Chicken & Pineapple Kebabs

I’ve always loved the combination of chicken and juicy pineapple for the summer grilling season. I’m also usually down for some delicious kabobs... so I usually make some form of Hawaiian chicken skewers in the summer months.

When it comes to any kind of grilled chicken - usually - I just throw ingredients together. Kind of at-odds with being a food blogger, especially as I rarely make anything exactly the same way more than once.

I’ve started work on actually doing up measured-out kabob recipes for my go-to favourites, though. As part of that, I finally did up an actual recipe for those chicken pineapple kabobs.

Mine are a bit different from the “norm”, though - Hawaiian chicken kabobs usually involve a ketchup based sauce but mine use a marinade that’s more like a bastardized Teriyaki sauce.

It’s a sweet & tangy marinade that’s got a good hit of ginger in there, and makes for a super tasty, juicy chicken breast. The combo of sesame and ginger is a perfect balance for the tropical flavors of the overall skewer.

I like the bite of the ginger with the caramelized pineapple, and how the brightness of the green pepper is such a great contrast against the rich sweetness of the marinade.

It’s long been an easy weeknight dinner at home - cooked over out charcoal grill - and now it’s a favourite for our camping trips! As an added bonus, the leftovers reheat really well - all around, a fantastic recipe for the road.

Anyway, let’s look at what you’ll need to have on hand:

Ingredients

This delicious pineapple chicken kabobs recipe uses really simple ingredients - I barely have any ingredient notes for you this time!

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

I always default to chicken breasts, but you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer. Just do any trimming before you marinate them.

Pineapple

I prefer to use fresh pineapple, as I find that it gives me the most control over the size and shape of the pineapple chunks.

Fresh pineapple also tends to be more ... robust?... than canned pineapple, which I find annoying to thread onto skewers.

That said, plenty of people use canned pineapple for skewers, so it must work for these pineapple chicken skewers! As a bonus, you could get your pineapple juice from it!

On that note..

Pineapple Juice

If you don’t have pineapple juice, you can use lime juice or Calamansi juice instead.

I tend to use Calamansi, as I always have some on hand. It’s a lime from the Philippines, and I’m obsessed with the stuff. Lovely tropical flavour!

Fresh Produce

I usually make these pineapple chicken kebobs with green bell peppers and red onion, because I like the aesthetics of that combo.

Feel free to use red bell pepper if you prefer, though!

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Rice Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos
Ground Black Pepper
Brown Sugar
Ginger Paste
Sesame Oil
Garlic Powder
Grill Spray
Salt

Nothing else to say, here, pretty simple stuff!.

In addition to the actual ingredients, you’ll need some skewers.

We’ll use metal skewers when we’re feeling lazy, but use bamboo skewers / wooden skewers to make them look nicer for photos.

Just be sure to soak wood skewers in warm water for at least 30 minutes before threading your ingredients on them.

How to Make Hawaiian Chicken Pineapple Kebabs

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through for these Hawaiian pineapple chicken kabobs:

Marinated Chicken

Use a sharp knife to cut the raw chicken into 1" chunks. Transfer cubed chicken to a large Ziplock freezer baggie, set aside.

Measure the remaining chicken marinade ingredients into a small bowl, whisk to combine. Season with a little salt and pepper, to taste, then pour over the chicken pieces.

Seal the baggie -pressing out most of the excess air - and gently massage the bag to coat the chunks of chicken in marinade.

Chill for at least 2 hours, up to 8 hours.

Assembly

Get a good fire going, aiming for a medium-high heat. You can cook your chicken pineapple kebabs on a camp stove, over hot coals, or even over the open flame of a fire pit.

Cut the pineapple into 1" chunks. Seed the peppers; cut the peppers and onion into roughly 1" squares.

Use a slotted spoon to remove chicken from the marinade; transfer remaining marinade to a small bowl or measuring cup to use as a baste.

Spray the grill grate with grill spray, then arrange the skewers in a single layer, leaving some room between each skewer. Cook for about 4-6 minutes, until chicken sears on one side.

Flip the skewers, brush the top side of each skewer with a bit of marinade, and continue cooking until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted.

Flip the skewers, brush with some of the reserved marinade, and continue cooking until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted.

Flip one last time and sear for just a minute or so, then remove from heat.

Serve hot, with a side salad or coconut rice.

Leftovers

Once cooled to almost room temperature, leftover skewers can be transferred to an airtight container and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Leftover Hawaiian chicken kebabs are best served reheated.

More Grilling Recipes for Camping

Looking for some great meals to cook on a campfire or grill? Here's a few of my favourites!

Bison Burgers with Bacon and Caramelized Onions
Elk Burgers with Bacon & Sauteed Mushrooms
Fajita Chicken Kebabs
Ginger-Orange Chicken Foil Packets
Greek Chicken Souvlaki
Grilled Chicken Fajitas
Lemon-Dill Fresh Salmon Burgers
Easy Grilled Shrimp Tacos
Grilled Tuna Tacos
Kielbasa & Perogies Foil Packets
Lemon & Dill Salmon Foil Packets
Mediterranean Chicken Foil Packets
Mediterranean Chicken Kebabs
Pie Iron Pizza Pockets
Southwestern Chicken Foil Packets
Venison Burgers with Bacon & Whiskey Caramelized Onions

Be sure to check out our other Camping Recipes, including Camping Desserts, Camping Snacks, Make-Ahead Camping Mix Recipes, and a ton of delicious Camping Main Dish Recipes.

Also, we had SO much fun designing gourmet jerky recipes for our camping trips, we started a whole new blog for them! Check out Dried & Tasty for all kinds of fun recipes to make in your food dehydrator!