Get ready to turn up the flavor with these irresistible Bang Bang Chicken Skewers! Juicy, tender chicken is grilled to perfection and basted with a creamy, spicy-sweet bang bang sauce that locks in layers of bold, crave-worthy flavor. Just before serving, each skewer gets a final drizzle of sauce that delivers the perfect kick of heat. It’s the kind of dish that disappears fast—ideal for backyard BBQs, casual dinners, or game day spreads.
Why You Will Love These Chicken Skewers
- 30 Minute Meal – Ready in 30 minutes. You can even marinate the chicken ahead of time to help with those busy weeknights.
- Big Flavor, Simple Prep – Bold, restaurant-style taste made with easy-to-find ingredients and minimal fuss.
- Perfect Balance of Sweet, Spicy & Creamy – The bang bang sauce hits all the right notes with a craveable kick.
- Juicy, Tender Chicken Every Time – Basting while grilling keeps the meat moist and packed with flavor.
- Crowd-Pleasing Presentation – Skewers are fun, portable, and look great on a platter—perfect for entertaining.
- Versatile Meal Option – Serve them as an appetizer, main dish, or tuck them into wraps, rice bowls, or salads.
- Make-Ahead Friendly – Marinate the chicken ahead of time and fire up the grill when you’re ready to impress.
- Can be made in Air Fryer or Oven too – Modified steps have been added in the FAQ section if you don’t have a BBQ or gas grill.
Equipment Needed
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Bamboo or metal skewers for grilling. But if you don’t have any skewers, you can cut the chicken into long strips about 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick and lay them perpendicular to the grates and cook them that way.
Mixing bowls for marinating and bringing the bang bang sauce together
Instant read thermometer – for checking when the chicken is done cooking. Handy to have so your chicken is juicy and tender every time.
Ingredients for Bang Bang Chicken Skewers
- Chicken – breast or thigh can be used. If using breast cut them into 1″ cubes for skewering, but if using thighs, I prefer to cut them into strips for skewering (see notes)
- Olive Oil – helps distribute the flavors in the marinade to all parts of the chicken, as well as locking in moisture and promoting browning during grilling.
- Salt, Cracked Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Paprika, and Cayenne pepper – seasonings to help make these skewers delicious!
Bang Bang Sauce Ingredients
- Mayonnaise – the base of the sauce, adds a creamy texture.
- Sweet Chili sauce – adds the sweet heat to the sauce.
- Sriracha – adds more heat and allows you to adjust the spiciness to your liking
- Lime juice – adds brightness to the sauce.
How to Make Bang Bang Chicken Skewers
If using bamboo skewers it helps to soak them in water for 20-30 minutes before skewering with meat (see notes).
Make the bang bang sauce in a small bowl by stirring together the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, sriracha, and lime juice. Set the bowl aside.
Cut chicken breast into 1” cubes and place in a large bowl. If using thighs cut into 1” wide strips (see notes for skewering). Drizzle with the olive oil.
In a small bowl mix together the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and cayenne. Add the spice mixture to the large bowl with the prepared chicken. Mix with your hands until all the seasonings have been evenly distributed on the chicken pieces.
Add about 3 tablespoons of the bang bang sauce to the seasoned chicken in the bowl, using your hands, mix it in to evenly distribute it.
Preheat grill to medium high heat. If you don’t have a grill, instructions for air fryer or oven cooking have been provided at the bottom.
Skewer seasoned chicken onto the skewers, making sure the chicken isn’t too tightly packed together (see notes).
Place skewers on the grill and put the lid down.
Portion out approximately ¼ cup of bang bang sauce to a clean bowl and set aside.
Flip the chicken after about 4 minutes and baste with this portioned sauce. Continue grilling/flipping/and basting with the portioned sauce until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches at least 165F. The time will depend on how thick the chicken pieces are, and the temperature of the grill, but usually it is around 10-12 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the grill. Place on a serving dish, drizzle with fresh bang bang sauce and serve alongside more sauce for dipping. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired. Enjoy!
No Grill? Air Fryer Method for Cooking Bang Bang Chicken Skewers
You may have to trim skewers to fit, place skewers in the preheated air fryer in one layer leaving space for air flow. Cook at 380F for 4 minutes, then flip and baste with bang bang sauce. Cook for another 4 minutes and flip and baste. Keep flipping and basting until done (165F internal temperature). You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
No Grill? Oven Method for Cooking Bang Bang Chicken Skewers
In a 425F preheated oven place chicken skewers on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 6 minutes, then flip and baste, cook for another 6 minutes. Continue flipping and basting until you reach 165F internal temperature. Place under a broiler for a couple of minutes to get a bit of char on the edges, but watch closely as things can burn quickly under the broiler.
Notes
- When skewering cubes of chicken simply push the skewer through the center of each cube. Don’t pack the chicken cubes together tightly on the skewer, either just touching or slightly spaced apart to allow heat to circulate. This ensures the cubes cook evenly on all sides and get a nice sear. If skewering strips of chicken thigh thread the strip onto the skewer in a ribbon-like fashion, weaving it back and forth in an S-shape. This creates more surface area for even cooking and helps the chicken stay juicy while giving it those delicious charred edges.
- The reason for soaking bamboo skewers in water for 20-30 minutes is to allow them to fully hydrate with water, which prevents the ends from catching fire. I have skipped this step when I’m in a rush sometimes or have forgotten, and I’ve been OK, but if you have the time it’s a good practice.
- It is important to portion out bang bang sauce for basting so that there is no cross contamination of the baster touching raw meat and then going into the sauce that will be used for serving alongside the bang bang chicken skewers.
FAQs
- What to serve with Bang Bang Chicken Skewers? These can be served as is for an appetizer with the sauce for dipping. If serving as an appetizer use shorter skewers. For a meal, these skewers go great with rice and a side of veggies like my Hot Honey Carrots, or Hot Honey Brussels Sprouts. If you want you could serve them alongside a salad like Peach Burrata Salad or Quinoa Arugula Salad.
- How to Store Leftovers. Place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The bang bang sauce will last covered in the fridge for about a week. To reheat the skewers you can place them on a hot grill for a few minutes, in the air fryer at 375F for about 3-4 minutes, the oven at 375F for about 5 minutes, or give them a quick zap in the microwave with 30 second intervals. You can freeze the chicken in a zipper top bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat as described above.
Bang Bang Chicken Skewers
Equipment
- 8-10 Bamboo Skewers
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1.5- 2.0 lbs Chicken breast or thigh
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Cracked black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne
Bang Bang Sauce
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise (135g)
- 1/4 cup Sweet Chili Sauce (75g)
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha
- 2 teaspoons Lime juice
Instructions
- Soak skewers in water for 30 minutes before skewering the chicken.
- Preheat grill to medium high heat
Making the Bang Bang sauce
- In a small bowl combine the 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce, 3 teaspoons of sriracha, and 2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lime juice. Set the bowl aside.
Preparing the Chicken
- Cut chicken breast into 1” cubes and place in a large bowl. If using thighs cut into 1” wide strips (see Notes)
- Add the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, paprika and cayenne to the bowl. Mix with clean hands until all the chicken pieces have been evenly seasoned.
- Remove approximately 3 tablespoons of bang bang sauce and add to the bowl of seasoned chicken. Using clean hands evenly distribute the sauce amongst all the chicken pieces.
- Skewer seasoned chicken pieces onto the bamboo skewers, making sure the chicken isn’t too tightly packed together (see Notes)
- Place skewers on the grill and put the lid down.
- Portion another 1/4 cup of bang bang sauce into a clean small bowl.Flip the chicken after about 4 minutes and baste with this portioned sauce. Continue grilling/flipping/and basting with the portioned sauce until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches at least 165F.
- Remove the chicken from the grill. Place on a serving dish, drizzle with fresh bang bang sauce and serve alongside more sauce for dipping. Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy!
Notes
- When skewering cubes of chicken simply push the skewer through the center of each cube. Don’t pack the chicken cubes together tightly on the skewer, either just touching or slightly spaced apart to allow heat to circulate. This ensures the cubes cook evenly on all sides and get a nice sear. If skewering strips of chicken thread the strip onto the skewer in a ribbon-like fashion, weaving it back and forth in an S-shape. This creates more surface area for even cooking and helps the chicken stay juicy while giving it those delicious charred edges.
- The reason for soaking bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes is to allow them to fully hydrate with water, which prevents the ends from catching fire. I have skipped this step when I’m in a rush sometimes or have forgotten, and I’ve been OK, but if you have the time it’s a good practice.
- It is important to portion out bang bang sauce for basting so that there is no cross contamination of the baster touching raw meat and then going into the sauce that will be used for serving alongside the bang bang chicken skewers.
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If you liked this recipe, please consider rating the recipe and leaving a comment below – I love to hear how people get on with my recipes and I truly make an effort to respond to everyone who takes the time to comment. Other recipes you might enjoy include:
This was delicious! I will definitely make this again. It is so easy after a day at work. Highly recommend trying it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! That makes my day. Easy and delicious is exactly what I was going for, thank you so much for trying it and taking the time to share your thoughts!
Yum! And that sauce too! Great recipe, thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
We love both the chicken and sauce! The bang bang sauce is so easy and flavorful! Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m glad you enjoyed them. The bang bang sauce is so good for dipping in.
These were amazing. The flavor of the chicken and the sauce was fantastic. Thank you for sharing.
Welcome Therese! I’m glad you enjoyed them.
Thanks for such an amazing recipe, I made them last night and they turned out pretty amazing!!
Hi Abi, I’m so happy to know you enjoyed them.