BBQ Chicken Skewers with Zucchini

BBQ chicken skewers with zucchini make for an easy, healthy weeknight dinner that is perfect for the summer grilling season. The best part about this healthy recipe is that you just need three ingredients!

Grilling is something that my family loves to do year-round in Florida. And not just during weekend get-togethers! It’s a great way to quickly make dinner while also keep an eye on my daughter playing outside at her water table or kicking a ball around. Plus it doesn’t heat my house up, which is always appreciated in the summer months when the utility bill is already higher. 😉

How to Make BBQ Chicken Skewers

These BBQ chicken skewers with zucchini are crazy simple. All you need is boneless, skinless chicken breasts, zucchini, and barbecue sauce. Chop the chicken and the zucchini into one to one-and-a-half inch pieces, then alternate them on skewers.

When the grill is ready, place the skewers on the grill. After a few minutes, flip the skewers. After a few more minutes, brush the skewers with barbecue sauce, flip again, then brush the other side with the remaining barbecue sauce.

By waiting until the end to add the barbecue sauce, you get all the barbecue flavor, but less carcinogen risk since the barbecue sauce isn’t over the high heat long enough to burn.

How to Choose a Healthier Barbecue Sauce

Barbecue sauce is a condiment that can be absolutely loaded with sugar. I’ve seen some where upwards of half of the serving size is actually from added sugars!

With both how I personally eat (and how I encourage my nutrition coaching clients) I focus on doing my best. So if I’m at a family get together and someone else is supplying the barbecue sauce, I’m not going to cause a scene and stress it – it’s a small component of a single meal.

But when I’m purchasing barbecue sauce that I’ll be using repeatedly, I like to focus on two things:

1. No high fructose corn syrup.
2. Lower amounts of added sugar – specifically, I try to keep the grams of added sugar (if listed) to around 5 grams per two tablespoon serving (or less).

There are a lot of different brands that can fit this criteria, so just check nutrition labels! I’m also typically drawn to sauces that have shorter ingredient lists. And of course, if you have any food allergies or sensitivities, always double check for safe ingredients!

More Easy Weeknight Dinners for Summer

Looking for more summer-appropriate easy weeknight healthy dinners? Try some of these NTF favorites:

• Honey Mustard Chicken Salad
• Salsa Chicken with Cilantro Lime Quinoa
• Taco Stuffed Peppers
• Tomato Basil Chicken Kebabs
• Grilled Steak Fajitas Veggie Bowls

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