This easy Lamb Shish Kebab recipe features tender morsels of marinated lamb with lots of colorful veggies, including bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Serve these incredible kabobs with vermicelli rice or keep it low-carb or Keto and serve them with a Middle Eastern salad!
If you haven't tried lamb, it's time to expand your horizons! Lamb is tender, delicious, and absolutely amazing when grilled. I've intentionally left out some of the spices I would normally add to Lamb Shish Kabobs. This is because I wanted to accentuate the beautiful lamb flavor.
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
This is an easy dinner recipe that anyone can master. It's guaranteed to impress even the most sophisticated dinner guests.
While the Lamb is marinating, you can prepare the rice and salad, which should take you no more than 30 minutes. The lamb skewers will require an additional 10 minutes on the grill.
Another advantage of this recipe is that you can do a lot of the prep work the night before. If you marinate the lamb the previous night, not only will the kabobs taste better, but all that you’ll have left to do the following day is to prepare the rice and salad.
🛒 What Goes Into This Recipe
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Lamb: The cut of lamb I like to use for this recipe is a lamb leg. I usually divide the lamb roast into 1-pound portions and freeze them individually in one-quart ziplock bags. I defrost one or more at a time, as needed. If you prefer, beef may be substituted.
- Spices: Sumac is used in many of my recipes. This means you'll have plenty of ways to use it once you purchase it. Sumac gives the marinade a lemony flavor and tastes delicious sprinkled both on the grilled Lamb Shish Kabobs and the rice. You can also try this Mediterranean lamb seasoning instead!
- Vegetables: Although I use bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms, there's no fast rule that says you have to use the same vegetables. Some like to add grape tomatoes, while others add sliced zucchini or eggplant. It's really a matter of preference.
🔪 Helpful Tools
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
- Metal skewers
- Grill
🥩 How to Make Lamb Shish Kebab
Before you make the marinade, cube the lamb into 1-½" to 2" cubes, trimming any excess fat. Prepare the vegetables by chopping them in 2" sections.
Step 1: Whisk wine, olive oil, and spices. Add minced garlic, then mix to combine.
Step 2: Pour marinade over cubed lamb and vegetables. Stir to make sure the bowl ingredients are completely covered with the marinade. Marinate for a minimum of two hours or overnight.
Step 3: When ready to grill, thread cubed lamb and vegetables on metal skewers. You should have at least 3 skewers with approximately 6 cubes of lamb on each.
Pro Tip: If you're only serving two people, you can divide the meat between two skewers. The remaining vegetables can be roasted in a grill basket.
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Step 4: Place the skewers and grill basket on a hot barbecue and grill, covered, for approximately 4 to 5 minutes per side, for a total of 8 to 10 minutes. Stir the vegetables when you flip the kabobs.
Step 5: Sprinkle the kabobs with additional sumac right before you take them off of the grill.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Lamb shish kabobs are almost always served with vermicelli rice or dill rice. Roasted or grilled veggies (tomatoes, zucchini, onions & peppers) are also traditionally served with lamb shish kebabs.
If you prefer fresh veggies, serve the lamb shish kebabs with sliced cucumbers, scallions, and tomatoes. Sprinkle the vegetables with sumac powder, or substitute lemon juice.
Bread is often served with kebabs. This includes flatbreads, homemade pita bread, samoon, or lavash bread.
Marinated sumac onions, pink pickled onions, torshi, and this pickled turnips recipe also complements this Lamb Shish Kabob recipe.
Finally, you can serve the kebabs with Lebanese hummus, yogurt sauce (similar to tzatziki), garlic sauce, or garlic tahini sauce.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
"Shish" is an Arabic word which means "skewer." So "Shish Kabab" simply means "Skewered Kabobs."
Seekh Kababs are Indian in origin. They are made with spiced ground lamb, while Shish Kababs (or kabobs) are made with cubed meat. Seekh Kababs are similar to Middle Eastern Kofta Kabobs but may contain different herbs and spices.
Both leg of lamb and lamb shoulder can be used to make Lamb Shish Kabobs. Using a boneless leg of lamb or shoulder makes cubing the meat a lot easier. Trim most of the excess fat from the lamb before grilling.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- For easier cleanup, marinate the kabobs in a large ziplock bag.
- If you don't have a grill basket, skewer the vegetables on another skewer.
- If using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them in water first for approximately 30 minutes and up to an hour. This will help to keep the bamboo skewers from burning on the grill.
- The longer that you marinate the lamb the better this lamb shish kebabs recipe will be. Marinate the lamb the night before if possible. Otherwise, you can prepare them in the morning and cook them for dinner.
- A pinch of ground cloves can be added to the marinade and tastes wonderful with lamb. Some people also like to add cinnamon as well. If you choose to add cinnamon, add ⅛ of a teaspoon so that it's not overpowering.
🍗 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Lamb Shish Kebab with Grilled Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 pound cubed lamb (fat trimmed)
- 1 small yellow onion (divided in quarters)
- 1 large red, green, or orange bell pepper (or a combination of 1 or more)
- 10 button mushrooms (leave whole or slice in half)
Marinade
- ¼ cup red wine
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sumac powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
Instructions
- Before you make the marinade, cube the lamb into 1-½" to 2" cubes, trimming any excess fat. Prepare the vegetables by chopping them in 2" sections.
- Whisk wine, olive oil, and spices. Add minced garlic, then mix to combine.
- Pour marinade over cubed lamb and vegetables. Stir to make sure the bowl ingredients are completely covered with the marinade. Marinate for a minimum of two hours or overnight.
- When ready to grill, alternate the cubed lamb and vegetables on metal skewers. You should have at least 3 skewers with approximately 6 cubes of lamb on each. If you're only serving two people, you can divide the meat between two skewers. The remaining vegetables can be roasted in a grill basket.
- Place the skewers and grill basket on a hot barbecue and grill, covered, for approximately 4 to 5 minutes per side, for a total of 8 to 10 minutes. Stir the vegetables when you flip the kabobs.
- Sprinkle the kabobs with additional sumac right before you take them off of the grill.
Notes
- For easier cleanup, marinate the kabobs in a large ziplock bag.
- If you don't have a grill basket, skewer the vegetables on another skewer.
- If using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them in water first for approximately 30 minutes and up to an hour. This will help to keep the bamboo skewers from burning on the grill.
- The longer that you marinate the lamb the better your Lamb Shish Kabobs flavor will be. Marinate the lamb the night before you plan on grilling the kabobs if possible. Otherwise, you can prepare them in the morning and cooking them later for dinner. Or marinate the lamb for at least 2 hours prior to grilling it.
- A pinch of ground cloves can be added to the marinade and tastes wonderful with lamb. Some people also like to add cinnamon as well. If you choose to add cinnamon, add ⅛ of a teaspoon so that it's not overpowering.
- Marinated Sumac Onions, Pink Onions, or Pickled Turnips really compliment this Lamb Shish Kabob recipe.
Laura says
I’m really excited to make this. If I was going to use beef instead of lamb, is there a cut of beef you’d recommend?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Laura,
I would recommend ribeye or fillet mignon if you don't mind spending a little extra, otherwise, top sirloin will work too. Good luck and let me know how it goes!