Got an easy and delicious recipe if you're looking for a healthy dinner option. A simple yogurt marinade and a few minutes on the grill is all it takes to make grilled za'atar lemon chicken skewers. Make your favorite salad on the side and you've got a light summer supper delight.
What is Za'Atar?
Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice that's made up of toasted sesame seeds, oregano, ground sumac, salt and many times cumin or coriander depending on which brand you buy. If you love this combination of spices, you will love za'atar. It is highly versatile and can be cooked on top of a flatbread which is common in the Middle East, in many types of marinades to cook chicken, lamb, pork or beef. You could even sprinkle some on a popcorn snack. If you've haven't tried it yet, this recipe is a good jumping off point to introduce yourself to this spice combo.
Grilled Chicken Skewers & A Healthy Side Dish
It's summer here in New England and lots of people are using their grills. I love turning onto my street and smelling my neighbors grilling food. And when it's really hot, I'd rather stand outside a few minutes grilling chicken than heat my oven to 400 degrees in the middle of a heat wave.
Plus, when Massachusetts heat and humidity comes rolling into town, you almost don't even feel like eating. That's always the time I head to the grill. A light meal of grilled za'atar lemon chicken skewers and salad of your choice is a perfect summer supper. As a side to my chicken skewers, all I did was cut some cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and dill. Toss that in your favorite vinaigrette and you're done! If you have feta on hand - throw that in there too.
Love/Hate Relationship with our Grills..?
Anyone else stuck in a rollercoaster relationship with their outdoor grill? Man, when I love it, I really love it and then...suddenly... I just sour on it. I'm like, why would I want to go outside right now? There's like... weather going on out there.
Let's run it down: it's never clean. EVER. The bottom of it is so disgusting from all the old scraps and pieces of things. There's what amounts to a grease trap that fills up over time and has the most disgusting smell. You should see the biohazard gear I put on to clean that junk out. Then when I'm really craving food on the grill, and buy all the ingredients, I go to start the darn thing and the tank is empty.
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Does that sound familiar?
The flip side of all of this, of course, is there is nothing like cooking food outside on a grill. I do LOVE grilling chicken on the grill. I would say it's my most favorite item to cook there. Burgers I can go either way. I love pan searing meat. Love it. But chicken, to me, does taste better grilled. And I love marinating chicken before grilling too - it's THE BEST! 🙂
Most Painful Grilling Mistake: A Cautionary Tale
This one hurts to admit as a food blogger since I've been doing this so many years. But I want to share this painful grill story because it happened when I was making this very recipe. I was so mad at myself and fell right into the hate part of my love/hate relationship with that darn grill. Even though it wasn't the grill's fault. It was all me.
It was human error and it happens to everyone. Here it is: I FORGOT TO SPRAY THE GRILL WITH NON-STICK COOKING SPRAY BEFORE I ADDED THE CHICKEN. Sorry, I'm not an all caps person but that admission warrants an all caps sentence.
My God, how could I have forgotten this? The chicken is not TURNABLE (again, warranted) if you don't spray the grill.
So bla, bla, long story short, I ruined the first batch of chicken and had to start over because I destroyed every piece of chicken trying to pry it off the grill. Don't make this painful mistake!
Grilled Lemon Za'atar Chicken Skewers: The Final Chapter
In the end, take two of the chicken skewers were absolutely incredible. After I scraped the mess off my grill, I took a deep breath and did it all again. Chicken tenderloins are already fairly tender, but the yogurt marinade puts this dish over-the-top. A melt-in-your-mouth skewer that you will gobble up so fast your head will spin. Any light side salad will be amazing with this.
This is a great recipe too if you want to have leftovers for lunches. And who doesn't want that?
If you're in THe Mood To Grill, Here's More:
- Bacon Stuffed Cheeseburgers on the Grill
- The Best Grilled Chicken & Marinated Tomatoes
- Grilled Sriracha Lime Chicken
- Rosemary Balsamic Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Grilled Zucchini & Summer Squash w/Romesco Sauce
Grilled Za'atar Lemon Chicken Skewers
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 6 portions 1x
Description
Got an easy and healthy dinner for you with these grilled za’atar lemon chicken skewers. Pair with your favorite side salad. Total yum.
Ingredients
- 18 chicken tenderloins
For the marinade:
- 1 ½ cups whole milk Greek yogurt (no added sugar)
- Zest from one lemon (zest first, then juice)
- ¼ cup lemon juice (juice a whole lemon - I got ¼ cup from one large, ripe lemon)
- 1 large peeled garlic clove, grated/minced
- 1 ½ tablespoon Za’atar seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt (see notes)
- ½ teaspoon pepper
NOTE: You will need non-stick cooking spray for the grilling.
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Instructions
- Zest one large lemon. I used a microplane, but if you don’t have that use a box grater.
- Once the lemon is zested, cut it in half and squeeze the juice out of it. I used a hand-held juicer.
- Add the whole milk Greek yogurt into a large bowl, then grate the clove of garlic into the bowl, and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, za’atar seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix together until well combined. Set aside for a few minutes.
- With the chicken tenderloins, this is a lean cut of chicken. This is optional, but I take a couple of minutes to cut the white tendon piece that sticks out on the end.
- Next, add the chicken to the bowl and make sure to turn all the chicken pieces so they are ALL covered in the marinated. Wrap in plastic and let marinate for two hours in the fridge.
- Once the marination is finished, preheat your outdoor grill (I always put it on high, but you know your own grill so do what works for you).
- While that is preheating, skewer the chicken tenderloins. My video (in the recipe card) shows this well. Stick one metal skewer directly through the chicken (lengthwise, of course) and place it on a sheet pan. Repeat the process with all the chicken.
- Spray your outdoor grill with a non-stick cooking spray before you place the chicken on the grill. Cook the chicken covered for 2-3 minutes, turn it, then another couple of minutes and the chicken should be done. Internal temperature should be 165 degrees.
- Serve immediately with your favorite side salad. I chopped a bunch of cherry tomatoes and cucumbers with dill, feta and vinaigrette and it worked great!
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