
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I love kabobs, and they are great for cooking for two. You can control the amount and cook more for leftovers and salads. But most importantly, the side dish is always a veggie kabob that simultaneously time or is mixed in with the chicken on the same skewers.
👨🍳How to make grilled chicken kabobs
- Trim and cut skinless boneless chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes.
- Mix buttermilk marinade: olive oil, buttermilk, powdered ranch dressing mix, Worcestershire sauce, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and optionally thyme or rosemary.
- You can substitute liquid buttermilk ranch dressing for the buttermilk and ranch powder.
- Cover the chicken with marinade and refrigerate for 30 minutes; a few hours is better. Use a bowl or Ziplock bag.
- Preheat grill to 450°—medium-high on most grills. Clean and oil the grill.
- Thread the chicken onto skewers and discard the marinade
- Place over direct heat on the grill and turn every 5 minutes until an internal temperature of 165°—about 15-20 minutes.
🐓Chicken
This is a skinless boneless chicken breast recipe, but chicken thighs make a great substitute.
Both breasts and thighs are safe at 165° internal temperature, but thighs need to reach 185°+ for tenderness. That is overcooked breast meat. So if using thigh meat, cook a bit longer, and your final internal temperature needs to be higher.
🥣Buttermilk Ranch Marinade
- Olive oil
- Buttermilk
- Powdered ranch dressing mix—buttermilk ranch dressing may be substituted for the buttermilk and ranch powder.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Lemon juice
- Vinegar-Apple cider
- Pantry ingredients—salt, black pepper, and thyme or rosemary (optional)
This is a fairly simple marinade using dried Ranch Dressing powder, but it brings a lot of taste and is the base for this recipe.
You can use straight ranch dressing. Replace the powder and the buttermilk with ¼ cup of the liquid dressing.
The buttermilk does bring both tenderizing and flavor to the marinade. But if you use the liquid dressing, pick a buttermilk version. The vinegar in the marinade can handle the tenderizing.
The other seasoning of note is the thyme, but you can use the same amount of rosemary if you wish. Your taste preference entirely.
♨️The Grill
Like all good chicken recipes, this uses a grill surface temperature of about 450°. That is about medium or slightly above on most gas grills. On charcoal grills, it is not over the raging coals. For more information on grill temperature, please see A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill.
❓FAQs
Metal skewers will conduct heat to the center of the chicken better, so I prefer them to wooden skewers. Before using wooden skewers, soak them in warm water for 15-30 minutes.
Yes, you can add chunks of bell peppers and red onions. Give them a good brush of olive or vegetable oil and alternate with the chicken.
You can also make separate vegetable kabobs. Just brush with oil and put on the grill a few minutes after starting to grill the chicken.
Some vegetables will require different cooking times than onions and bell peppers. A good example would be potatoes which take much longer. So you need to be aware of your vegetables' cooking times.
Yes, you can cook them in the oven on a tray at 450° for about 20 minutes. As always, you are cooking to a final internal temperature and not by time alone. Time varies by the oven, the tray, and the size of the chicken pieces.
❄️Storage of leftovers
Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and makes great salad toppings. You can freeze for a few months.
📖Kabob Recipes
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Skinless boneless chicken breasts are usually used for this recipe, but thighs are fine, but will need to cook to 185° to be tender instead of 165° for breasts.
Trim and cut two skinless boneless chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces.
Marinade: 2 tablespoons olive oil, ¼ cup buttermilk, 2 teaspoons powdered ranch dressing mix, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon vinegar, ¼ teaspoon thyme or rosemary. You may substitute ¼ cup of liquid buttermilk ranch dressing for the buttermilk and ranch powder.
Cover the chicken with marinade in a bowl or use a Ziplock bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes minimum, but a few hours is better.
Preheat the grill to a surface temperature of about 450°—medium-high on most grills. Clean and oil the grill grates.
Thread the chicken onto skewers and discard the marinade. Metal skewers are preferred for heat conductivity, but wood skewers can be used—soak them in water for 15-30 minutes.
Place skewers over direct heat and flip every 5 minutes until an internal temperature of 165°—15-20 minutes total, depending on the grill and chicken size.
📝Recipe
Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Buttermilk Ranch Marinade
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
Marinade
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons powdered ranch dressing mix - ½ package
- ¼ cup buttermilk ranch dressing - substitute for the buttermilk and ranch powder
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon thyme - or rosemary
Instructions
- Skinless boneless chicken breasts are usually used for this recipe, but thighs are fine, but will need to cook to 185° to be tender instead of 165° for breasts.
- Trim and cut two skinless boneless chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces.
- Marinade: 2 tablespoons olive oil, ¼ cup buttermilk, 2 teaspoons powdered ranch dressing mix, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon vinegar, ¼ teaspoon thyme or rosemary. You may substitute ¼ cup of liquid buttermilk ranch dressing for the buttermilk and ranch powder.
- Cover the chicken with marinade in a bowl or use a Ziplock bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes minimum, but a few hours is better.
- Preheat the grill to a surface temperature of about 450°—medium-high on most grills. Clean and oil the grill grates.
- Thread the chicken onto skewers and discard the marinade. Metal skewers are preferred for heat conductivity, but wood skewers can be used—soak them in water for 15-30 minutes.
- Place skewers over direct heat and flip every 5 minutes until an internal temperature of 165°—15-20 minutes total, depending on the grill and chicken size.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Chicken thighs work fine but cook to a final internal temperature of 180° or a bit more. It will take longer.
- You can use liquid buttermilk ranch dressing in this recipe. Replace the ranch powder and the buttermilk with ¼ cup of the dressing.
- The marinade is enough for a double recipe. You can cut it down if you want.
- Marinade for at least 30 minutes, but 2-3 hours is better.
- If you are using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them in water for 15-30 minutes.
- As will all grilled chicken, the grill surface temperature is critical to success. It needs to be in the 450° range.
- Oven baking: You can just pop them in the oven on a tray at 450° for about 20 minutes. As always, you are cooking to a final internal temperature and not by time alone.
- For the veggies: The standard onion and bell peppers can be mixed in the kabob with the chicken and cooked with it. Or if done separately, they will cook faster- about 10-12 minutes. Give them a good coat of oil either way. Other vegetables are up to you, but cooking time is variable with other vegetables.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and great on salads. You could also freeze the cooked meat for 3-4 months, but that will dry it some.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally Published April 26, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Corey
I love this grilled chicken!! It’s versatile — I serve it with grilled veggies, rice pilaf, and a salad or throw the chunks in a Pita with a drizzle of Tzatziki sauce or just serve on top of a Greek Salad. Anyway you eat it, it’s delicious and easy!!
Elena
Very nice recipe. I am making it for the third time already and absolutely love it.
Kimberly
Did this yesterday. Best. Grilled. Chicken. Ever. Husband says it was totally "top notch restaurant quality". Will be doing this V often. Thanks! Love your blog & recipies!! :)
DrDan
Thanks for the note
DrDan