Ancho Chicken Skewers: Grilled or Baked

These Ancho Chicken Skewers are a great way to prepare chicken that is easy, beautiful, and extremely tasty. In this recipe, boneless skinless chicken thighs get tossed in a bold citrusy ancho peanut sauce. With a few fun Mexican ingredients thrown into the mix, this dish is bursting with fresh, vibrant flavors. Served over rice and topped with toasted peanuts for a finishing crunch. It’s easy, healthy, and definitely not your average chicken dinner.

When it comes to Mexican food, chiles are a key part of building flavor in sauces and marinades and salsas. As I’ve deepened my appreciation and knowledge for Mexican cuisine, I’ve been introduced to the many varieties of chiles that are used in the cuisine, and its so much more varied than the jalapenos and serranos we grew up eating at home – arbol, ancho, guajillo, pasilla, puya, piquin, cascabel, and most recently, chilhuacle. 

Some of them are spicy, and some are not (that spicy). From some you get smokiness and from others a deep earthiness that adds complexity to the dishes in which they star. Roasting them, rehydrating them, usually whizzing them up into a paste – there’s a ritual to it all that creates excitement over the meal to come.

If that’s all a little too poetic for you, let’s leave it at: in this recipe, I took a bunch of flavors that I love and used them to marinate chicken and vegetables. All you need to bring to the party is a bit of rice. 

If you’re a meal prepper, make the marinade over the weekend and then use it for a quick weeknight dinner. All the chicken needs is 20 minutes to properly marinate. But you can also prep the chicken in the morning or the evening before, and it’ll be even better!

I love this meal for a fun Sunday dinner, when we can gather and task the kids with skewering sticks of the brightly colored veggies that go with the meal. I think playing a role in dinner prep gets my toddler more excited to try the food. And if you are cooking for kids and are worried they won’t tolerate the mild spice from the ancho chiles, you can drizzle chicken and vegetables skewers for them in a bit of olive oil, squeeze over a bit of lime juice, and season with salt and pepper. 

Ingredients

• Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Cumin
• Black pepper
• Dried Ancho Chilis: Ancho peppers.
• Chile water: You can substitute with chicken broth or water if you accidentally toss it all before you need it. 
• Fresh orange juice
• Fresh lime juice
• Ground cinnamon
• Runny honey
• Peanuts
• Zucchini x2
• Mushrooms x2 boxes
• For garnish: cilantro, peanuts, salsa or hot sauce, fresh lime wedges, finishing salt, etc. 

Variations and Substitutions

• Swap pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for peanuts for a nut-free marinade.
• Switch up your protein. Steak goes great with the deep earthy flavors of the chile. I suspect this would also be a great tofu marinade if you are entertaining vegetarian friends. (Or you could supersize their mushrooms and give them a couple of portobello.)
• Use the veggies you have on hand. Corn, cauliflower, asparagus, cabbage, onions, or bell peppers will all taste great brushed with this marinade. 
• Bring the heat and rehydrate 1-2 arbol chiles with the ancho chiles. The only reason I don’t is because I’m cooking for a 1 year old and a 3 year old.

Equipment

• Silicone brush
• Food processor
• Mixing bowls x2
• Sheet pan

Before You Start

Soak the skewers! If you’re using wooden skewers you need to soak them in a dish of warm water for about 20 minutes before threading on the meat and veggies. This prevents them from catching fire on the grill. If you’re using metal skewers you do not need to soak them.

Let’s Make a Marinade!

1. Get Toasty! Heat a skillet to medium-high. Then add the 2 whole ancho chiles, the tablespoon of cumin and the teaspoon of whole black peppercorns to the hot skillet. Toast everything for approximately a minute, or until the cumin seeds have darkened in color and start to smell toasted. Use a spatula to move the cumin seeds and black peppercorns around and flip the chiles a few times while they toast, pressing them flat into the skillet with your spatula to ensure the whole surface of the chile gets toasted. Once the cumin is ready, set the ancho chiles aside and pour the seeds into a mortar (or the bowl of a spice grinder).
2. Rehydrate your chiles. Place the ancho chiles in a small bowl, and add boiling water to cover. Let them soak until soft and rehydrated, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a bowl; Discard all but ½ cup of the hot water.
3. Grind the spice blend. Meanwhile, grind the cumin and black peppercorns using a mortar and pestle and toss the ground spices into the bowl of a food processor. 
4. Add your liquids. To the food processor, add ¾ cup of fresh squeezed orange juice, ¼ cup of fresh squeezed lime juice, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon runny honey, and ½ salted peanuts.
5. Add the soaked chiles. Once the chiles have been rehydrated, you can remove them from the water, pull off their the stem, seed them (or not. I usually don’t – don’t tell my Mexican MIL) and toss them into the food processor with the 4 cloves of roughly chopped garlic.
6. Whiz it all together! You should end up with a smooth paste. You can add ¼ cup of the ancho chile water little by little if it looks too thick. Taste and adjust seasonings.
7. Prep your chicken. Cut boneless skinless chicken thighs into cubes, about 1 ½ inches long, then place them in a large bowl. Season chicken with ¾ teaspoon salt. Toss cubes with approximately 1 cup of marinade, reserving the rest to brush on the chicken at the end of the cook time. Mix chicken together and let marinate in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes and up to four hours.
8. Prep the veggies. In a separate bowl, add the veggies and sprinkle salt (¾ teaspoon or to taste) on them, and then toss them in ½ cup of the marinade, plus a little more if needed. 

Assemble Skewers

9. When ready to assemble and cook, preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Or, if you’re using your oven, preheat it to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. 
10. Thread the chicken pieces onto metal skewers or wooden kebab sticks. (See note below for wooden skewers). Thread zucchini slices and mushroom chunks onto skewers, too, keeping them separate to ensure a perfect cook on each component of the meal.

Grilling Process 

11. If grilling, preheat the grill to medium high heat while you’re assembling the skewers. 
12. Clean the grill surface and oil with spray or brush with tongs and an oil-dipped paper towel. Place skewers on grill and cook, turning the chicken one-quarter turn every 3-4 minutes until golden, about 10-12 minutes and flipping the mushroom and zucchini skewers a couple of times throughout the cook. 
13. Brush your skewers with the remaining sauce, turning frequently until chicken is charred in spots. The exact timing will vary, depending on the temperature of your grill. Remove the skewers from the grill, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

How to Bake Ancho Chicken Skewers and Veggies

14. Place chicken skewers and veggie skewers about 1 inch apart on a sheet pan lined with foil for easy clean up.  Bake for 15-18 minutes at 425F. Broil for 2-4 minutes or until you get the char you want. Remove and brush with more sauce.

To Serve Ancho Chicken

15. Love serving this with coconut rice and garnishing with crushed peanuts, cilantro, and setting out lime wedges and hot sauce. But see below for other sides that will really take these skewers to the next level!

What to serve with Ancho Chicken?

This is a complete meal as is. (Yay!) But if you want to add to it, here are some ideas:

• Purple coleslaw with sweet lime dressing
• Arroz rojo (Mexican rice)
• Coconut rice
• Fresh corn on the cob
• Guac
• Warm corn tortillas (or flour tortillas), cotija cheese, and lime wedges (Ancho chicken tacos, anybody?)

📖 Recipe

Ancho Chicken

In this recipe for Ancho Chicken Skewers, boneless skinless chicken thighs get tossed in a bold ancho peanut sauce. This dish is bursting with fresh, vibrant flavors. Serve it over rice topped with toasted peanuts for a satisfying crunch.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Marinate 15 minutes mins

Course dinner

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 4 people

Equipment

• Silicone brush
• Sheet pan
• Food Processor
• Mixing bowls

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Marinade ingredients

• 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds or 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns alt. Use 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ounce ancho chiles approximately 2 ancho large chiles
• ¾ cup fresh orange juice in a pinch, I use clementine juice and it works fine
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon runny honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup roasted salted peanuts
• optional water from chiles, up to ½ cup as needed to thin it out
• ½-¾ teaspoon salt for marinade

Meat and Veggies

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into cubes
• 16 ounces mushrooms leaving smaller ones in tact and cutting larger ones in half
• 2 small to medium zucchini cut into 1-2 inch slices
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt divided between the meat and the veggies

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Instructions

 

Marinade Instructions

• Heat a skillet to medium-high. Then add the 2 whole ancho chiles, the tablespoon of cumin and the teaspoon of whole black peppercorns to the hot skillet. Toast everything for approximately a minute, or until the cumin seeds have darkened in color and start to smell toasted. Use a spatula to move the cumin seeds and black peppercorns around and flip the chiles a few times while they toast, pressing them flat into the skillet with your spatula to ensure the whole surface of the chile gets toasted. Once the cumin is ready, set the ancho chiles aside and pour the seeds into a mortar (or the bowl of a spice grinder).
• Place the ancho chiles in a small bowl, and add boiling water to cover. Let them soak until soft and rehydrated, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a bowl; Discard all but ½ cup of the hot water.
• Meanwhile, grind the cumin and black peppercorns using a mortar and pestle and toss the ground spices into the bowl of a food processor.
• To the food processor, add ¾ cup of fresh squeezed orange juice, ¼ cup of fresh squeezed lime juice, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon runny honey, and ½ salted peanuts.
• Add the soaked chiles. Once the chiles have been rehydrated, you can remove them from the water, pull off their the stem, seed them (or not. I usually don’t – don’t tell my Mexican MIL) and toss them into the food processor with the 4 cloves of roughly chopped garlic.
• Whiz it all together! You should end up with a smooth paste. You can add ¼ cup of the ancho chile water little by little if it looks too thick. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Place chicken cubes into a large mixing bowl. Season chicken with ¾ teaspoon salt. Toss cubes with approximately 1 cup of marinade, reserving the rest to brush on the chicken at the end of the cook time. Mix chicken together and let marinate in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes and up to four hours.
• Prep the veggies. In a separate bowl, add the veggies and sprinkle salt (¾ teaspoon or to taste) on them, and then toss them in ½ cup of the marinade, plus a little more if needed.

Assemble Skewers

• When ready to assemble and cook, preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Or, if you’re using your oven, preheat it to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Thread the chicken pieces onto metal skewers or wooden kebab sticks. (See note below for wooden skewers). Thread zucchini slices and mushroom chunks onto skewers, too, keeping them separate to ensure a perfect cook on each component of the meal.

Grilling Process

• If grilling, preheat the grill to medium high heat while you’re assembling the skewers.
• Clean the grill surface and oil with spray or brush with tongs and an oil-dipped paper towel. Place skewers on grill and cook, turning the chicken one-quarter turn every 3-4 minutes until golden, about 10-12 minutes and flipping the mushroom and zucchini skewers a couple of times throughout the cook.
• Brush your skewers with the remaining sauce, turning frequently until chicken is charred in spots. The exact timing will vary, depending on the temperature of your grill. Remove the skewers from the grill, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Baking Process

• Place chicken skewers and veggie skewers about 1 inch apart on a sheet pan lined with foil for easy clean up. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 425F. Broil for 2-4 minutes or until you get the char you want. Remove and brush with more sauce.

To Serve

• Love serving this with coconut rice and garnishing with crushed peanuts, cilantro, and setting out lime wedges and hot sauce. But see below for other sides that will really take these skewers to the next level!

Notes

The first time I made this recipe, all I had was a snack pack of Kirkland salted peanuts; it is 1.6 ounces and measures out to be a scant half cup).

You can use unsalted peanuts, but it may impact how much salt you want to season the marinade with, so taste and season to your liking.

If you’re going to fire up the grill, make it worth it! You’ll often find us grilling tomatoes, onions, and a jalapeno for mid-week salsa or charring a few red peppers and an extra zucchini or two to use in a salad or rice bowl.

Try this with purple coleslaw with sweet lime dressing or Arroz Rojo (Mexican Rice)!

Keyword ancho chile, chicken, chicken thighs, grill recipes

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