These juicy chicken pineapple kabobs are an easy weeknight grilling recipe. They’re packed with flavor and can absolutely be assembled in advance! You’re going to want these at every summer BBQ.
Juicy Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs With Pineapple
When we’re deep in the heart of summer around here, I love throwing chicken kabobs on the grill. These easy chicken pineapple kabobs are so simple to make, but they’re absolutely packed with delicious Hawaiian-style flavor. The marinade reminds me of a milder version of my Hawaiian huli huli chicken. If you’re looking for a tasty Memorial Day or 4th of July grilling recipe, give these kabobs a try!
Chicken Marinade Ingredients
These are the ingredients you’ll need for the pineapple chicken marinade. Scroll to the recipe card for the exact recipe with amounts.
- Pineapple Juice – Try to find pure pineapple juice, not from concentrate, if you can.
- Brown Sugar – I use dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar will also work.
- Soy Sauce – I recommend low-sodium or light soy sauce.
- Dijon Mustard – Or yellow mustard.
- Garlic and Ginger – Freshly minced garlic and grated ginger are best. If you don’t have it available, substitute ½ teaspoon garlic powder in place of each garlic clove, and ¼-½ teaspoon ground ginger per teaspoon of fresh ginger.
- Worcestershire Sauce – You can skip this if you don’t have it, or add extra soy sauce.
Avoid Uneven Cooking
Cut the chicken and pineapple into the same-sized chunks. I usually chop the chicken into 1 ½-inch pieces, and the pineapple into 1-inch pieces. This ensures that your kabobs cook evenly.
How to Make Chicken Pineapple Kabobs
I recommend marinating the chicken for these kabobs WAY ahead of time. Overnight is best. Here are the steps:
- Marinate the chicken. Whisk together the marinade ingredients, and add that to a zip-top bag with the cubed chicken. Let that marinate in the fridge for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
- Assemble. When it’s time to grill, thread the chicken onto wood or metal skewers, alternating with chunks of pineapple. Feel free to add extras on there, like sliced onions or bell peppers.
- Grill. Grill these pineapple chicken skewers for 6 minutes per side, or until the chicken reaches 165ºF.
Soak Wooden Skewers
If you’re using wooden skewers, it’s a good idea to soak them in water for about 30 minutes before assembling and grilling the kabobs. Soaking the wood helps to prevent the ends from burning or catching fire on the hot grill.
Optional Chicken Dipping Sauces
Serve these Hawaiian chicken kabobs with a side of rice and salad, or a veggie, like green beans. I love them with any of these easy dipping sauce ideas:
- Chick-Fil-A copycat chicken dipping sauce
- Homemade BBQ sauce
- Honey mustard
- Sweet chili sauce
Make-Ahead
As mentioned earlier, you can marinate the chicken the night before, so it’s ready to assemble. Another option is to assemble the chicken kabobs in advance. Thread the skewers and keep the kabobs covered in the fridge until it’s time to grill.
More Grilled Chicken Recipes
Chicken Pineapple Kabobs
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: serves 6
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Hawaiian chicken pineapple kabobs are a flavorful, easy summer grilling recipe. Marinate the chicken in advance so it’s ready to thread and grill!
Ingredients
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
- 1 pineapple cut into 1-inch chunks
Instructions
- In a medium bowl whisk together the pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, mustard, garlic, ginger, and Worcestershire.
- Place the chicken in a large zip-top bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken and marinate for at least 6 hours, overnight is best.
- To prep, heat grill to medium heat. Using metal or wooden skewers alternate between pieces of chicken and pineapple.
- Grill skewers until chicken is cooked through, about 6 minutes on each side.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 339
- Sugar: 31.3 g
- Sodium: 1041.8 mg
- Fat: 4.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 38.7 g
- Protein: 36.9 g
- Cholesterol: 110.3 mg
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This kebabs really look amazing. would love to sprinkle pepper on mine. Good job.
I don’t know why I never thought of metal skewers! Genius. Looks delicious and like a crowd pleaser. Thank you :)!