No-fuss, 4 ingredient Pesto Chicken Kabobs make a quick, easy, and healthy dinner. Earthy, nutty pesto, fresh and bright cherry tomatoes, and juicy chicken are perfect for summer grilling!
Pesto Chicken Kabobs
Pesto Chicken Kabobs with earthy, nutty pesto and bright grilled tomatoes are the perfect easy and healthy summer grilling recipe with just 4 simple ingredients!
It makes a quick and easy weeknight meal and is even great for meal prepping.
WARNING! You do need to marinate this for an hour before cooking.
I hate breaking out a recipe ready to cook, and then finding out I should've started muuuch earlier. So, fair warning. I even used caps....
These pesto chicken kabobs use a super easy marinade to give them extra flavor. The marinade is just Italian dressing. I prefer to use Kraft or Aldi brand zesty Italian dressing. I like all the garlicky goodness it brings with the flavor, but feel free to use your own favorite.
Can Pesto Chicken Kabobs be Cooked in the Oven?
Yes, they can!
These can be baked on a baking sheet, on or off skewers, at 425° for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. The only will difference will be that you won't get that classic grill char.
How Many Kabobs Per Person?
I usually plan to make one chicken breast per person. One chicken breast will usually yield about two (2) kabobs.
All that to say, you will probably make about 2 kabobs per person.
What to Serve with Pesto Chicken Kabobs
The easiest way to serve these is with a big fresh salad. We like to use fresh baby spinach, topped with mini marinated mozzarella balls and red vinaigrette, croutons optional.
We also love whipping up some quick steakhouse mushrooms or making it a one pan meal if we're baking by throwing on some asparagus!
To add some carbs, try my favorite Pizza Pasta Salad, this easy Feta Pasta Salad, or Creamy Tomato Penne for a warm pasta.
For pasta without the carbs, we love these creamy avocado zoodles.
More Recipes You'll Love
- Caprese Bites - perfect summer app to munch on while grilling!
- Creamy Bacon Shrimp Bruschetta Bites - be careful! These are addictive!
- Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken - an easy southwest inspired grilling recipe!
- Baked Caprese Chicken - simple and healthy, but so delicious!
- Breaded Chicken with Tomatoes - if you love the chicken and tomato combo, you'll love this breaded version too!
Pesto Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts (about 1-1.5 pounds) cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup Italian dressing
- ¼ cup basil pesto
- Skewers
Instructions
- Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place in a large baggie with Italian dressing. Seal baggie and place in the refrigerator. Allow to marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Remove chicken from refrigerator.
- Slide chicken onto skewers, alternating pieces of chicken with cherry tomatoes, until ingredients are used up.
- Brush kabobs with pesto using a pastry brush or rub on using clean hands.
- Place on a hot grill over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. Flip. Continue cooking for an additional 5-7 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
Notes
- Can I substitute the chicken breast for a different cut? Yes! Substitute chicken breast for chicken tenderloin or boneless chicken thighs. You can even use boneless pork chops, if you'd rather.
- To get the marinade to really soak into the chicken, poke it with a fork first in multiple places. This will help the chicken tenderize, while adding extra flavor.
- To keep skewers from lighting on fire on the grill, soak them in water while the chicken marinates.
- No skewers? No problem! To grill without skewers, simply prepare your ingredients as instructed in steps 1-4 of the recipe. Then wrap chicken and tomatoes in a foil packet, and follow the cooking instructions in step 5.
- Baking instructions: To bake your pesto chicken kabobs, prepare them using the recipe steps 1-4. You can choose to use skewers or bake them without. Place chicken and tomatoes on a baking sheet. Then bake at 425°F for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
Nutrition
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Tisha says
Pesto chicken is so good! Love that you put it in kabob form! Great for a backyard get together!
penny says
I am Vegan but my husband loves chicken! This is what I will cook today as its super easy! 😊
Emmeline says
Mmm this has me drooling all over my keyboard & wishing I had a grill at home!!!
Amy | The Cook Report says
I love everything about this, such a summery dish!
Chichi says
These chicken kabobs are so flavorful. That pesto is so on point here.
Claudia Lamascolo says
this was delicious and we will all be happy when I make it again so good!
Helen says
I love easy recipes that really pack in flavour! This looks great 🙂
Pam Greer says
This is my kind of easy summer grilling!! Everyone loves these, even the kids!
Jenny says
I absolutely love pesto and it adds so much flavor to grilled chicken breast. Using store bought Italian dressing for the marinade is so smart! It made this recipe really easy to get on the table.
Rachel says
Pesto in kabob form? Yes please! Love how simple the ingredient list is too!
Nathan says
I just love pesto chicken for warm weather, and something about eating food in kebab form makes it taste better somehow! I don't have access to a grill so I love that you can also bake them!
Biana says
Yum! These kabobs look super flavorful. A perfect recipe for summer.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
I was looking for a recipe like this, thank you for sharing!
Claudia Lamascolo says
Fantastic flavors and the idea never had occurred to me. We make pesto like once a week and this is brilliant thank you so much!
Michelle says
We tried these last night and they were a hit with my family! So flavourful and easy to make!
Tayler Ross says
I love pesto, so I can't wait to give these a try! Especially since they're only 4 ingredients!
Beth says
This is such a delicious recipe. I made this last night, and everyone loved it. The pesto has such a great flavor next to the other ingredients.
Cara Campbell says
The perfect easy and delicious summer meal. Loved grilling these on a warm summer night! So good!
Danielle Wolter says
These sound incredible!! Love how easy they are too - perfect for a BBQ!
Liz says
We make kabobs a lot but the pesto was a nice way to switch up the flavors! This one is a keeper!
cyndy says
Loved this recipe! I had a ton of leftover pesto that I needed to use and these kabobs were perfect. Thanks for the tip of poking the chicken with a fork to allow the seasoning to work better. Scrumptious!
Claudia Lamascolo says
The flavors in this was a brilliant idea it was easy and everyone raved about the flavor!
Mairead says
My family loves kabobs and these pesto chicken kabobs will be perfect for our next out door grilling meal. Perfect combination of flavors.
Chef Mireille says
10/10 would recommend----it was a hit.....I marinated for much longer (double the recommended time) and the chicken kebobs came out so flavourful.....Everyone wanted seconds.