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If you’re looking for a dish that tastes like summer, look no further. These grilled pineapple chicken kabobs with teriyaki sauce are everything you want in a summer dinner—salty, sweet, fruity, tropical, and savory! This recipe is incredibly easy to bring together and it’s something the kids can enjoy, too.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabobs Ingredients
- Recipe Variations & Modifications
- How to Make Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabobs
- Pro Tip
- Useful Kitchen Tools
- What to Serve With This
- Storage, Freezing, & Reheating
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Grilled Summer Recipes To Try
- Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabobs With Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
Grilling is our go-to cooking method once summer is here, and stepping away from the usual turkey burger or chicken burger is nice once in a while. We recently cooked up these salmon kebabs with chimichurri and they were so good, we decided to keep riding the skewered meat train. Now I’m here with these juicy and tender grilled pineapple chicken kabobs, and I think you’re going to LOVE them!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Big flavor—You get warmed caramelized sweetness from the grilled pineapple and salty, savory goodness from the teriyaki sauce.
- They’re easy—This is a super easy recipe to bring together with accessible ingredients.
- Prep in advance—You can prep the chicken and let it marinate for up to 24 hours in the fridge.
Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabobs Ingredients
A full ingredient list with exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
- Teriyaki sauce—You can use a jarred variety or my tasty homemade teriyaki sauce, which is quick, easy, and totally worth it!
- Pineapple juice—If you’re coring your pineapple, you’ll need to buy juice which you can easily get at the supermarket (they tend to have smaller portions with the canned fruits). If you’re buying already-prepared and cut pineapple, there’s typically enough juice in the container to use for this recipe.
- Chicken—Breast meat is best when it comes to grilling kabobs, and if you want to ensure you get super juicy and tender chicken, you can see how to brine chicken breasts here.
Recipe Variations & Modifications
- Fruit juice—Orange juice can be used instead of pineapple juice in a pinch
- Different protein—This recipe would work beautifully with salmon, beef, or shrimp as well. Just note that cooking times will vary with different meats.
How to Make Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabobs
Step 1. Preheat the grill to medium heat (about 400° F). Pop the cubed chicken pieces into a mixing bowl and pour the teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice over top. Toss to coat and set aside to marinated for 30 minutes. Prepare/chop the rest of the ingredients in the meantime.
Step 2. Thread the chicken, pineapple, and vegetables onto skewers and set them on a baking sheet or serving plate.
Step 3. Grease the heated grill up to create a slick non-stick surface. Pop the skewers onto it and cook for about 5 minutes. Turn the skewers over and cook them for another 3-5 minutes. You want the chicken to have an internal temperature of 160-165º F, which you can check with a meat thermometer.
Step 4. When done, carefully transfer the kabobs to a serving platter. Slather them with a generous amount of teriyaki sauce and sprinkle on some sesame seeds and chopped fresh parsley.
Pro Tip
- Try to avoid slathering teriyaki sauce onto the kabobs prior to or during the grilling process. Teriyaki sauce has enough sugar in it and sugar will burn, creating a char on your food you don’t want—and a hard sticky mess on the grill!
- Try to cut everything into 1 x 1″ pieces for even cooking.
Useful Kitchen Tools
- Heat-resistant gloves—These heat-resistant gloves help me move and flip the kababs more easily and without burning my fingertips.
- Fish spatula—Though we aren’t cooking fish, a fish spatula is nice and long, and it works wonders when flipping and transferring kabobs from grill to plate.
- Metal skewers—You can definitely use bamboo skewers, but I find metal skewers to be so much better. Bamboo skewers require soaking, can break, and in some cases cause splinters. Metal skewers are easy to clean and they’re reusable.
What to Serve With This
One of my favorite things to serve these pineapple chicken skewers with is my coconut ginger Instant Pot rice! It’s also fantastic with a cool and crisp smashed cucumber salad or these honey miso roasted sweet potatoes.
Storage, Freezing, & Reheating
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- To freeze the kababs, let them cool first. Then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer and put them in the freezer for about an hour. Transfer them to large freezer-friendly bags (you’ll want to cover the sharp ends of the kebabs with tinfoil to prevent them from puncturing the bags) and pop them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To reheat, place the kebabs in the oven at 350º F and heat until warmed through. You could also place them in an air fryer if they’ll fit, and heat them at 350º F in 2 minute increments until heated through. To microwave, you’ll have to remove them from their skewers, then reheat in 25 second increments until heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions
It should take 8-10 minutes total, flipping halfway through. Different grills will vary, so you want to keep an eye on the internal temperature near the end and remove the kabobs once the chicken reaches 160-165º F.
It’s important to avoid overcooking them. Keep the heat at about medium (400º F give or take) and watch them closely so you don’t overcook them. A great way to give yourself some leeway is to brine your chicken meat beforehand. Learn how to brine chicken breasts here.
Make sure that the meat on the kabobs are oiled or marinated and that the grill is nice and slick. A properly greased grill will allow your food to naturally release once it’s seared. If your meat is sticking, give it another 30 seconds before you try to move it again. Don’t force it, or it will tear.
More Grilled Summer Recipes To Try
If you try these Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabobs With Teriyaki Sauce, or any other recipe here at Killing Thyme, please pop back in and leave a 🌟 star rating! And let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabobs With Teriyaki Sauce
Equipment
- Skewers Preferably metal skewers, but you can use bamboo skewers
Ingredients
- 4 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
- Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
- 1 cup teriyaki sauce
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice, See notes
- 1 pineapple—peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized chunks, See notes
- 2 bell peppers (red, orange, or yellow), cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1 bunch of scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces (green parts only; save the white parts for later).
Garnishes
- Sesame seeds
- Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium heat (about 400° F).
- Pop the cubed chicken pieces into a mixing bowl and pour the teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice over top. Toss to coat and set aside to marinated for 30 minutes. Prepare/chop the rest of the ingredients in the meantime.
- Thread the chicken, pineapple, and vegetables onto skewers and set them on a baking sheet or serving plate.
- Grease the heated grill up to create a slick non-stick surface. Pop the skewers onto it and cook for about 5 minutes. Turn the skewers over and cook them for another 3-5 minutes. You want the chicken to have an internal temperature of 160-165º F, which you can check with a meat thermometer.
- When done, carefully transfer the kabobs to a serving platter. Slather them with a generous amount of teriyaki sauce and sprinkle on some sesame seeds and chopped fresh parsley.
Wow that looks great! I’ll be trying this one.
Awesome, Dave! Keep me posted! Great to hear from you :)