Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs | The Modern Proper (2024)

May 15, 2024

Sweet and savory, these super easy pineapple-dotted Hawaiian chicken kabobs are pure summertime fun.

Photography by Gayle McLeod

Healthy Chicken Pineapple Kabobs Are a Colorful a Taste of the Tropics

Sweet and juicy, tart and sunny, pineapple is brilliant fresh, but did you know that it’s delicious when thrown on a grill? Grilled pineapple gets a lovely caramelization and its sweet-tartness intensifies into something totally otherworldly. Paired with juicy marinated chicken and skewered onto colorful, veggie-laden kabobs. A trip to Hawaii may not be in the cards this summer, but these Hawaiian chicken kabobs will get you really close—at least they’ll fill your senses with all of those beautiful sweet, salty, rich flavors that you love so much. And best of all? This meal absolutely demands that you mix up a pina colada (or two!).

The Best Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs Marinade Also Happens to Be Super Easy!

The key to making boneless skinless chicken breast taste amazing is to treat it like what it is—a fabulous blank canvas for all your wildest flavorsome ideas. Here, we’ve leaned hard into classic Asian pantry ingredients—much of modern Hawaiian cuisine is so influenced by Japanese and Chinese cuisine, so it made sense to use those bold, beautiful ingredients here. Fresh ginger for heat, sugar and ketchup for sweetness, and a bit of vinegar for acid make this marinade perfectly balanced. You can prep and marinate the chicken up to a day ahead of time, too, making these Hawaiian chicken kabobs a terrific make-ahead main dish for your next summer BBQ. Here’s everything you’ll need to make this super yummy marinade:

• Toasted sesame oil

• Grated fresh ginger

• Garlic cloves

• Soy sauce or tamari

• Rice vinegar

• Brown sugar

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• Ketchup

• Smoked paprika

What Goes on a Hawaiian Kabob?

For us, a great Hawaii-inspired kabob MUST have pineapple. Beyond that, though, we chose veggies for their deliciousness and healthy qualities, but also for color! When we think of Hawaii, our minds become a cheery kaleidoscope of bright and bold colors! Magenta hibiscus and rainbow plumerias and angular birds of paradise against a turquoise sky, with lapping azure waves and vibrant, lush, tropical forests that stretch across volcanic soil—OK, we’re getting carried away. You know Hawaii is gorgeous. So your Hawaiian kabobs better be gorgeous, too, if they’re going to earn that moniker, right? Here’s what we skewer onto those beautiful grilled chicken kabobs:

• Chicken breast

• Sweet potatoes

• Fresh pineapple

• Bell peppers

• Red onion

• Vegetable oil

• Flaked coconut

How to Make Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs

If you’re serving these pineapple chicken kabobs as part of a party spread, you might want to get as much of the work done ahead of time as possible, so we’ve called out all of the things that you can get done ahead of time here. You can do a lot ahead of time, which means these Hawaiian skewers are super great party food. A little sweet and a little savory, they’re also always a crowd-pleaser—even kids usually like them, thanks to all the pineapple. Here’s how to make them:

1. Up to one day before: get the chicken marinating! Whisk together the Hawaiian chicken marinade ingredients. Save about half of the sauce for basting the chicken, and use the rest to marinate the chicken breast pieces. Pop it in the fridge—at least 30 mins, but overnight is best!

2. The night before: if you’re using bamboo or wooden skewers, you’ll want to soak them in water overnight before loading them with chicken, pineapple and veggies to keep them from burning on the hot grill.

3. Par-boil the sweet potatoes. You could do this up to a day ahead of time, too, if you’re a work-ahead kind of person! They need a bit of cooking before they hit the grill so that they’re perfectly done right when the chicken is.

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4. Prep the other veggies.

5. Assemble! Load your skewers with pieces of marinated chicken, onion pieces, bell pepper, sweet potatoes and pineapple.

6. Grill the Hawaiian chicken kabobs! Grill them for about 2-3 minutes per side. When you turn the chicken skewers, baste the uncooked side with some of the reserved marinade. Your kabobs are done when the chicken pieces register 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.

What Goes With Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs?

Though Hawaii was the inspiration for these kabobs, these chicken skewers are really a go-with-anything kind of meal. They’re not spicy—AKA they’re great kid food—and they’re super healthy, too. You can enjoy them on their own, maybe with a green salad on the side, to make a low-carb dinner. Or you can pair them with some simple starch—rice is a natural partner. Here are our favorite things to pair them with:

• Coconut Rice

• Macaroni Salad

• Piña Colada

• Cilantro-Lime Rice

Tools You’ll Need:

• Colander

• Mixing bowls

• Grill or grill pan

• Skewers

• Basting brush

• Sharp knife

• Instant-read thermometer

More Easy, Grill-Friendly Kabobs to Try!

• Peanut Sauce-Marinated Chicken Skewers

• Asian Chopped Salad with Hoisin Marinated Pork Kebab

• Grilled Jerk Chicken Kebabs

• Grilled Chicken Shawarma Kebab

• Beef Kofta Kebabs with Tzatziki

Aloha!

If you make these colorful and yummy chicken kabobs, let us know how you like them! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!