Low Carb Tropical Chicken Kebabs

Picture it now...you’re lounging on a sandy beach. You hear the splashing of the waves and smell the salt air. Just when you realize you’re getting a little hungry, a waiter brings you a plate of delicious tropical chicken kebabs with peppers, onions, and pineapples. Not a bad place to be, eh?

Well, unfortunately we can’t do much to help create the sun and sand of this tropical paradise, but we have put together a delicious Hawaiian chicken kebabs recipe. Every time you make this tropical chicken kebabs recipe, the pineapple, coconut, and ginger flavors will give you a taste of paradise—without the baggage fees, jetlag, and sunburns, of course. Plus, this recipe is the perfect follow-up to the Xyngular 8-Day Jumpstart program.

Tropical Chicken Kebabs

Servings: 4
Nutrition Facts Per Serving
Calories: 361 / Fat: 29g / Protein: 21g / Carbs: 19g
Gluten Free | Dairy Free

INGREDIENTS

16 oz. Raw chicken breast, cubed in about 1” pieces
1 cup Red bell peppers, chopped
1 cup Yellow sweet onions, chopped
4 oz. Fresh pineapple, cubed
1 Tbsp Coconut aminos
½ Tbsp Honey
1 tsp Rice vinegar
½ tsp Garlic, minced
½ tsp Ginger, ground
2 Tbsp Unsweetened shredded coconut
4 cups Cauliflower rice
¾ cup Unsweetened coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste
4 Wooden skewers

INSTRUCTIONS

Soak skewers in water for an hour before cooking
Preheat oven to broil
Cook cauliflower rice on stovetop using coconut milk and a pinch of salt
Measure out 4 oz. of chicken, ¼ cup peppers, ¼ cup onions, and 1 oz. pineapple for eac kebab. Skewer them and place on a greased broiler pan.
Combine coconut aminos, honey, olive oil, rice vinegar, minced garlic, and ground ginger together in a small bowl.
Baste each kebab with the mixture and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and shredded coconut.
Broil for 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Enjoy warm over coconut cauliflower rice.

How Do You Grill Kebabs Without Burning Vegetables?

It’s a real buzzkill when you create a delicious chicken skewers recipe only to have it burn in the oven or grill. There are a few tricks to keep your vegetables from burning while fully cooking the meat on your kebabs. First off, cut your vegetables uniformly, and don’t make them too small. If your chicken is in 1” pieces, try to cut your vegetables about the same size, or maybe even a little bigger. This helps everything cook at the same rate.

When you’re making low carb chicken skewers, you’ll also want to use vegetables that take a similar amount of time to cook. Tomatoes only take a couple of minutes to cook on the grill. Onions, peppers, zucchini all require relatively similar cooking times. Potatoes, mushrooms, and corn, on the other hand, take more time to cook. If you’re using either of those, you’ll want to pre-cook them a bit (aka par cooking) to shorten the cooking time on the skewer.

Another secret to a perfectly cooked kebab is to space your ingredients evenly. Squishing the meat and the vegetables together will increase the cook time, especially for the meat, and raises the likelihood of burning the vegetables. It’s ok for things to touch, but don’t cram them too close, or put too many ingredients on one skewer.

If you’re still worried about burning your vegetables, an easy solution is to follow the above tips, but cook the meat and the vegetables on separate skewers, using the same techniques above, and then divide the portions after cooking. Sure, you might miss the joy of eating food right off the stick, but you’ll be assured that everything is fully cooked, and nothing is burnt.

How Do You Keep Shish Kebabs From Drying Out?

No one wants a dry kebab. That’s why we recommend using a marinade, like the one in this low carb chicken kebab recipe. Basting with a marinade helps seal in the moisture and juices in the meat. We put coconut aminos as well as honey, garlic, and ginger in the marinade of these Hawaiian chicken kebabs because it not only makes them juicy, but gives them an amazing flavor too.

Another way to keep your kebabs tender is to cook them low and slow. The fastest option isn’t always the best option. Cook them at a lower temperature for a longer period of time to keep them from releasing moisture too quickly.

What Do You Eat With Kebabs?

If you’re looking to make a kebabs recipe, you might be at a loss for what to serve as a side dish. A lot of kebabs, especially chicken kebab recipes, include vegetables on the skewer. So what’s left? There are a lot of tasty options, and you’re certain to find one that fits in with your diet plan.

For this tropical chicken kebabs recipe, we love to serve it with coconut cauliflower rice. The cauliflower rice turns these into low carb chicken kebabs. Other low carb side dishes include green salads, grilled zucchini, snap peas, and cucumbers. Couscous is also a relatively low carb option. If you don’t mind some higher carb side dishes, roasted potatoes, marinated chickpea salad, or a tasty tabbouleh are good relatively healthy additions to your meal.

What Are The Health Benefits of Cauliflower?

Cauliflower often gets a bad rap, but this veggie deserves a little time in the spotlight. Not many vegetables can stand in for rice and potatoes, but cauliflower transforms and is able to hold its own. Not only can it transform into various versions of itself, but it also boasts all those properties vegetables are famous for, including helping reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer, and providing you with loads of vitamin K. Plus, there are only five grams of carbs, three of which are fiber, in every one cup serving of cauliflower. If you want to try another great recipe, make this garlic chicken with roasted cauliflower. If you weren’t a fan of cauliflower before, you will be after eating this.

Is It Pronounced Kebabs or Kabobs?

Is it a kebab or a kabob? The answer is...it’s both! The original shish kebab is a Middle Eastern dish that is popular in Turkey and Afghanistan, although many countries have their own version. A traditional kebab is simply skewered marinated meat—typically lamb or beef, that is grilled and sometimes accompanied by vegetables.

If you grew up referring to kebabs as kabobs, you’re not wrong. As western culture adopted and adapted the kebab, the name changed slightly too. Many people in the United States now refer to the skewered meat as a kabob, or shish kabob, and according to the dictionary, both pronunciations are correct. So whether you choose to eat a kebab or a kabob, you can’t go wrong, because both are delicious.

If you like this chicken kebabs recipe, be sure to check out our other favorite 8-Day Jumpstart recipes here, and be sure to look at all the resources we offer with the Xyngular 8-Day Jumpstart program, to see if it’s a good fit for you and your weight loss goals. You can also access all of our delicious Xyngular system recipes, including Keto and low carb recipes here.*

*Lose up to 15 pounds in 8 days. Lose an additional 1-2 pounds or more each week following the 8-day jump start. Results are not guaranteed and can vary.