Hawaiian chicken skewers grilled with fresh pineapple, orange bell peppers, and red onions are an easy summer dinner! Serve the skewers with cilantro coconut rice as a delicious side dish!
Happy Wednesday friends! I hope the work week is speeding by for you. It’s been pretty busy around here so it’s helping what would normally feel like a never ending week go by a little faster. The one thing that hasn’t been nice about this week is the lack of sun we’ve had. It’s made taking photographs like these Hawaiian Chicken Skewers almost impossible!
The day I decided to make the Hawaiian Chicken Skewers with Cilantro Coconut Rice was of course the day it was cloudy and rainy all day. Remember a while back I mentioned that I think my neighbors think I’m nuts because I’m the girl who’s standing out on her deck grilling at 10:00 in the morning. Well, if there was any uncertainty in their minds that I was odd I have now confirmed it by not only grilling in the morning, but grilling in the rain in the morning. Yep, I was racing back and forth from the grill to the kitchen throwing these skewers on and trying not to get soaked at the same time.
Once the skewers were cooked it was time to battle with the light or lack thereof and get them photographed. All of the blinds were open, I was bouncing as much light as I could off of white foam boards, and still it was a struggle. Eventually though about half way through photographing the sky brightened a little and I was able to get some semi-descent shots, at least I’m hoping they’re semi-descent. I’ll let you be the judge. Of course after all that struggling I had to have a few bites of the Hawaiian Chicken Skewers even if they were meant for dinner that night. They turned out perfect! The chicken had soaked in the marinade overnight so it was extra tender and flavorful. The fresh juicy pineapple, red onions, and orange bell pepper were grilled just right with a little bit of char and smokey flavor.
I would have been content just eating the chicken skewers but my husband likes his with rice so I jazzed up the rice with some light canned coconut milk and fresh cilantro. By adding those couple ingredients it took boring rice to a whole new level and one that paired well with the sweet, savory, smokey flavors of the skewers. This meal was so easy to make and great this time of year when you’d rather be cooking outside on the grill instead of heating up the kitchen.
Yields 4-5 servings
4 hr, 25 Prep Time
20 minCook Time
4 hr, 45 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 orange bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 red onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup white or brown rice
- 1/2 cup canned light coconut milk
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together the pineapple juice, ketchup, soy sauce, ginger, honey, and garlic.
- In a large freezer bag add the cubed chicken and marinade, seal the bag removing all of the air, and massage the marinade into the chicken.
- Refrigerate the chicken in the marinade for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the grill to medium high heat.
- Skewer the marinated chicken, pineapple, orange bell pepper, and red onion, alternating between the ingredients until you have used them all up.
- Spray or oil the grill grates then place the skewers on the grill and cook them for 3-4 minutes then flip them over and grill another 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Serve with the cilantro coconut rice
- In a medium sized saucepan bring the rice, coconut milk, water, and salt to a boil.
- Once boiling cover the saucepan with a lid and reduce the heat to low simmering the rice for 15-20 minutes.
- Once the rice is cooked add in the chopped cilantro and serve with the Hawaiian chicken skewers.
More Chicken Skewer Recipes:
Greek Lemon Chicken Skewers with Tzatziki Sauce
Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Kabobs with Cilantro Lime Rice
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