Grilled teriyaki chicken and pineapple (Hawaiian teriyaki chicken skewers) have become a new summer favorite. Grilled pineapple is phenomenal. It’s warm, sweet, and is even better with a nice grilled sear. It also nicely complements grilled peppers and onions.
This recipe consists of simple marinated chicken skewered with grilled pineapple, green peppers, and red onions. It’s a really fresh tasting recipe offering the perfect blend of sweet and savory. Can be made as an appetizer or as a meal served over jasmine or brown rice.
Teriyaki Chicken
For the chicken, I marinate with store-bought marinade for simplicity. I really like using Sweet Baby Ray’s Sweet Teriyaki marinade. You can use your favorite marinade OR create your own at home too. See this post for my homemade beer marinade.
For best results marinate for 8 hours in the fridge, however, an hour will also work if you’re crunched for time. Always cut the chicken into their skewered size before marinating. This increases the contact area with the marinade and makes for less of a mess.
Cutting The Chicken, Pineapple, and Veggies
My biggest tip is to try to cut all skewered items in as uniform sizes as possible. Have your onions, peppers, chicken, and pineapple all be roughly cut into 1-inch chunks. This ensures the skewers cook evenly and lie flat on the grilling surface. For example, if the chicken is cut smaller than the veggies, they will hang above the grates and may take longer to cook and risk burning the veggies, etc.
If you’ve never cut a fresh pineapple, it’s really easy. This video helps if you need some guidance.
Always Oil Grill Grates
This is a big one to prevent sticking and tearing. I like to oil the hot grill grate with a basting brush or rolled up paper towel dipped in oil just before adding skewers to the grill. This will allow you to easily rotate the skewers while cooking without pulling the chicken off the skewers (always a facepalm moment for me). Olive oil is my favorite oil, but vegetable or canola oil work just fine.
Also cooking spray works if you like to live your life dangerously.
Soak Wooden Skewers
If you’re using wooden skewers, always soak in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling to prevent from burning too much. Serve skewers drizzled with plenty of chimichurri sauce and extra on the side. I guarantee you’ll be scraping the bottom of the chimichurri bowl by the end of the meal.
More Grilled Skewers
- Lemon pepper chicken kebabs
- Pesto shrimp skewers
- Chicken chimichurri skewers
- Chicken satay skewers with Thai peanut sauce
- Grilled teriyaki flank steak skewers
Grilled Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple Skewers Recipe
- Prep Time: 60
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12–15 skewers 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: Caribbean
Description
Simple marinated teriyaki chicken skewered with fresh pineapple, green peppers, and red onions. Super fresh and the perfect blend of sweet and savory.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2–2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 fresh pineapple, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 large red onion, cut into rough 1-inch chunks (I like 2 layers thick for skewering)
- 1–2 green bell peppers, cut into rough 1-inch chunks
- 1 1/2 cups teriyaki marinade, or as needed (I like Sweet Baby Ray’s, Sweet Teriyaki)
- Metal or wooden grilling skewers
- Optional chopped fresh cilantro and jalapeno for garnish
- Optional brown or jasmine rice for serving.
Instructions
- Marinate chopped chicken for 8 hours covered in the refrigerator for best results. At a minimum, marinate for 1 hour. Soak wooden skewers submerged in water 30 minutes before grilling.
- Build skewers alternating pepper, onions, pineapple and chicken. This can be done however you please.
- Heat up the grill to medium heat, clean grates well, and baste with olive oil (or vegetable/canola) just before grilling skewers.
- Grill skewers for 2-3 minutes per side, rotating until all 4 sides have a nice sear. Chicken should be fully cooked through and no longer pink (160°F). Serve sprinkled with fresh chopped cilantro. This recipe is really good as a meal served over jasmine rice!
Notes
It’s OK to use larger than 1-inch chunks of veggies/protein, just be sure they’re all relatively uniform so skewers cook evenly and lay flat on the grill.
If you’re using wooden skewers, always soak in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling to prevent from burning too much. Serve skewers drizzled with plenty of chimichurri sauce and extra on the side. I guarantee you’ll be scraping the bottom of the chimichurri bowl by the end of the meal.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 skewers
- Calories: 330
- Sugar: 30.4
- Sodium: 1120mg
- Fat: 3.9g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 40.4g
- Fiber: 2.2g
- Protein: 33.3g
- Cholesterol: 97mg
Keywords: grilled chicken skewers, grilled pineapple recipe, grilled teriyaki chicken
Leave a Comment