These garlic parmesan chicken skewers are made with juicy chicken thighs that have been packed onto skewers, basted with the most delicious garlic parmesan butter sauce, and then air fried to crispy-on-the-outside, juicy-on-the-inside perfection. Serve them as an appetizer, meal prep them for lunch for the week, or whip them up alongside roasted green beans and fluffy quinoa for a family-friendly weeknight dinner.
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers Recipe Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers
- How to Make Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers in the Oven
- Recipe Tip
- How to Serve
- How to Store and Reheat
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Favorite Air Fryer Recipes
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers Recipe
This recipe is…
Garlic. Parmesan. Chicken. Skewers. YUM. There honestly aren’t words to describe the deliciousness of this recipe. Picture this: juicy chicken thighs packed onto skewers, basted (several times) with a decadent butter sauce, and air fried until perfectly crispy on the outside.
A couple of ways to enjoy your skewers: appetizer-style at your next game-day party or gathering, as a meal prep lunch option alongside your favorite sides (the possibilities are endless – these skewers pair well with EVERYTHING), or, as a dinner protein option for a fun weeknight family dinner.
If you’re looking for more delicious chicken recipes, we’ve got you. The humble chicken thigh can easily be turned into the most flavorful of meals with these recipes: crispy baked honey sesame chicken, chicken pancit, and balsamic chicken sheet pan dinner.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s easy – with just a couple of quick steps before letting the air fryer take over, this recipe is incredibly easy to pull together.
- It’s extremely flavorful – juicy chicken thighs basted in the most delicious blend of butter, garlic, parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes. Can you imagine anything more flavorful?
- It’s perfect for meal prep – these chicken skewers are excellent for meal prep. Make a full batch and divide them among 5 lunch containers alongside a couple of delicious sides (fluffy quinoa and roasted green beans are great picks).
Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers Recipe Ingredients
The ingredients needed for this recipe are quite simple. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Chicken thighs – you’ll need chicken thighs for this recipe. We picked chicken thighs because they have the unique ability to get ultra crispy on the outside while staying nice and juicy on the inside. We definitely don’t recommend subbing chicken breasts here, but if you have chicken tenderloins, they’ll work too.
- Skewers – we used wood skewers for this recipe (ours were a little too long for the air fryer, so we had to cut them shorter with heavy duty kitchen shears) but you can absolutely use metal skewers if you can find some that fit in your air fryer.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Omit the spice – feel free to nix the red pepper flakes if you’re sensitive to spice. They don’t make the chicken super spicy, but they do add a slight kick.
How to Make Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers
This recipe is incredibly easy to make! You’ll just load your skewers up, baste them, start cooking (basting along the way), and, voila!, these tasty chicken skewers are yours for the taking. Follow along below for a full visual how-to!
Step 1: Melt the butter in a medium-sized bowl, then add the grated garlic, parmesan cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Note: this butter sauce may firm up while you make the recipe – there’s nothing wrong with it!
Step 2: Trim the wooden skewers so that they’ll fit in your air fryer (poultry shears intended for deboning a chicken work great for snipping wooden skewers). Tightly pack 6-7 pieces of the boneless chicken thighs onto a wooden skewer, repeating until you’ve worked through the whole batch. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Using a basting brush, brush all sides of each skewer with the parmesan butter.
Step 4: Place in the air fryer at 350°F for 5 minutes, baste again with more butter sauce, cook for 5 minutes, baste, and then cook for one last 5 minute spell, for a total cooking time of 15 minutes. The chicken will be golden brown in color. Repeat as needed to work through the whole batch.
Step 5: Once you’re finished cooking all of the chicken skewers, you’ll have a pool of garlic parmesan butter in the bottom of your air fryer. Pour this goodness over your cooked chicken, garnish with freshly chopped parmesan, and serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!
How to Make Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers in the Oven
If you don’t have an air fryer but still want to make these delicious, juicy skewers, the oven can definitely get the job done.
Follow all of the same steps above, but instead of sticking the skewers in the air fryer, place them on a parchment paper lined sheet pan in a 425°F oven. After 6 minutes, open the oven, rotate the skewers, baste again, and continue baking for another 6 minutes. After that 6 minutes is up, repeat the process (open the oven, rotate the skewers, baste again, and continue baking for 6 minutes), cooking the skewers for a total of 18 minutes.
Know that the chicken skewers may not be *as* crispy out of the oven as they are straight from the air fryer, but they’ll be pretty close and still really, really delicious.
Recipe Tip
- If you need to trim your wood skewers so that they fit in the air fryer, we recommend using heavy duty poultry shears for the cleanest, easiest cut.
- If you can find metal skewers that will fit into your air fryer, that’s also a great option!
- Feel free to make this recipe nugget-style (without skewers). Just know that if you go this route, the chicken will likely cook a bit faster, so be sure to keep your eye on that.
How to Serve
Serve the chicken skewers alongside lemon wedges for a tasty appetizer, meal prep a big batch for lunch for the week, or make these skewers as the main component for a delicious family-friendly dinner.
How to Store and Reheat
Store any leftover chicken skewers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To reheat, either pop a couple of skewers in the microwave for 1-2 minutes (this will be the least crispy reheat), reheat them in a 350°F air fryer for 4-5 minutes (this will result in crispier leftovers), or reheat them in a 425°F oven for 7-8 minutes (this will also result in nice, crispy leftovers).
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe was originally written for the air fryer, but if you don’t have an air fryer, the oven will certainly work. To make these skewers in the oven, simply…
Follow all of the same steps in the recipe card, but instead of sticking the skewers in the air fryer, place them on a parchment paper lined sheet pan in a 425°F oven. After 6 minutes, open the oven, rotate the skewers, baste again, and continue baking for another 6 minutes. After that 6 minutes is up, repeat the process (open the oven, rotate the skewers, baste again, and continue baking for 6 minutes), cooking the skewers for a total of 18 minutes.
We didn’t soak the wooden skewers before putting them in the air fryer, and though they got slightly browned, they were just fine. They’ll also be fine in the oven without soaking, but if you plan on grilling these bad boys on a charcoal or gas grill (something with an open flame), it’s a good idea to soak them for at least 30 minutes ahead of cooking.
More Favorite Air Fryer Recipes
If you tried these Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers
Ingredients
For the Garlic Parmesan Butter
- 1 pound salted butter, softened
- 5 cloves garlic, grated
- ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped, optional, for serving
For the Chicken Skewers
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch strips
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium-sized bowl, then add the grated garlic, parmesan cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Note: the butter sauce may firm up while you make the recipe – there's nothing wrong with it!
- Trim the wooden skewers so that they'll fit in your air fryer (chicken sheers intended for deboning a chicken work great for snipping wooden skewers).
- Tightly pack 6-7 pieces of the boneless chicken thighs onto a wooden skewer, repeating until you've worked through the whole batch. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Using a basting brush, brush all sides of each skewer with the parmesan butter. Place in the air fryer at 350F for 5 minutes, leaving a s, baste again with more butter sauce, cook for 5 minutes, baste, and then cook for one last 5 minute spell, for a total cooking time of 15 minutes. The chicken will be golden brown in color. Repeat as needed to work through the whole batch.
- Once you're finished cooking all of the chicken skewers, you'll have a pool of garlic parmesan butter in the bottom of your air fryer. Pour this goodness over your cooked chicken, garnish with freshly chopped parmesan, and serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- If you need to trim your wood skewers so that they fit in the air fryer, we recommend using heavy duty poultry shears for the cleanest, easiest cut.
- If you can find metal skewers that will fit into your air fryer, that’s also a great option!
- Feel free to make this recipe nugget-style (without skewers). Just know that if you go this route, the chicken will likely cook a bit faster, so be sure to keep your eye on that.
Nutrition
Is it really supposed to have 1 pound of butter? Just the butter alone for 5 servings would be almost twice the calories that you have listed. I used 4 ounces of butter for just under 5 pounds of chicken and it was plenty.
These look yummy. Can I bake these in the oven? If so, will they be just as juicy? What oven temp & how long should they bake? What type of vessel should I use?
Good question, Chris! Yes: 425°F, after 6 minutes, open the oven, rotate the skewers, baste again, and continue baking for another 6 minutes. After that 6 minutes is up, repeat the process (open the oven, rotate the skewers, baste again, and continue baking for 6 minutes), cooking the skewers for a total of 18 minutes.
Know that the chicken skewers may not be *as* crispy out of the oven as they are straight from the air fryer, but they’ll be pretty close and still really, really delicious. They should be just as juicy as the air-fryer, as long as you baste them a few times like I described here. I hope you love them!
I don’t have an air fryer- Can these be cooked in the oven?
Great question, Erika! Yes: 425°F, after 6 minutes, open the oven, rotate the skewers, baste again, and continue baking for another 6 minutes. After that 6 minutes is up, repeat the process (open the oven, rotate the skewers, baste again, and continue baking for 6 minutes), cooking the skewers for a total of 18 minutes. I hope you enjoy!
I need more info on how to pack the thighs on the skewer please.
Hi Janice! We folded each thigh in half and put them on the skewer that way! There really isn’t a certain method… just whatever gets them on there!!
Following up, Janice! The trick is to cut pieces of chicken that are about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide (a small rectangle). Then, that rectangle gets folded in half and pierced with the skewer. From there, I alternated which direction the rectangle oriented on the skewer (so they didn’t all face the exact same way). Pack them as tightly together as you can, but leave enough room at the end of the stick for you to be able to grab hold. I hope that helps!