If eating plenty of greens is good for your health, then these grilled pesto-chicken skewers with fresh basil take the cake. Okay, the mini flourless chocolate cake is for dessert, but every once in a while, you deserve it!
One thing we love about grilling and marinating meat is that you can prepare for dinner long before the workday is done, so when you get home, there is minimal stress, with maximum satisfaction, to feed the family in a flash.
Pesto is a work of art, the basil harmonizing beautifully with the pine nuts, garlic, and red pepper flakes adding a hint of spicy romance... whether it is a sauce, a dip, or a marinade, we suspect that you will fall in love with it.
Pine nuts can boost your energy and lift your spirits due to elevated levels of magnesium and iron naturally within them. Thanks to their vitamin D content, pine nuts will help you build stronger bones, and your eyes can benefit too, from both the vitamin A and lutein available in such a tiny seed.
Color is an important aspect of food consumption for visual and health reasons, the hues of red/blue/purple indicate the presence of anthocyanins, and greens are an excellent source of vitamin A and calcium.
You will also find plenty of vitamin C in orange/yellow fruits and vegetables, sweet potatoes included, so make sure to bring them to the dinner table to create a meal masterpiece. We can always recommend grilled zesty sweet potatoes and marinated beets to compliment the pesto kebabs.
Grilled Pesto Chicken Kebabs Recipe
Serves: 4 Prep: 20 min + 2 h Cook: 12 min
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, cubed
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Wood skewers soaked in water
Preparation
- Add the olive oil, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and pine nuts in a food processor and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Pulse until smooth.
- Pour the pesto over the cubed chicken, toss until well coated, then cover and refrigerate.
- Let the pesto-chicken marinate for 2 to 12 hours.
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
- Thread the chicken on the wood skewers.
- Place the kebabs on the preheated grill.
- Grill for 10 to 12 minutes, turning every 2 to 3 minutes until thoroughly cooked.
📖 Recipe
Grilled Pesto Chicken Kebabs Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts cubed
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Wood skewers soaked in water
Instructions
- Add the olive oil, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and pine nuts in a food processor and season to taste with salt and pepper.½ cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 cups fresh basil leaves, 3 garlic cloves, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, ¼ cup pine nuts, Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Pulse until smooth.
- Pour the pesto over the cubed chicken, toss until well coated, then cover and refrigerate.2 chicken breasts
- Let the pesto-chicken marinate for 2 to 12 hours.
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
- Thread the chicken on the wood skewers.Wood skewers soaked in water
- Place the kebabs on the preheated grill.
- Grill for 10 to 12 minutes, turning every 2 to 3 minutes until thoroughly cooked.
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