BBQ Chicken Skewers are easy to make in the air fryer or oven with my homemade BBQ chicken rub and bourbon BBQ sauce. Enjoy these with Instant Pot Collard Greens, Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes, and Hot Water Cornbread to make a delicious soul food meal.

Why Make BBQ Chicken Skewers

Simple ingredients: this easy recipe uses 5 ingredients, many of which you could pick up from the store.
Ready in 30 minutes: on busy days, there’s nothing like a 30-minute meal. Make this BBQ chicken main dish to pair with a variety of side dishes.
Multiple ways to cook: I’m using an air fryer for this recipe, but you can also make these in the oven or on the grill.

Ingredients Needed

Here’s what you need to know to make this recipe successfully:

Boneless and Skinless Chicken thighs: I cut these into bite-sized pieces. I prefer chicken thighs for skewers since they are more forgiving during cooking than chicken breasts (staying moist, even if you want to overcook them to get some char on the meat).
Steak seasoning: I use this one, but something like a Montreal steak seasoning will also work.
BBQ Chicken Dry Rub: This is the homemade spice blend I use in things like Homemade Baked Beans With Canned Beans. It’s smokey and full of flavor from combining things like brown sugar, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and more.
Avocado oil: I prefer avocado oil since it has a high smoke point. But, you can also use olive oil or any oil that withstands a temperature of 400 degrees.
Bourbon BBQ sauce: I picked this up from the market, but this recipe also tastes great using the Henny BBQ sauce that I used for Baked BBQ Hennessy Wings Recipe
Metal Skewers: I love that they are reusable and dishwasher-safe.

Add the chicken pieces, seasoning, dry rub, and the avocado oil to a large bowl. Use tongs to coat the chicken evenly
Lace the chicken pieces onto the skewers. Avoid stuffing them since it makes the chicken harder to cook. I use about 5-6 chicken bites per skewer.
Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. You want to get the cooking pot hot so that it will start to cook/sear the chicken skewers as soon as they are placed inside.
Add the skewers to the air fryer basket in a single layer.
Air fry at 400 for 8 minutes
Use a basting brush to coat both sides of the skewers with BBQ sauce
Air fry at 400 for 5-6 more minutes to cook the chicken skewers through and char some of the edges.

Add an air fryer parchment paper liner to your air fryer basket (after you preheat it) to make the clean-up process easy
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days
Preheat your air fryer: this allows the meat to start cooking immediately. It helps to get char on the chicken without overcooking it.
Add vegetables as I did in these air fryer chicken kabobs if you want to add green bell peppers, red onions, zucchini, or squash.
Avoid stuffing the chicken pieces onto the skewers since it makes the chicken harder to cook. I use about 5-6 chicken bites per skewer.

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These BBQ Chicken Skewers are easy to make in the air fryer or oven in less than 30 minutes using a homemade dry rub and bourbon bbq sauce.

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings

Calories 250kcal

1.25 lb chicken thighs boneless and skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp steak seasoning I use this one, but something like a Montreal steak seasoning will also work
2 tbsp bbq chicken dry rub I used this recipe
2 tbsp avocado oil
⅓ cup bourbon bbq sauce I picked this up from the market

Add the chicken pieces, seasoning, dry rub, and the avocado oil to a large bowl. Use tongs to evenly coat the chicken.
Lace the chicken pieces onto the skewers. Avoid stuffing them since it makes the chicken harder to cook. I use about 5-6 chicken bites per skewer.
Preheat the air fryer at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. You want to get the cooking pot hot so that it will start to cook/sear the chicken skewers as soon as they are placed inside.
Add the skewers to the air fryer basket in a single layer.
Air fry at 400 for 8 minutes.
Use a basting brush to coat both sides of the skewers with bbq sauce.
Air fry at 400 for 5-6 more minutes to cook the chicken skewers through and char some of the edges.