Recipe: Air fryer chicken kebabs are the ultimate meal prep solution

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As we pivot from the relaxed days of summer to the chaos of back to school lunches, these chicken kebabs are going to be a saviour.

This recipe isn’t exactly authentic to any one region. It’s more of an amalgamation of the flavours my family enjoys in kebabs whether they are from our local donair shop or Pakistani restaurant. Over the years I’ve tested and tried a variety of recipes and landed on this one, which is quick enough to make on a weeknight. It’s flavourful and, as a bonus, freezes really well.

Kebabs are generally made over hot coals or in a tandoor oven, but I just don’t have that kind of time on weeknights so I rely on my air fryer for this recipe. The trick to making the perfect kebab in the air fryer is to baste them with butter, or preferably ghee, halfway through cooking.

If you are batch cooking the recipe it easily doubles or even triples, and you can store the cooked kebabs in your freezer for up to three months. They taste just as delicious when they are reheated — I recommend doing that on a low setting in your air fryer, too. Pair them with a fresh salad, tuck them into wraps, or serve them with some spiced rice. You can’t go wrong with a juicy chicken kebab.

Chicken Kebab

1 lb. ground chicken thighs

1 large red onion

4 cloves of garlic

1-inch piece of ginger

¼ cup (60 mL) fresh cilantro

½ of a red bell pepper

1-2 green chilies (optional)

1 tsp. (5 mL) salt

2 tsp. (10 mL) garam masala

½ tsp. (2.5 mL) black pepper

1 tbsp. (15 mL) coriander powder

½ tbsp. (7.5 mL) cumin powder

1 tbsp. (15 mL) olive oil

Ghee, or butter, for basting

Purée everything listed except for the ground chicken and ghee in a food processor. Mix the onion and vegetable purée with the ground chicken. Combine well.

Shape the chicken mixture onto the skewers, or simply into a rounded shape with your hands. Cook at 380 F for 12 minutes in the air fryer, basting with ghee or butter at 6 minutes.

Makes 8-10 kebabs.