Lemon Herb Keto Chicken Kebab with Yogurt Raita
A low carb chicken kebab bursting with lemon, and garden herb flavours, served with a fresh cucumber yogurt raita, this summer recipe is perfect for patio season.
Ready in just 40 minutes with little effort needed
Only 4g net carbs!
Pair this with my creamy dill cucumber salad, a perfect Low carb summer combo.
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Seriously do it.
A quick and easy keto chicken kebab is one of my favourite low carb meals to whip together when I don’t really know what to make for dinner.
Ground meat gives is such a blank canvas that carries the accompanying flavours so well, almost anything on hand can be added to your kebab recipe, and it will create a fantastic low carb dinner in under an hour.
Similar dishes with ground meat are seen in cuisines all over the world, like the giant Italian meatballs we made, or the ever flavourful kofta you find often in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines.
This herby keto chicken kebab is inspired by an a beautiful kebab I had at the Tastes of the Danforth.
If you are not familiar with the Tastes of the Danforth, it is an annual street festival here in Toronto Canada that celebrates the Greek heritage of the Danforth, as well as the wonderful melting pot of food and culture found in the area.
Among this festival of grilled meat (AKA Keto paradise) was a small Greek stand serving a Mediterranean chicken kofta filled with fresh cut garden herbs, citrus, and feta cheese. Every bite tasted like summer.
Be sure to check out the Taste of the Danforth on Instagram
Full of basil, sage, parsley, chives, cilantro, and honestly, any other herb you want to add in, the flavours in this low carb lemon and herb keto chicken kebab are straight out of your summer herb garden.
You can of course follow this recipe to a tee, but if you don’t have all these herbs on hand, don’t like some of them, or think there are other flavours that would taste great in this keto chicken kebab, I encourage you to experiment, much like with everything you cook.
What Is In A Low Carb Chicken Kebab?
Chicken: I know, shocked right? Regular ground chicken from your preferred grocery store is fine. You could use any ground meat you would like for this recipe, which I frequently do, to make a tasty keto kebab. It is a very versatile formula.
Plain Yogurt: I’ve just accepted that I put yogurt in everything, I even put it in my keto tortilla recipe.
Full fat plain yogurt is an amazing ingredient. It is rich, creamy, soft, kind of neutral, tangy, yet acidic, which is great for meat. When added to your ground meat, plain yogurt really improves the texture of the cooked kebab. It keeps it soft and moist, instead of a dense log of cooked meat.
Onion and Garlic: Both staples in not only Indian cuisines, but many many cuisines across the world. I start almost every meal with onions and garlic even if I don’t know what I’m making yet. They are a great way to increase the flavour in your low carb meals.
Chop them both very fine to a nice mince so that you aren’t biting into a huge chunk of either in you’re finished chicken kebab.
Fresh Herbs and Veg: This is where you can get creative. For my low carb chicken kebab, I used, coriander, parsley, basil, sage, chives, green chili, and green onion. Why, because that is what I have growing out on my balcony, itès what I have on hand.
What fresh herbs do you have on and? Sounds good throw them in!
Lemon: The juice and zest of a lemon compliments the fresh herbs very nicely. Use a micro-plane to zest a lemon a then slice and squeeze out all the juice you can.
How To Make Low Carb Chicken Kebab
Let the ground chicken come to room temperature before handling as it will save you from some painfully numb fingers.
Finely chop the onions and garlic almost to a mince. This will take multiple passes with a sharp knife, the smaller the pieces the better.
Wash the fresh herbs thoroughly as they can contain A LOT of sand and dirt, someday I will tell you about my Mother’s famous Indian Prawns with dirt story.
Finely chop the fresh herbs and add to a large mixing bowl, along with the rest of the kebab ingredients. Using your hands, mix and mash the ingredients together making sure to really get everything well combined. You can’t really do this too much. Just get in there and get everything together.
Shaping the Kebabs
There are no wrong shapes for a kebab. You can even cook with mixture as is, unformed and have a ground chicken kebab to eat over cauliflower rice or with low carb naan bread.
You can form them like a meatball, or form them into a cylindrical log with your hands like you often see at Middle Eastern take away restaurants.
The most consistent method for forming kebabs is to use the round handle of a wooden spoon, or a wooden skewer, even chopsticks, anything stick like you can form the meat around and still remove before cooking.
How-To
- Grab a handful of the kebab mixture and form the meat around the spoon handle into roughly the shape you want your kebab, trying to get the handle right in the center of the mixture so its even all around.
- Place the whole thing on a greased foil lined baking sheet. Carefully slide the meat off the handle leaving the kebab on the baking sheet by pulling out the spoon and using your other hand to keep the kebab in place.
- Cook in a 350°F [175°C] for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through. Do not eat raw chicken. Break on open to check for doneness if you need to.
How To Make Low Carb Cucumber Yogurt Raita
Raita is a popular Indian condiment made with yogurt, herbs, spices, and veggies. It is a perfect condiment for spiced food. There are many different versions of raita out there.
For a simple low carb yogurt raita,
Mix plain yogurt and garam masala as a base, and add any extras like, diced green chili, minced onion, garlic, grated cucumber, finely chopped herbs, and lemon or lime juice.
Mix it all together and salt to taste. Done!
Time To Dive In!
Time to enjoy your low carb lemon and herb chicken kebab! Serve it on its own, with your favourite low carb side dish, or on a salad.
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Lemon and Herb Chicken Kebab with Yogurt Raita
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Knife
- Cutting board
- wooden spoon or wooden skewers
- Baking sheet
- Microplane
Ingredients
Low Carb Chicken Kebab
- 1 pound (450g) ground chicken
- 1 small (70g) onion minced
- 2 cloves (10g) garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons (40g) plain yogurt
- 4 tablespoons (10g) coriander
- 4 tablespoons (10g) parsley
- 4 tablespoons (10g) basil
- 2 teaspoons (5g) sage
- 1 full (15g) green chili diced
- 2 tablespoons (20g) lemon juice and zest
Yogurt Raita
- ½ cup (70g) cucumber grated
- 3 cloves (15g) garlic minced
- 1 cup (250g) plain yogurt
- 1 ½ teaspoon (3g) garam masala
- 1 full (15g) green chili finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons (5g) coriander
- 1 tablespoon (15g) lemon/lime juice
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Low Carb Yogurt Raita
- Either finely chop or grate the cucumber with a cheese grater (recommended) and over a sink squeeze it in your hands hard to get out as much water as you can. For larger amounts you can use a tea towel and ring out the cucumber and remove water
- Peel and mince the garlic cloves and add them to a large bowl along with the cucumber, plain yogurt, garam masala, green chili, coriander, and lemon/lime juice and combine well. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with your favourite grilled meats or kebabs
Low Carb Chicken Kebab
- Let the ground chicken come to room temperature before handling
- Finely chop onion and garlic into a mince with many passes of a sharp knife. Finely chop all your herbs and add everything to a large bowl along with the ground chicken, plain yogurt, chopped herbs, green chili, lemon juice and zest
- Use you hands to mix and mash the ingredients together until they are all very well combined. Really get in there and mix everything together
- Take a handful of the chicken kebab mixture and form around the handle of a wooden spoon (like this one) or a wooden skewer into cylindrical kebab, trying to get the handle or skewer in the middle
- Place on a greased foiled lined baking sheet, and slide the spoon handle or skewer out the the middle of the kebab, using your other hand the keep the meat in place. Repeat for the remaining mixture. The should make around 6 large kebabs
- Bake in a 350°F [175°C] oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked all the way through. If you are unsure break on open to check
- Serve with cucumber yogurt raita and your favourite low carb side dish or salad
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated using the recipe calculator and verified database available from Cronometer. Although every reasonable effort is made to provide accurate information this estimate is provided as courteously and convenience only. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
Try the free recipe calculator at Cronometer
