Loaded with Middle Eastern flavors these Chicken Kofta Skewers are simple to make and they are packed with taste from an array of fresh herbs and spices. These can be made as kababs or meatballs and served alongside your favorite salad or made into a wrap, with pita or lettuce.

While we are deep into September and days away from the official start of Autumn, in Southern California and really, much of the country right now, the memo hasn’t been received and summer weather is still upon us. Besides, there’s no reason that grilling should be relegated to just summer.

Regardless of the time of year, these delicious, Mediterranean-inspired kofta skewers as they are as if a kabab and a meatball made a baby and it makes for a surprisingly easy, but tasty, weeknight meal. Whether you fire up the grill, cook them up in a grill pan on the stove or roll them into meatballs and cook them up that way, you can’t go wrong. The beautiful blend of herbs and spices provides a wonderful array of flavors. In my mind, they are a cousin to gyro, one of my most favorite Greek dishes and they make for a really easy, yet still exotic option for even a weeknight meal.

Dark Meat, Light Meat or Even Turkey

I find dark meat to provide a much more moist and flavorful final product. If you can’t find ground dark meat, your butcher can likely grind some chicken thighs for you. If not, the usual white meat will work to. You can also make these with ground turkey.

Serving Your Chicken Kofta Skewers

I like to serve these kofta skewers either over a hefty green salad or alongside a simple cucumber, tomato and onion salad. These are also great over rice, cauliflower rice or in a pita or wrap of some kind. They also make a wonderful small bite, appetizer for entertaining. No matter how you are serving these skewers, a little tzatziki (cucumber yogurt sauce) or a simple lemon garlic tahini sauce or even my Green Tahini Sauce are all great options to serve along side.

Chicken Kofta Skewers {Paleo, Gluten-free}

gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, whole30, AIP-option

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 -6 (12 skewers)

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• 1 lb ground organic dark meat chicken or turkey, I prefer local, pasture-raised chicken
• ½ cup packed chopped fresh parsley, washed and coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup fresh mint, coarsely chopped
• ½ cup red onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

• If using wooden skewers, be sure to pre-soak them for at least 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients. Do not overwork the meat.
• Divide the meat mixture into 12 equal pieces and with damp hands (or very lightly greased with olive oil, which is how I prefer) form the mixture into meatballs and then thread the meatball onto the skewer and form into a log shape around the skewer. (Or simply leave as meatballs)
• Lightly oil the grates on the grill and preheat on medium-high. (Or heat a lightly greased grill pan on the stove top over a medium high heat).
• Grill the skewers for approximately 6 to 10 minutes per side, or until fully cooked through. If rolling into meatballs and cooking on the stovetop, they may need to cook a little bit longer.
• Serve along side or atop a salad, rice, cauliflower rice. You can also serve as a wrap in a pita or lettuce.

Notes

For AIP leave out coriander and cumin if you are following strictly with spices