These chicken skewers are a family favorite! Very easy, deliciously smoky, nice and sweet, with a good amount of spice and bite. Air fryer, grill, and oven-friendly!
Honey Chipotle Chicken Skewers
Prepare For a Lot Of Finger Licking.
Bjork is still rocking the protein guy life, and, okay, I’m trying to eat more protein too, so we make chicken A LOT right now. And as much as I love the absolute all-star air fryer chicken (which is to the maximum), lately I’ve been mixing it up with these honey chipotle chicken skewers.
First of all, these chicken skewers have been approved 10x by my family – every time I make these, I get the thumbs up from my husband AND my girls. The flavor mix is so easy: smoky chipotle, honey and orange, a good amount of taco seasoning, and a bit of fresh garlic. The flavor is sticky, sweet, and smoky all in one. FINGER LICKING DELICIOUS! We have been coming back to them again and again.
Secondly, it’s not complicated at all, but look how pretty!
You don’t have to use the skewers. But come on – they are SO lovely and so fun! If you are looking for something to just shake up the very repetitive daily grind of dinners (it me!), it’s worth the 5 minutes for a little fun skewer showcase moment at dinnertime.
Plus, skewers make these extremely grill-friendly! I have been air frying them, but they are just begging to be grilled. I can feel it.
We like this with corn dip, pickled onions, and green rice. WOW – it is a power combo. I crave those leftovers like nobody’s business. But these chicken skewers also play well with black beans and avocado corn salsa, or thrown on a southwestern-style salad, or tucked into a tortilla for a taco moment!
Welcome To My Kitchen! Let’s Make These Skewers.
1
Soak Your Skewers!
I soak them for 15-30 minutes while I’m prepping the chicken. If you’re air frying these, you may need to break the ends of the skewers off so they fit into your air fryer.
2
Cut Up Your Chicken.
I like small bite-sized pieces. I typically use chicken breasts but chicken thighs would also work great.
3
Make Some Flavor.
Lotta flavor goodness in that bowl. Honey, chipotle, fresh garlic, and a bit of honey, and some taco seasoning.
4
Thread on Skewers.
Just pile em on there. They should be very well-coated and a nice orangey-red color. FLAVOR!
5
Cook Them Up!
I like to air fry them because it’s the easiest (10 minutes and they’re done, with a nice golden burnished looking exterior!) but grilling would be perfect if that’s your journey!
Watch How To Make These Chicken Skewers
Honey Chipotle Chicken Skewers
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
Description
These chicken skewers are a family favorite! Very easy, deliciously smoky, nice and sweet, with a good amount of spice and bite. Air fryer, grill, and oven-friendly!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chicken:
- 1 pound chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- wood skewers (optional)
Honey Chipotle Mix:
- 1 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, minced
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (I like the Siete brand)
- 1 orange, zest and juice (1–2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon juice)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
Instructions
- Soak: Soak the skewers in water for 15-30 minutes while you prep the chicken.
- Mix: Using your hands or tongs, mix the chicken with the honey chipotle mix. It’ll look saucy and messy, in a good way.
- Skewers: Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers (usually I get 4 skewers with a pound of chicken).
- Cook Em Up: You can cook these a number of different ways – I air fry them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Grilling would also be amazing! Finish with a drizzle of honey, or (yum) 2 tablespoons of melted butter mixed with honey. It’s so good!
Notes
I don’t marinate the chicken, but I do usually let it sit for 10-15 minutes while I prep the other dinner elements. You can marinate the chicken for a few hours if you are making this ahead, or just go ahead with cooking if you’re ready!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: chicken skewers, air fryer chicken, grilled chicken
Frequently Asked Questions For These Chicken Skewers
Will this recipe work without skewers?
Yes! You can just arrange the chicken in a single layer in the air fryer at 400 for 10 minutes.
How can I make these in the oven if I don’t have an air fryer or grill?
Broil near the top of the oven for 10-12 minutes. With this method, you will get a nicer, more even browning if you use chicken thighs, but either can work!
How spicy is this recipe?
Not spicy, in my opinion! My two girls, 3 and 5, are not big spicy food girls AT ALL but they will devour this chicken. If you’re worried about it, use half of a chipotle pepper! (Or, on the other side, if you want more heat, go for 2-3 chipotle peppers!)
Three Recipes I Love With These Chicken Skewers
Filed Under: Air Fryer All Recipes Dairy-Free Dinner Gluten-Free Healthy Main Dishes Meat and Chicken Quick and Easy Recipes
July 3, 2024
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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Chipotle peppers in adobo? Or something different?
Chipotle peppers in adobo, yes! Just updated the recipe card. 🙂
Do chipotle peppers in adobe work? Or is a fresh chipotle pepper best?
Chipotle peppers in adobo! Just updated the recipe card to be more specific. 🙂
Are we meant to use chipotle peppers in adobo?
Yes! Thanks for pointing that out. Just updated the recipe card to be more specific. 🙂
This looks so good! Do you think this same technique would work for tofu? I want to make grill these chicken skewers, but some of the family doesn’t eat chicken so I’m wondering if it would work to make some that are tofu.
We’ve never tried it! We’ve air-fried tofu before, but with a thicker batter so it gets crispy. But would love to hear how this goes if you give it a try!
Great recipe, it was raining so we fried it in a cast-iron pan and turned out great.
Love your recipes Lindsey, but it would be much appreciated if you could respond to the questions being asked. I too would like to know about the chipotle pepper ingredient.
Thank you!
Your comment came off fairly entitled and rude. It is a holiday week, so perhaps everyone is enjoying time with their families rather than responding to questions. This question can be answered with a quick google search if you need a fast response, and the pictures of the recipe show that it’s chipotle in adobo. But from my google search, I learned that there are not fresh chipotles, as a chipotle pepper is essentially a dried jalapeño.
Hi Doreen! Our team was off for the Fourth of July weekend and just seeing this today! Just updated the recipe card to clarify!
very tasty
We loved these! I was out of gas for the grill so I pan seared them (bonus: I put the extra sauce in the pan too and it was great for drizzling over rice). My husband asked for them again so it’s a winner for us.
These were very good! We loved the marinade. Paired with the green rice as suggested. Will be making again for sure.
To answer above commenters’ questions, I used a chipotle in adobe.
Really delicious marinade! Made these with chicken thighs and cooked them on our smoker.
This was PHENOMENAL!!!
Thanks Lindsey
I don’t have an orange is there a way to just leave it out?
You could give it a try with lemon or lime if you have that instead, otherwise you could try omitting it!
These are FABULOUS. Made them exactly as written and grilled them. So, so good and crazy easy.
Thank you!!
Super simple, tasty, and I’m imagining very versatile. We went the air fryer route and loaded the chicken into wraps with simple veg and a drizzle of ranch. Would make again!
So good! Didn’t do skewers and just cooked in a pan. Obviously be wary of the honey burning – just deglazed the pan between batches. Had it with creamy polenta and salad. Would make again!
Any thoughts on whether powdered chipotle would work?
It sounds like it could work, but it’s best to also mix it with red wine vinegar and tomato paste to better match the taste! See here. 🙂
Thank you so much! Excited to try this tonight!
What an amazing dish indeed! I used both chicken breast and thighs to see which one I liked better and I have to say they are both awesome. I needed to double the seasoning recipe but did not have enough taco seasoning. It still turned out amazing! I will have to think about the orange zest next time, though, because it seemed to prevail over the other seasonings. Great job with this recipe!
We really loved this. Served it with the green rice, as suggested, which was a perfect pairing!
Hi, I’m using chipotle abodo, the first time. I emptied the entire can which I think was not the intent. it might work if the recipe card mentions that we only use one pepper( not the whole can)
These Honey Chipotle Chicken Skewers are an absolute game-changer! The perfect blend of sweet and spicy, with a hint of smokiness from the grill. The chicken stays incredibly juicy, and the flavors are just out of this world. Highly recommend giving it a try if you love bold flavors and easy prep. Plus, they’re a hit with both kids and adults!
I made these in our ninja toaster oven/air fryer recently because it ended up being too rainy to grill as planned. Served with the green rice and some homemade mango salsa!
Wow, so simple, delicious, and they leftover great! I have most of these ingredients stocked in my pantry at all times, love a recipe like that. I have made it three times, going for Mike’s Extra Hot Honey one of those times, and it was my favorite! I love being able to get a grilled feel without having to brave the heat outside. Keep the air fryer chicken recipes coming please – they are seriously saving my life for hitting protein goals. Last night I used this method but marinated the chicken in leftover homemade garlic scape pesto, and it was also amazing.
I made these for the first time last night and holy cow!!! So much flavor and so easy!! I made the creamy corn and pickled onions to go with and it checked all the boxes. I didn’t want it to be overly chipotle-y so I just used some of the liquid from the can and it was perfect. This is one that I will make over and over. Now to try the shrimp version….
A new favorite! It is very orange-y, so I might try less zest next time, but either way it still tastes great. We served with green rice, creamy corn, and pickled onions as recommended. 10/10
I made this w/o skewers, just as chunks. I doubled the recipe, but just used one chipotle pepper, and the spice level was perfect for our family. We’ve loved every recipe of yours that we’ve tried!!