Pineapple Chicken Kabobs are the perfect grilled summer dinner. Gluten free, easy to make & delicious – everyone will enjoy!
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Grilled pineapple chicken and vegetables is an easy and healthy summer meal that is beyond delicious! Thanks to the simple marinade, the chicken is tender, juicy, and packed full of Hawaiian flavors.
This family favorite meal is a winner for the grilling season!
Fresh veggies, sweet pineapple, and juicy breast meat, all dressed up in a delicious honey poppy seed chicken kabob marinade… yes please.
3 great reasons to make grilled pineapple chicken skewers
There is a lot to love about this boneless chicken breast recipe. It’s one of our favorite proteins for a healthy dinner because it’s:
- Healthy, gluten free, and paleo-friendly – With protein-packed marinated breast meat and fresh garden veggies, this meal both healthy and full of flavor!
- Quick and easy to make– Just dice up the chicken breast and veggies and let them marinate for 30 minutes or so. Then, assemble everything for your shish kebabs onto skewers and heat up your grill!
- The recipe is easy to adapt for taste, allergies, or diet. If you don’t like zucchini or bell peppers, you can swap both out for another veggie! Even the chicken kabob marinade is simple to adapt. You can change up the ingredients, or use our lemon marinade for chicken instead.
Things you’ll need to make this Pineapple Chicken Kabobs:
To make Chicken Pineapple Kabobs you’re going to need:
- boneless skinless chicken breast
- veggies: In this chicken kabob recipe, we use zucchini and bell peppers
- fresh pineapple: Using canned pineapple chunks is not a good idea. They’re packed in juices, which makes them so wet, it is almost impossible to get nice grill marks on the fruit.
chicken kabob marinade
Because there is plenty of fresh pineapple on the kebabs, our Hawaiian chicken marinade doesn’t include any pineapple juice.
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.
How to make Honey Poppyseed Dressing:
The dressing/marinade is the best part of this recipe in my opinion! It’s easy to make by mixing all your ingredients together!
Homemade dressings/marinades are always so much better than store bought, especially this one! Once you have your dressing made and veggies/chicken chopped – you’re ready to get cookin’.
How to make Pineapple Chicken Kabobs:
To make Chicken Pineapple Kabobs:
- First mix your dressing
- Chop your veggies.
- Add everything together to marinate for at 20 minutes.
- Add your marinated chicken/veggies/pineapple to skewers + place on the grill!
- Cook for 10 minutes, flip + cook for an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
best skewers for grilling
Metal skewers are definitely better for grilling because you don’t have to worry about them burning or catching fire. (Or leaving little flecks of wood in/near your food!)
We think these metal skewers from amazon are the best for grilling. They’re reasonably priced and have held up great for us. We pop them right in the dishwasher after using!
If you need to use wooden skewers, these are a good option.
Liz’s tips for making grilled pineapple chicken
It only takes 20 minutes to marinate chicken breast, and about 10 minutes to assemble the chicken shish kebabs. The whole process is very simple, but here are some helpful tips for you:
- Keep the marinating time under 2 hours. Because there is no connective tissue in poultry, it doesn’t require tenderizing. The chicken kabob marinade is simply to add flavor. 20-30 minutes is perfect; if you marinate chicken for too long, the protein will begin to break down and become unappetizing.
- Be sure to soak wood skewers. If you put dry wooden skewers onto the grill, they can easily catch fire. To be safe, soak them for about 20 minutes. We like to do this while the pineapple chicken and vegetables are marinating.
- Grill the pineapple chicken shish kebab to an internal temperature of 163 degrees Fahrenheit. The grilled chicken kabob is safe to eat when the internal temp of the breast meat is 165°F. To avoid dry, overcooked chicken, remove the kebabs from the grill when the temperature reaches 163°F.
Let them rest for a few minutes before serving so that the pineapple chicken and veggies will continue to cook.
ingredient substitutions and variations
This chicken kabobs recipe is pretty versatile, and you can easily swap ingredients out to customize them.
Chicken Breasts: Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins will also work. We haven’t tried the recipe using tofu or steak, but the flavors should work well with just about any meat – even large pieces of salmon or tuna steak!
Veggies: You can use any color of bell peppers, or if you want to, swap out the peppers and/or zucchini for your chicken shish kebab. Other veggies that grill well include eggplant, Portobello mushrooms and onions.
Honey: You can substitute maple syrup for honey, but we don’t recommend it. (The flavor isn’t the same!) You can skip the honey and the recipe will still taste amazing. Granulated sugar might work but we haven’t tried it!
Marinade: You can use a simple vinaigrette dressing, or any of these marinades for grilled pineapple chicken kabobs:
To make sugar free: You can skip the honey in the dressing and this recipe will still taste delicious!
Pineapple Chicken Kebabs in the Oven:
We don’t recommend baking these in an oven, but it can be done. We recommend baking on a lined baking sheet for 20-25 minutes at 425.
Pineapple can get a little funny/mushy in the oven and does not taste the same as when it’s caramelized on the grill.
storing and reheating grilled pineapple chicken kebabs
Storing: These kebabs will last for up to 4 days in your refrigerator.
Reheating: We do not recommend reheating the food in the microwave. Instead, place them on a sheet pan and reheat in your oven or toaster oven.
Make Ahead: You can marinate your chicken and vegetables ahead of time but we don’t recommend adding the pineapple any more than 2 hours in advance. Pineapple can release an enzyme that makes meat break down if they are near one another for too lon
This recipe is perfect for meal prepping or for an easy weeknight dinner. No matter the occasion, it’s delicious!
great sides to serve with pineapple chicken
We like to serve these hawaiian chicken kabobs with:
These kebabs are pretty filling/a meal in themselves so you don’t have to go crazy with sides!
Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabobs
These Pineapple Chicken Kabobs are the perfect grilled summer dinner. Easy to make and paleo friendly – everyone will love them!
Instructions
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In a bowl, whisk together honey poppyseed dressing
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Cube chicken, pineapple and peppers. Cut zucchini into 1/2 inch thick circles
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In a ziploc bag, add cubed chicken, pineapple, veggies and dressing. Marinate for at least 30 minutes (don’t marinate for more than 2 hours!)
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When ready to cook, heat grill on medium high heat (about 375 degrees)
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Assemble skewers. (Pineapple, chicken, zucchini, pepper, repeat!)
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Cook skewers on grill for 8-10 minutes, flip and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked to 165 degrees internal temperature.
Notes
Substitutions for this recipe:
- Marinades- You can use any of the marinades in these posts on these kebabs: 5 Healthy Chicken Marinades, Vegetable Kebabs, Healthy Lemon Basil Vinaigrette. You can also opt for store bought dressing!
- To make sugar free: You can skip the honey in the dressing and this recipe will still taste delicious!
- Veggies – You can swap out the veggies in this recipe. Mushrooms and onions would be delicious!
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts
Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabobs
Amount Per Serving (8 oz chicken + veggies)
Calories 442
Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Fat 19g29%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 109mg36%
Sodium 248mg11%
Potassium 912mg26%
Carbohydrates 32g11%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 28g31%
Protein 38g76%
Vitamin A 1090IU22%
Vitamin C 85mg103%
Calcium 57mg6%
Iron 1.7mg9%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. This is an estimate and can vary pending your ingredients
