Chicken Spiedini

This easy and tasty weeknight dish that’s always a family favorite. Tender chunks of marinated chicken are skewered, then lightly breaded and grilled to flavorful perfection. They’re versatile enough to serve on a salad, in a pita, or as hors d’oeuvres for a party.

Skewers of Chicken Spiedini on a white plate and garnished with parsley, onion slices, and lemon wedges. Top view.

For dinner, I like to serve the chicken spiedini with a fresh, colorful Israeli Salad, cheesy Brown Butter Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti Squash, and a Spicy Italian Style Broccoli Rabe for something green.  

What Is Spiedini?

Spiedini is an Italian dish of marinated, breaded meat cubes on a skewer, usually beef, veal, or pork. Each region of Italy has its own variation of a spiedini. It’s often served with a garlicky herbed butter sauce called Amogio, which perfectly accompanies the chicken. If you’re interested in serving this sauce, the information on what you need and how to do it is at the end of the recipe below. If your family is anything like mine, pasta sauce or ranch dressing are desired dipping sauces.

Ingredients Needed

  • Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – I like trimming any fat, tendons, or connective tissue. Confused? No problem! Here is an excellent video on how to trim your chicken breasts.
  • Olive oil – use a good brand, but it doesn’t have to be extra virgin. Save the good stuff for salad dressings.
  • White wine – I like using a dry chardonnay. You can use any white wine that you enjoy drinking.
  • Lemons – you’ll need both the juice and the zest.
  • Dried rosemary, dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt, and black pepper
  • Italian-style bread crumbs
  • Pecorino Romano cheese – I always like to grate my own. Pre-grated cheese has an anti-caking agent on it that makes it gritty. Any Italian cheese will work. 
Skewers of Chicken Spiedini on a white plate and garnished with parsley, onion slices, and lemon wedges. Close up view.

Steps To Make Chicken Spiedini

  1. Trim and cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces.
  2. Mix the chicken with the oil, wine, herbs, lemon juice and zest, red pepper, salt, and pepper.
  3. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Thread the chicken onto skewers.
  5. Mix the bread crumbs and grated cheese together.
  6. Bread the chicken skewers.
  7. Grill the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
  8. Enjoy.

Tips For Making Perfect Chicken Spiedini

  • If your chicken breasts are thick, gently slice them horizontally in half or gently use a meat mallet to pound the chicken to ¼-½-inch thickness. Protect the chicken breasts using parchment paper or plastic wrap, or place the chicken into a zip-top bag before pounding them so they don’t shred.
  • Make sure to cut your chicken into consistent 1-inch cubes. This will enable even cooking and consistently delicious results.
  • Place the chicken cubes ¼-inch apart on the skewers to ensure even cooking.
  • Brush your grill grates with vegetable oil to prevent the chicken skewers from sticking.
  • If the chicken skewers are getting too dark in color, move them to a cooler part of the grill until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

How To Store And Reheat Leftovers

Once the spiedini comes to room temperature, wrap the skewers in plastic wrap, place them in an airtight container or zip-top bag, and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reheat the spiedini (if bamboo skewers are used) in the microwave at medium speed until warmed through. If your chicken cubes are tightly skewed, consider removing the meat from the skewer for even heating.

You can also freeze the cooked spiedini, by wrapping them in plastic wrap and placing them in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag for up to three months.

Skewers of Chicken Spiedini on a white plate and garnished with parsley, onion slices, and lemon wedges. Close up top view.

More Chicken Recipes To Consider

Print

Chicken Spiedini

This easy and tasty weeknight dish that’s always a family favorite. Tender chunks of marinated chicken are skewered, then lightly breaded and grilled to flavorful perfection. They’re versatile enough to serve on a salad, in a pita, or as hors d’oeuvres for a party.

  • Author: Millie Brinkley
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Main Dish – Poultry
  • Method: Grill
  • Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Scale

For the Spiedini

  • 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
  • ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup dry white wine (I used a chardonnay)
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, minced
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • Zest of a large lemon
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

For the Amoglio Sauce

  • 4 tablespoons salted butter
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, more to taste
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

Soak 4-8 bamboo skewers (depending on the size) in water. Be sure that they are fully submerged. Set aside.

Combine the chicken, olive oil, wine, lemon juice, rosemary, oregano, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a large zip-top bag. Massage the bag to combine the ingredients.

Carefully zip the top and allow the chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Remove the bag from the refrigerator and dump the contents into a large colander in your kitchen sink. Let all of the liquid drip from the chicken chunks.

Meanwhile, add the bread crumbs and grated cheese in a large zip-top bag.

Remove the skewers from the water and thread the chicken onto the skewers.

Add the skewers to the breading mixture, one at a time and roll it around in the crumbs to fully coat the meat. Press it gently onto the chicken to ensure adhesion.

Preheat your grill to medium-high and spray generously with grilling spray.

Add the skewers to the heat and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes until the chicken is opaque and the breading is golden brown. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the chicken has reached 165 degrees.

If the meat gets too brown or charred, move the skewers to a cooler section of your grill.

If desired, serve the skewers warm with Amoglio sauce on the side.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan.

Stir in the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, red pepper flakes, and salt.

Simmer the butter on low for 5 minutes. Don’t allow the butter to brown.

Remove from the heat and allow the sauce to ‘steep’ while you prepare the skewers.

the butter warm by placing the saucepan in the cool section of your grill while you cook the skewers.

Serve the sauce on the side.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 skewers
  • Calories: 772
  • Sugar: 2.4 g
  • Sodium: 1733.3 mg
  • Fat: 54.2 g
  • Saturated Fat: 15.8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 23.5 g
  • Fiber: 2.4 g
  • Protein: 46.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 169.4 mg

Keywords: chicken spiedini, chicken recipes, grilling recipes, weeknight meals, 30-minute meals, kid-friendly, Italian recipes,