Plate with cooked chicken and potatoes with skewers in background and bottle of beer with logo overlay

Beer Ranch Chicken Kabobs

Summer is perfect for grilling and these Beer Ranch Chicken Kabobs have the right amount of flavor while being easy to prepare and enjoy.

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During the summer months, we like to be outside using the grill for dinners. It’s much better than heat up the house by using the oven. The boys (okay, and the adults) think that kabobs are a fun way to eat, so we like to make them and are always trying to find new recipes. Beer Ranch Chicken Kabobs combines so many flavors we love, so it’s a perfect meal for our family.

One day, Justin came across this recipe for chicken kabobs. We knew we had to try it. The chicken and potatoes are marinated in beer and ranch dressing. Especially because there are potatoes on this recipe and I love potatoes!

Don’t worry, even though the marinade uses beer the alcohol’s all cooked off so this is safe for the kids. Speaking of kids, both of the boys ate all of their chicken, so I’d say it was a winner! Although, they can’t be my kids because potatoes are one of my favorites and they don’t like them.

I’ve used ranch power in recipes before, and I really like the flavor it adds to meat and vegetable dishes. (Find my recipe for Ranch Pork Chops here and Veggie Pizza here) When I was looking through the recipe and saw ranch with chicken and potatoes, I was sold!

Lately, Justin has been doing most of the grocery shopping which worked well for this trip. I don’t drink beer, so I don’t know much about it to know which brand would be good for a marinade. The original recipe suggested a light-colored or amber ale. That’s great, but I still don’t know what that means and what to choose.

There’s a local brewery here in Houston called St. Arnold’s which makes an ale that fits the description. Or at least, that’s what Justin told me! He bought a bottle of that for the recipe, and the food was good, so he knew what he was doing better than I would have. Since this is a local brew, I’m not sure how far their distribution is. You can use any beer that fits as a pale or amber ale. I’ve heard that, when it comes to cooking, cheap beer usually gives more flavor. But also get something that you’ll drink on its own. You only need half of a cup for the recipe and will have extra.

When we go grocery shopping, we usually buy the large package of chicken breast and separate it into glass jars for freezing when we get home. If I know what meals I am making, we will go ahead and prepare the chicken. For the recipe, the chicken needs to be chunked. I like to go ahead and cut the chicken before freezing when I know it’s on the meal plan. I also made the marinade and froze the chicken in it ahead of time.

Beer Ranch Chicken Kabobs Step by Step

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
  • 1/2 cup beer pale or amber ale
  • 1 tbsp ranch powder
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (jarred)
  • 1 lb yellow potatoes (cut into large chunks)

Preparation

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the beer, ranch powder, olive oil, and garlic. Pour about 1/3 of this into a separate bowl.

If you haven’t pre-cut the chicken, then start by cutting it into big chunks. I like to use the kitchen shears for this since it’s easier and safer than using a knife on slippery chicken. Make sure you leave the pieces large enough that they will fit on the skewers without falling apart. Add the chicken to the larger bowl of marinade. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the potatoes.

About 30 minutes before you want to grill, you’ll need to parboil the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into large chunks to make sure they won’t fall off of the skewers when they are grilled. You want to make sure they aren’t cooked all the way, otherwise, they will be too soft to skewer. Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water, bringing to a boil. As soon as it reaches a boil, turn off the heat and let them cook for about 5 minutes.

**If you are using bamboo skewers, this is a good time to get them soaking. Ideally, they should soak for about 20-30 minutes to make sure they don’t burn on the grill. We prefer metal skewers so we don’t have to worry about this and they can be reused so we lower the amount of waste.

The potatoes should just start to get soft on the outside, but still be hard in the centers. Pour them into a colander and immediately run cold water to stop the potatoes from cooking further. Then add them to a bowl with the remaining marinade and toss to coat.

Potatoes in a metal colander with water running over them

When you are ready to cook, heat the grill to a medium temperature, then prepare your kabobs by alternating chicken and potatoes on the skewers. I cooked more potatoes than we needed, so we ended up with about 4 pieces of chicken and 5 chunks of potato on each kabob.

Brush the extra marinade on the skewers.

Grill the kabobs until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are crispy on the outside. This will take about 20-25 minutes, depending on the temperature of your grill.

Chicken and potato kabobs on the grill

Serve the kabobs immediately while they are warm.

Plate with cooked chicken and potatoes with skewers in background and bottle of beer (vertical)

Recipe

Originally Published On: August 10, 2018

Last Updated On: July 21, 2022

Plate with cooked chicken and potatoes with skewers in background and bottle of beer

Beer Ranch Chicken Kabobs

Summer is perfect for grilling and these chicken kabobs have the right amount of flavor while being easy to prepare and enjoy.
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Marinating Time 3 hours
Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes
Course:
Main Dish
Cuisine:
American
Keyword:
beer
|
chicken
|
grill
|
kabobs
|
ranch
Servings: 4 kabobs
5 from 7 votes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
  • 1/2 cup beer pale or amber ale
  • 1 tbsp ranch powder
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (jarred)
  • 1 lb yellow potatoes (cut into large chunks)

Instructions

Prepare Chicken Marinade
  • Cut the chicken into chunks about 1-1 1/2 inches, large enough that they won’t fall off of the skewers
  • In a small mixing bowl, whisk beer, ranch powder, olive oil, and garlic
  • Pour about 2/3 of the marinade over the chicken, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (save the remaining 1/3 marinade in the refrigerator for later)
Parboil the Potatoes
  • About 30 minutes before grilling, cover the potatoes with water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil
  • Turn off the heat and cook for about 5 minutes, until the outside starts to soften but the centers are still hard
  • Drain the potatoes and immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking process
Prepare Skewers
  • If you are using bamboo skewers, soak for 20-30 minutes before preparing
  • Heat the grill to a medium heat
  • Alternate adding chicken and potatoes to the skewers until it’s all been used
  • Brush reserved marinade over the skewers
  • Grill the kabobs for about 20-25 minutes (depending on the temperature of the griluntil the chicken is cooked through and potatoes are crispy
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Nutrition Facts
Beer Ranch Chicken Kabobs
Amount Per Serving
Calories 344 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 4g20%
Cholesterol 72mg24%
Sodium 365mg15%
Potassium 726mg21%
Carbohydrates 17g6%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 27g54%
Vitamin A 95IU2%
Vitamin C 13.6mg16%
Calcium 51mg5%
Iron 4.5mg25%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

28 thoughts on “Beer Ranch Chicken Kabobs”

  1. I am prettty fond of every single ingredient in here so I am sure I would love this recipe! Will have to try sometime!

  2. 5 stars
    This is what I need! I was looking for new chicken recipes yesterday and needed something like this. What kind of side do you recommend with this dish?

  3. These sound delicious! I am keeping this recipe in mind for our next camping trip. Not only do these sound easy to make but I bet my boys will love making these on our camp fire.

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