Easy Persian Chicken Kebabs
Marinated jujeh chicken that’s been threaded onto skewers with peppers and onions that can easily be tossed on the grill all summer long. These Persian chicken kebabs are sure to become a family favorite!
Throw another skewer on the barbie!
Or is it a shish kebab, kebab or kabob? That’s a lot of names for something that’s essentially just chicken on a stick.
It’s officially summer! And that means two things for sure: 1.) the weather is going to be unbearable here in just a second 2.) there will most likely be grilling involved for dinner. One of my favorite things to do during the summer is getting into the kitchen nice and early in the morning when the sun isn’t yet beating down from the kitchen window and marinate chicken with a few pantry staples and let it all just hang out in the refrigerator until dinner time. This means I don’t have to be in the kitchen prepping and cooking during the hottest part of the day, and it also allows for the chicken to have enough time to soak up the flavors and tenderize!
On any given night you’ll find meat//poultry//veggies being thrown on the grill and this summer will be no exception. One thing I make every summer (at least a couple of times, if not more) are my moms Persian chicken kebabs.
She started making these around the time that I was in my final year of college, and they became an instant family favorite. If you’ve ever ordered jujeh chicken (or joojeh kebab) from your favorite Persian restaurant, these chicken skewers taste just like that. We like to add in a few peppers and onions for a little color and more flavor.
Naturally, she shared the recipe with me and when I heard how simple it was, I couldn’t believe it! Jujeh chicken is one of my favorite things to order at a restaurant and never did I think I’d be able to make it at home and have it taste so good. Dare I say it’s almost better that any restuarant? After making it for years and years myself and tweaking things here and there, it’s morphed into these super grilled chicken skewers that no one can get enough of. I’ve shared these at barbecue parties during the summer with friends and family, and they’re always a hit!
The best part: they require just a handful of straightforward ingredients that most of us would consider pantry staples except for one ingredient which I would say is optional. More on that in a bit.
Persian chicken skewers are something I love making for get-togethers because there’s just something about chicken and veggies on a stick that makes people so happy! If you serve the same thing on a plate, it’s just not as appealing as it is on a skewer?
Can I get an amen?
How to make Persian chicken kebabs:
Let’s start with the marinade. We’re clearly using chicken here. I prefer these with boneless skinless chunks of chicken breast, but you could also make this with chicken thighs if that’s more your thing. To make sure these chicken kebabs skewers are flavorful through and through, I suggest marinating for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours. I usually go and recommend going the 24-hour route because all it requires is about 15 minutes of prep work on your part. What you’re left with are the most tender and flavorful chicken kebabs you’ve ever had.
I’d say that’s worth the 15 minutes, wouldn’t you?
What you need for Persian chicken kebabs marinade:
- Olive oil: the binder for pretty much every marinade or dressing you’ll ever make
- Mayonnaise: the key ingredient – I’d never make jujeh chicken without it! This is what makes these kebabs OUTSTANDING. The mayonnaise helps tenderize these chicken pieces while adding a rich and almost creamy, flavor. Something yogurt would fall short on here.
- Lemon juice: the acid in the lemon juice helps tenderize the chicken along with the
- Chopped yellow onions: other than adding flavor, the onions break down when you combine them with lemon juice and salt and help tenderize the chicken further.
- Grated garlic: no justification needed.
- Spices: Just a couple of things here. You’ll need ground turmeric and red pepper flakes. That’s it! One other ingredient I use is saffron. However, I’ve listed it as optional here because not everyone keeps saffron on hand! It does add a unique flavor to this, but you certainly don’t have to run out and get some.
A few more tips of Persian Chicken Kebabs:
- Can you marinade the veggies too? Of course! I suggest removing the chicken from the refrigerator for an hour before you’re going to grill them. You can cut the peppers and onions and add them to the marinade for that hour. I don’t suggest marinating the veggies overnight because the acids in the marinade would break them down too much.
- These (affiliate link) are the metal skewers I own. You can also use wooden bamboo skewers for this as well. If you decide to go the wooden skewer route, I suggest soaking them in water for as long as you allow the chicken to marinade. This keeps them from burning on the grill.
- Serving suggestions: I like to serve my jujeh chicken with homemade vermicelli rice and hummus on the side. You can also serve it with flatbread or a fattoush salad.
- Leftovers will hold up well for up to 3 days, and I usually like to box them up for meal prep with a small portion of rice in these containers (affiliate link). This makes for easy grab-and-go lunches during the week!
I suggest giving these Persian chicken kebabs a go if you’re planning your 4th of July menu. It’s something new to try, and it’s one recipe that’s almost always on ours!
Happy grilling!
Easy Persian Chicken Kebabs
Marinated jujeh chicken that's been threaded onto skewers with peppers and onions that can easily be tossed on the grill all summer long. These Persian chicken kebabs are sure to become a family favorite!

Ingredients
Chicken Marinade:
- 2 tablespoon EACH: olive oil AND lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- ½ cup minced yellow onions
- 2 teaspoons grated garlic
- ½ teaspoon EACH: ground turmeric AND saffron (optional)
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt + ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
Skewers:
- 1 red onion, quartered into 1-inch pieces
- 2 bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces (any color)
Instructions
- MARINATE: add the saffron to a small bowl along with 1 tablespoon of hot water and let it steep, covered for 5-7 minutes or until the water turns a bright yellow (if using). In a large bowl, combine the saffron water and all the marinade ingredients except the chicken. Add the chicken and stir to coat evenly. At this point, you can pop everything into a zip-top bag (for marinating) or just leave in the same bowl. Add the chicken and toss to combine. Cover the bowl or zip the bag and allow the chicken to marinate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
- PREP: Remove the chicken from the refrigerator about 1 hour before cooking. Add the cubed veggies to the chicken, toss to combine and let marinate. Thread the chicken on to the skewers alternating with the red onions, green and red bell peppers. Repeat until you’ve used up all the chicken and veggies and discard any leftover marinade. When ready to grill, prepare the grill by lightly oiling the grates with any high heat oil or just spray with cooking spray and let it preheat on medium-high.
- GRILL: Grill the kebabs until they cook all the way through. You can test to see if the chicken is done by slicing through a piece with a knife, it should take roughly 8-12 minutes total. Serve warm over buttered saffron rice, vermicelli rice, or with flatbread and a salad.
Notes
- If you’re using wooden skewers instead of the metal kind, I suggest soaking them in water for at least 6 hours before using them (you can also just soak them overnight if you’re marinating the chicken a day in advance.)
- Though the chicken will be ready to use in 6 hours, I highly recommend marinating the chicken a day in advance, the flavors are so so so much more intense that way!
I just bought metal skewers this weekend! Perfect timing; I’ve been wanting to try making kabobs sometime soon!
I made this today, it was so good! I had chicken thighs and substituted lime juice for the lemon juice though, just what I had on hand. My family loved it and we’ll be making it again soon. Love your recipes!!
So good! I’m Afghan- Indian and we’re always on the hunt for good kebabs to eat! When I saw this recipe, I decided to try it out, not having high expectations because we’re so picky with it all. So I marinated this chicken and let it sit for a day or two, and today we skewered and grilled some chicken only – cause we weren’t starving but we needed dinner! Everyone who ate this or even tried the marinade loveddddd it, so this is a hit! a lot of recipes online don’t have lots of flavor in their recipes but I’ve been a fan of Marzia’s since I made her butter chicken.
This is AMAZING DEF TRY IT!!
This was easy to make and very tasty! I followed the recipe exactly, and broiled it in the oven- turned out perfect! Thank you for this recipe, I will be making it again and again!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I prepared it for our family BBQ and everyone enjoyed it. There weren’t an leftovers!
I will be trying more of your recipes 🙂
Hi there! I am so glad to hear they were such a hit at the BBQ! Thanks for sharing and can’t wait for you to try other stuff as well 🙂 Appreciate you circling back to leave a review!
Delicious! So perfect. And very quick and easy to pull together. My partner from Tehran could not stop raving about. We served on freshly made lavash. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. This will now be our go to for Joojeh kebabs!
Hi Jen! I am so so happy to hear they were such a big hit for you! Fresh lavash is the perfect accompaniment!
Amazing, so flavourful when marinated overnight. I squeezed some lemon juice into the skewers and decorated with parsley. AMAZING RECIPE.
This is one of our favorites b/c it has so much flavor and is so EASY! We’ve also done this w/ pounded grilled chicken & like to add in squash and zucchini (marinated.) I eat this weekly! * I do leave out the saffron b/c I’m not a fan.
I’ve been wanting to try tahdig, so I searched for Persian main dishes to serve with it and landed on this recipe. A friend and I cooked these and the tahdig together on a virtual call. They were perfect! I’m not typically a recipe follower, but I followed this to the letter, except I didn’t grill them. I marinated for 24 hours and cooked them in my air fryer oven for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Served them with a side of garlicky cucumber yogurt dip. The meal was a huge success with us and our spouses! I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
I love this recipe. I want to have it weekly so I plan on keeping chicken marinating frequently. I have diabetes and this dish keeps my diabetes under good control. Delicious!
This was SO GOOD. Like maybe the best chicken I’ve ever had which I wasn’t expecting at all. We made tahdig a s also grilled shrimp and steak skewers with different marinades and the chicken was the stand out winner.
I’m making it for the second time this week. One question though: I marinated it last night for tonight but forgot that I already have dinner plans. Could I marinate it for 48 hours or is that too long? Do I need to cook it off today?
The recipe is soooooooo good. We prefer to cook this in the oven, then broil to the exact crispness we like it. Wasn’t sure temp & time, so started @])]]
I made these today and they were BOMB!! Marinated my chicken overnight and it was so tender, and deliciously flavoured throughout. You know how grilling boneless chicken can be tricky, as it’s easy to overdo it … but I watched it like a hawk and checked the individual pieces with a digital thermometer to ensure they were cooked through. This is my new favorite kebab recipe! I also made a Mediterranean parsley salad, (like tabouli but I left out the bulgur), Tzatziki sauce, and toasted pitas cut into quarters. It made a beautiful plate with all the vibrant colors! Thank you, Marzia, for sharing this! I can’t wait to make it for my kids next time we all get together 🙂
Hi, may I know how much chicken do you use for this marinade?
I did these for my wifes’ birthday party yesterday. I thought i’d over catered but they all just went in a flash. They are amazing! I used thigh as we prefer it to breast and when cooking under the grill during a party they are a bit more forgiving when you forget about them for five mins!
Great recipe. Definitely saved as a favourite. I did a 24 hr marinade and glad i did, but they were so good i have just put on another batch to marinade. they are getting cooked after 3 hrs though, for our dinner again tonight and i cant wait.
many thanks.mike
We really enjoyed this recipe. The marinade makes the chicken flavourful and keeps it moist on the BBQ. Leftovers are going into a pita for lunch today!