This recipe for Hawaiian chicken kabobs is juicy chicken breast, pineapple and vegetables in a sweet and tangy sauce, threaded onto skewers and grilled to perfection. Serve with coconut rice for a taste of the tropics at home!
There’s just something about the combination of chicken and pineapple that I love – I think it’s that savory-sweet thing that works so well with so many different ingredients. These Hawaiian chicken kabobs combine chicken and pineapple with lots of vegetables and an amazingly delicious marinade for a dinner that will make you feel like you’re on vacation.
How do you make Hawaiian chicken kabobs?
The base of this recipe is a marinade that packs tons of flavor with soy sauce, pineapple juice, fresh ginger and a lot of other great ingredients. The chicken needs to marinate for at least an hour, so plan accordingly. After the chicken comes out of the marinade it gets threaded onto skewers with pineapple, red and green bell peppers and red onions. Throw the skewers on the grill, baste them with reserved marinade and dinner is served!
I like to serve these Hawaiian chicken kabobs with a side of coconut rice to complete the tropical theme. You can use fresh or canned pineapple in this recipe, if you go with fresh, it’s also fun to throw some wedges of pineapple on the grill to serve as a complement to the meal.
These Hawaiian chicken kabobs would make the perfect entree for a summer party, or just for when it’s cold and raining out and you want to pretend like you’re on a beach somewhere sunny. I’m not waiting for warmer weather to make them, I’ve got this recipe on my menu plan again for next week!
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More great kabob recipes
Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients
- For the marinade:
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of finely minced peeled ginger
- 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- To assemble:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 and 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 cup of pineapple chunks Canned is fine, approximately 1 to 1 and 1/2 inches in size
- 1 small red bell pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 small green bell pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium red onion cut into 1 inch pieces
- Optional garnishes: chopped cilantro lime wedges
- Optional side dish: coconut rice
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine the ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, rice vinegar, ginger and sesame oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken in a large resealable bag and pour half of the over the chicken; reserve the remaining marinade in the refrigerator. Marinate the chicken for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
- Soak 4 long bamboo skewers in cold water for 20 minutes.
- Heat a grill or grill pan over medium high heat.
- Thread the chicken, pineapple, bell peppers and red onion alternately onto the skewers. Drizzle the skewers with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Grill for 5 minutes on each side. Brush the marinade all over each kabob and grill for one minute more on each side. Serve immediately, garnish with cilantro and lime wedges if desired.
Janet H says
I did the full 4 hours on the marinade – the longer the better. The chicken was so tender and the flavor was amazing.
Jill says
My entire family loved this recipe! The chicken was super tender and the marinade was great. I doubled the marinade, used 2 pounds of chicken and made 6 kabobs.
Stephanie says
Made these the other night and they were fantastic! We loved it! Thanks for a great recipe!
Jacque Hooper says
This was hands-down, the best kabobs I have had in a long time! Perfectly balanced flavors and easy too! A winning dinner for the summer!
Annissa says
This skewers recipe sounds so fresh and tasty! Perfect summer dish!
Kate Hackworthy says
These kabobs sound amazing! I love all the sweet/sour/fruity flavours in them.
Elaine says
OK, that chicken breast is so juicy, it is hard to say “no” to this recipe. And the combination of chicken and pineapples makes this recipe an ultimate hit!
Greg says
That chicken looks great! I also love grilled pineapple. I think I need that pineapple slicer, what a cool tool!
Beatrice says
Looks wonderful and easy! Going to try it Sunday night for my family dinner!
heather @french press says
love love love!! chicken and pineapple especially with red onion are SO good together
Adriana Martin says
delightful dinner option great pairing with the coconut rice just yummy =)
Marye says
Oh wow, these look amazing! SO much flavor!
Faith (An Edible Mosaic) says
I’m a huge fan of the sweet/savory flavor combo, and that marinade sounds incredibly flavorful! I love the pairing with coconut rice too.
Lauren says
Perfect! I love chicken kabobs and this marinade sounds fantastic!
Citra Kale @Citra's Home Diary says
Sweet savory and tangy Chicken kabobs! count me in…it’s my fave and you made them absolutely delicious looking dish.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Perfect!!! Totally a chicken recipe I KNOW I would love! The sweet tangy stickness…yes!