Name: Chicken Shish Tawook
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 3 lbs chicken breast cubes; 1½ cups yogurt; ¼ cup olive oil; 3-4 garlic cloves (minced); juice of 2 large lemons; 2 large tablespoons ketchup; 1 tbsp pomegrante molasses (optional); 1 teaspoon allspice; dash Lebanese 7 spices; dash white pepper; 1 teaspoon salt

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Lebanese grilled chicken kabobs, shish tawook, is a delicacy that graces every Sunday lunch table across my homeland. Imagine this: chicken breast cubes marinated in a combination of aromatic spices, skewered and grilled to perfection, served alongside homemade toum garlic sauce.

grilled chicken shish tawook skewers in a bowl

If you're ready to spice up your week with one delicious grilled chicken kabob recipe, let it be this one. More great grill recipes are beef shish kabobs, kafta, lamb chops, and grilled chicken thighs.

The Secret To Shish Tawook

The secret to the best shish tawook is the marinade. The combination of garlic, citrus, olive oil, and yogurt gives you the juiciest, most delicious Lebanese chicken shish tawook. What's even better is that the marinade is super easy to make.

Ingredient Notes

ingredients needed to make chicken shish tawook

How to Make Chicken Shish Tawook

adding the wet ingredients to the chicken breast chunks

Cube the chicken breast into similar-sized chunks. Add the marinade ingredients: mashed garlic, yogurt, lemon juice, yogurt, ketchup, olive oil, and salt.

marinating chicken breast cubes in a baking dish

Mix the chicken shish tawook very well so that every chicken cube is well covered. Marinate the chicken overnight or at a minimum of 2 hours in the fridge.

Skewer the chicken while the grill is getting prepared.

Grill the chicken shish tawook skewers for about 8 to 10 minutes, or 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

Serve with toom garlic sauce, homemade french fries, vermicelli rice, and tabbouleh.

Tips and Tricks

Use fresh chicken. This chicken kabob recipe is best using fresh, organic, free-range chicken breast.
The longer you marinate, the juicier the chicken: I like to marinate the Lebanese chicken shish tawook overnight and feel that's the perfect amount of time for them to tenderize and be ready for grilling. That said, we're all in a rush sometimes, so if you're short on time you can marinate them for a minimum of 2 hours.
Save some of the marinade and brush it on the shish tawook skewers while you're grilling them for an added layer of flavor.
Don't overgrill: This is very important, because grilling the cubes for too long results in dry chicken.

Substitutions and Variations

Oven baked shish tawook: Follow the same marinade steps for this recipe however bake the chicken skewers instead of grilling them. If you make this variation make sure to double the marinade ingredients so that the chicken doesn't dry out in the oven.
Grilled Lebanese chicken veggie shish tawook: Add chopped onions, bell pepper chunks or even mushrooms to the chicken skewers to give them a colorful twist.
Change up the shish tawook marinade: Add in a little bit of lemon zest to the shish tawook marinade. I sometimes play around with the spices when marinating the chicken. A dash of paprika, some oregano, or thyme will also work.

📋 Recipe