Sticky maple glaze, a little smoky char and chicken breasts makes this an awesome recipe for grilled chicken kabobs. Four ingredients and a six minute cook time makes this an easy grilled chicken recipe for a feel special meal. These skewers cook fast, stay juicy, and work for both weeknights and backyard grilling.
What Are Maple Syrup Grilled Chicken Kabobs?
Have you ever cooked a recipe and found it so delicious that you served it three times in two weeks? We’ve had this twice for dinner and one more time to entertain dinner guests. My chicken kabobs recipe starts with a sweet salty irresistible sticky glaze.
- Bite-sized chicken breast pieces are threaded onto skewers .
- No marinade required, maple syrup, soy sauce and pineapple juice make an easy grilling sauce.
- These kabobs are quick grilled until lightly charred and caramelized.
- With prep and cook time, ready in about 20-30 minutes.
Why This Recipe Works
- The chicken stays tender and juicy and the sugar in the maple syrup gives the chunks of chicken a nice crisp caramelized outer coating.
- The combination of ingredients makes for a balanced glaze. Sweet, acid, plus salt prevents a (sweet + acid + salt) prevents any one flavor from overwhelming the neutral chicken flavor.
- Chicken breast stays juicy with proper cook time.
- No marinade time and these chicken kabobs cook fast for high weeknight dinner appeal.
We grill tons of chicken over the Summer months, some ho-hum-ish and some that are brag worthy. These maple glazed chicken kabobs fallsinto the latter category.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast: Evenly cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Maple Syrup: Use real maple syrup rather than pancake syrup.
- Pineapple Juice
- Soy Sauce: or Tamari to make this gluten free.
How To Make These Chicken Kabobs
- Step 1: Combine maple syrup, soy sauce, and pineapple juice in a small saucepan. Bring it to a simmer. Cook until the sauce reduces by about one-fourth. This will take about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. In the meantime, cut the chicken breasts into 1″ to 1 ½ inch cubes, then thread onto skewers. Threading about 10 chunks of chicken per skewer will yield about seven chicken kabobs.
- Step 2: Heat grill to 400 degrees. Place the chicken kabobs on the grates and turn the heat down to 350 degrees. Using a silicone brush, generously baste the chicken with the Maple Soy Sauce Glaze. Cook two minutes, turn the kabobs and baste again with the sauce. Cook two more minutes. Repeat the turn and baste one more time, cooking for a total of six minutes.
How Long To Grill Chicken Kabobs?
Chicken pieces that are cut into small 1 inch cubes will cook quickly. If you manage the temperature correctly, they should cook in about 6 minutes. Turning every two minutes. Remember that the sugar in the maple syrup glaze will attract heat and speed things up. I’ve made this recipe dozens of times, and the timing is always a little different. There’s more of a chance that you’ll over cook the chicken rather than undercook. Watch them close, remove a large chunk from the end of one of the skewers and test it for an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Best Temperature For Grilling Chicken Kabobs
I like to get the grill pretty hot by pre-heating to 400 degrees. That way the grates are nice and hot to impart an initial quick sear once the chicken kabobs are placed. Then turn down the heat to 350 and continue cooking. Use direct heat and watch them close.
Tips For Juicy Flavorful Chicken Breast Kabobs
- Chicken breasts are an easy idea for kabobs because you can cut them in large chunks which are perfect for skewering. When cutting the chicken, keep the pieces uniform in size. About 1 ½ – 2 inches will do.
- Oil the grates to prevent the chicken from sticking.
- Glaze or Marinate? This recipe calls for a glaze. You’ll find a more maple syrup flavor and quicker prep time.
- Skewering: I like to press the chunks of chicken pieces together, without crushing, on the skewer, creating a snug fit. This method helps retain moisture, preventing the meat from drying out during grill time. It also allows the chicken to cook more like one larger piee, trapping juices between the pieces rather than exposing all sides to high heat. I also like how it looks for presentation.
- Lid Open Or Closed? In between turning and glazing, keep the lid closed as much as possible and use every drop of that maple glaze. Use a generous dose of that glaze each time you turn.
Pro Tip For Grilling With Maple Based Sauces
- Maple syrup is very high in pure natural sugar. Cooking over high direct flame will cause the syrup to burn. Be careful.
- Adding other liquids, in this case soy sauce and pineapple juice thin the syrup. But you’ll still need to watch for flare-ups.
What Vegetables Go Best With Chicken Kabobs
I’m not a fan of skewering vegetables and chicken on the same skewers. Too many times the vegetables and the chicken don’t experience even cooking resulting in undercooked vegetables and overcooked chicken. Skewer vegetables on separate skewers if you’re wanting grilled vegetables.
- Bell Peppers, any color
- Onion, sweet onion or red onion is popular for kabobs.
- Zucchini
- And chunks of grilled pineapple work well here.
Side Dishes: Keep this Summer meal even more Summer-y by serving it with this Goat Cheese Arugula Salad with Grilled Peaches. Or even a heartier salad like this one for Pea Salad with Eggs. A Summer pasta salad like this one for Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad is always a popular choice, or all-American comfort food dish like Classic Potato Salad.
How To Serve It
- Vegetables: Serve these chicken kabobs alongside skewers of mixed grilled vegetables.
- Salsa: I highly recommend making a fruity salsa to compliment the chicken. Pineapple Jalapeno Salsa is an excellent choice, and is how I serve this meal. And this recipe for Chipotle Peach Salsa is another good choice. And for a more bold Southwestern feel, drizzle on some New Mexico Red Chile Sauce or Green Chile Sauce.
- Presentation: Place chicken kabobs on a big platter lined with firm sturdy greens like fresh spinach.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator: Store any leftover chicken in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Chicken always freezes well. Remove from skewer and place chicken pieces in a freezer safe zip -lock style bag. Sealed well, chicken will keep for up to three months.
- Reheating: Thaw chicken kabob meat in the refrigerator overnight. Use the microwave to gently reheat. The 50% power feature is your best friend. Reheat individual portions in 30 second increments at 50% power until warm. You don’t want to re-cook them, or they’ll dry out. You can also reheat in a 200 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
FAQ’s
Chicken is a lean meat, no carb protein. Serve these chicken kabobs with vitamin and mineral packed vegetables and you’ve got a very healthy meal.
Absolutely yes. And with no changes to this recipe. Tip: Due to their texture, boneless skinless chicken thighs are harder to cut. Place them in the freezer for about 15 minutes to firm the meat before cutting.
Please don’t. You’ll have much better cooking results and flavor results. Pure maple syrup simply works better for caramelization.
Don’t have an outdoor grill? Use your oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil. Bake for about 6 – 8 minutes, flipping and basting three times. Turn the oven to broil for 1 minute per side to encourage caramelization. Watch them closely so they don’t burn.
Explore More Grilled Chicken Recipes:
And if you’re looking for even more grilling ideas, don’t miss my Grilling Category. You’ll find some mighty fine recipes. Including a manageable method to grill a whole chicken, by cutting the chicken in half for perfect Grilled Half Chicken. With a flavorful chicken rub and a tangy mob, this is a delicious grilled chicken recipe.
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Maple Syrup Glazed Grilled Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Boneless skinless chicken breasts Cut into uniform chunks
- For the Maple Syrup Basting Sauce:
- ½ cup Maple Syrup
- ¼ cup Soy Sauce
- ¼ cup Pineapple Juice
- One Recipe For Jalapeno Pineapple Salsa
Instructions
- Combine maple syrup, soy sauce, and pineapple juice in a small saucepan. Bring it to a simmer. Cook until the sauce reduces by about one-fourth. This will take about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In the meantime, cut the chicken breasts into 1" to 1 ½ inch cubes, (mine are never exact) then thread onto skewers. Threading about 10 chunks of chicken per skewer will yield about seven chicken kabobs.
- Heat your grill to 400 degrees. Place the chicken kabobs on the grates and turn the heat down to 350 degrees. Using a silicone brush, generously baste the chicken with the Maple Soy Sauce Glaze. Cook two minutes, turn the kabobs and baste again with the sauce. Cook two more minutes. Repeat the turn and baste one more time, cooking for a total of six minutes. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165 degrees. You can remove one of the pieces of chicken from the skewer and test the internal temperature by placing the probe of a digital read meat thermometer into the center of the chicken.
- Serve with Jalapeno Pineapple Salsa. Use a spoon to sprinkle salsa over pieces of chicken.
Notes
- Chicken breasts are an easy idea for kabobs because you can cut them in large chunks which are perfect for skewering. When cutting the chicken, keep the pieces uniform in size. About 1 ½ – 2 inches will do.
- Oil the grates to prevent the chicken from sticking.
- Glaze or Marinate? This recipe calls for a glaze. You’ll find a more maple syrup flavor and quicker prep time.
- Skewering: I like to press the chunks of chicken pieces together, without crushing, on the skewer, creating a snug fit. This method helps retain moisture, preventing the meat from drying out during grill time. It also allows the chicken to cook more like one larger piee, trapping juices between the pieces rather than exposing all sides to high heat. I also like how it looks for presentation.
- Lid Open Or Closed? In between turning and glazing, keep the lid closed as much as possible and use every drop of that maple glaze. Use a generous dose of that glaze each time you turn.
Nutrition
Maple Glazed Chicken Kabobs … They’re What’s For Dinner
