These Portuguese Chicken Skewers use always moist boneless, skinless chicken thighs, grilled with Portuguese spices and served with a spiced cilantro yogurt dip and grilled lemons, for drizzling.
Food on sticks! It’s one of the best thing about summer, in my opinion. These Portuguese Chicken Skewers use always moist, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, that are tossed in a medley of Portuguese-inspired spices. Add to that a cilantro yogurt sauce and grilled lemons for drizzling and you have a quick, easy and delicious meal!
You can cook these skewers on the BBQ, in a grill pan on the stove-top or under the broiler in your oven. Be sure not to crowd the skewers too much, so that the chicken will cook both quickly and evenly. Don’t like cilantro? I don’t either. Simply substitute flat parsley for the cilantro leaves. Surprisingly, even though coriander comes from cilantro, I like it in spice form.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Chicken – I love to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, as they are always moist. You could use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but be careful not to over-cook, as they can be dry.
Smoked Paprika – Note that the recipe calls for smoked paprika, which adds bit of smokey flavour to the chicken rub. Look for it in little red cans in the spice section of your grocery store. It’s a great addition to your spice cabinet! If you can’t find it, you can use regular paprika.
Recipe Tips
I definitely suggest that you don’t skip the lemons. The warm lemon drizzle is such a nice note with the chicken. You could also use the juice in combination with some oil and seasoning for a great salad dressing to go with your skewers.
Get the Recipe: Portuguese Chicken Skewers with a Cilantro Yogurt Dip
Ingredients
For the chicken rub:
- 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp. for flavour or up to 1 tsp. for a bit of heat
- 2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves, finely chopped (or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves)
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, , trimmed of visible fat and cut into three pieces
- 12 oregano sprigs, halved
- 2 lemons, halved
Coriander Yogurt Sauce:
- 1 cup plain greek-style yogurt
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped (or sub flat leaf parsley)
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- For garnish: pinch of paprika, cayenne or smoked paprika
Instructions
- Preheat on high a BBQ grill, grill pan on the stove-top or oven broiler, with rack about 6-inches from heat. If using oven broiler, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the paprika, cayenne, oregano garlic salt, pepper and oil. Add prepared chicken and mix well to coat.
- Thread the chicken onto 3 or 4 long metal skewers and tuck 3 oregano sprigs onto each skewer between the chicken pieces. Be sure not to push the chicken together too much, so it cooks quickly and evenly.
- Cook the chicken on the BBQ for 3-4 minutes per side, in a grill pan for 4-5 minutes per side or under the broiler for 5-6 minutes per side (on aluminum foil lined baking pan), or until charred in spots and cooked through. When you turn the chicken over, place the lemon halves cut side down on the grill or grill pan or cut-side up under the broiler and allow them to cook until the chicken is done.
- Meanwhile, to make the coriander yogurt sauce, place the yoghurt, cilantro (or parsley) leaves, coriander, salt and pepper in a small food processor and process for 30 seconds to combine.
- Serve the skewers with the yogurt sauce, grilled lemon and micro greens or a salad, if you like.
Notes
More Portuguese Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Could you cook this dish in the oven if your winter days don’t allow grilling outside?
Hi Kathy and absolutely! We have too much snow to grill outside in the Winter here, too :) You can go either the really hot oven or the broiler route. For the hot oven, preheat oven to about 475F, lay the skewers on a baking sheet and bake in the centre of the oven until just cooked through. You can pop right under the broiler at the end if you want a little extra colour. For the straight broiler method, place a rack about 6-8 inches from the broiler (usually 2nd level from the top) and broil until browned and cooked through (it doesn’t take long :) In both cases, keep your chicken pieces on the smaller side and thread them loosely, so they will cook quickly, without drying out. Enjoy!
Pulled this one out of the depths of the three ring binder on Saturday…….oh my, why did we wait so long to cook it again? So GOOD! We had leftovers cold with salad and a baked potato the next night.
So glad to hear, Gillie :) Thanks so much!
Loved this recipe…So easy and delicious! Your weekly email is one i look forward to and I’ve bookmarked quite a few “must try” recipes! Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much, Karmen :)
Made this tonight. I had bone in thighs so I removed the bone and kept them whole. Turned out great. My wife isn’t big on heat but I was able to add a touch more cayenne with out her knowing. Served it with an arugula salad out of my garden and a chive vinaigrette. Love the recipe!!!!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks :)
As chicken thighs can vary in size so much, (particularly between organic and non organic chicken) it would be very helpful to have the weight required for this recipe provided as well.
Love your recipes.
Thanks
Thanks June and I will keep that in mind, going forward :)
Wow, the flavor is incredibly delicious. We made this recipe for the beach, followed the prep as written, however, left the boneless chicken thighs whole, grilled them up. Definitely will be in our rotation year round. Easy Peezy and full of flavor. Thanks for the recipe!!!!!!
So glad you enjoyed it :) Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Wonderful summer meal. Served with fresh green beans and rice. The flavors were delicious and the meat was very juicy. I truly enjoyed the coriander sauce and could see this being used on a sandwich.
A chilled glass of sauvignon blanc was a nice compliment for a summer dinner pool side.
So glad you enjoyed it, Cathy. It’s dish we’ll make here a lot this summer :) I love the coriander sauce, as well and yes, I think it would be great on a sandwich!
Pretty good in an Oregon winter too 🤣
Grilling is a favorite for us, we grill year round, so what if it’s freezing outside in January! LOL!!
This is a great way to cook chicken thighs and those spices, nice touch.
I really like your plate setting, actually, you really have a fabulous set up in ALL your pictures. :-)
Where did you get this set, I really like it, so “comfy” if you know what I mean.
Just like a “home” feel.
Thanks Jennifer!
I wish we could grill year round. We just have too much snow and no where to keep our BBQ out of it :) And thanks … my enamelware is vintage. I pick up pieces when I see them at vintage store, flea markets, where ever :) I love the homey feel of them, too!
Worked out great – brilliant summer recipe. I served it with a glass of chilled vino verde.
So glad you enjoyed it :) Thanks for coming back to let me know!
This dish looks absolutely fabulous!! I’ll be trying it soon. I’d love to know where you got the enamel serveware? It’s so charming! Can you please share your source?
Hi Celia, the enamelware is vintage. I have collected quite a bit of it from antique/vintage stores. You can find a lot of it online on ebay and etsy as well.
Great photos. I like everything about your chicken skewers, even the coriander yogurt sauce. Pinning right now.
Thanks Karen and thanks for sharing :)
Food on a stick is most definitely one of the best parts of summer! Loooove these skewers, Jennifer!! Love that you used chicken thighs, those spices rock and that yogurt sauce sounds divine! Forget the napkins, just hand me a dozen of these! ;) Cheers, friend!
Thanks Cheyanne :)
I love that yogurt sauce, what delicious looking skewers!
Thanks Laura and yes, the yogurt sauce was just perfect with the chicken!
These skewers look divine, we’ve been grilling a lot lately and this one definitely needs to go on the menu ASAP!
Thanks Sara and these are definitely kid-friendly with the lesser amount of cayenne :)
I love smoked paprika and include it whenever I can. Your pictures are so crystal clear, I feel like this dish is sitting right here on my desk. A fantastic meal, Jennifer!
Thanks so much, Robyn :)
Yum, this looks amazing! I love how every nationality has a wonderfully flavorful way of doing chicken thighs!
Thanks Chris. I loved how quick and easy it was, too. Always good :)
I love the smoked paprika and the coriander . What a great rub and dipping sauce.
Thanks Gerlinde. It’s a great combination of flavours!
These look PERFECT for summer grilling Jennifer! I love the cilantro yogurt dip!
Thanks so much, Mary Ann :)
Yes!!!! So I’m finally biting the bullet and buying a charcoal grill. This looks like just what Dave and I need in our lives for our first grill trial. Wish me luck!! ;)
Luck!! Grilling is the best. My favourite way to cook in the summer, by far. Enjoy :)
Between the coriander and the smoked paprika you’ve got me convinced, and drooling…I actually harvest my own coriander when my cilantro goes to seed, it’s wonderful!
Thanks Sue. It’s a great combination of flavours!
I cannot wait to try this Jennifer! We really love the boneless skinless thighs too. Skewers are a wonderful way to grill without having to baby the food too much. Can’t wait to try this lovely combination of spices – I say go big on the cayenne! The sauce sounds great too – an all around home run!
Thanks Tricia. I say go big on the cayenne, too :)