This is a an awesome recipe for grilled chicken kabobs that are basted with a maple, soy sauce glaze. The chicken skewers are served with a refreshing pineapple jalapeno salsa that brings excitement to this Summer meal. Perfect for your next BBQ this is a quick and easy grilled chicken recipe.
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.
We grill tons of chicken over the Summer months, some ho-hum-ish and some that are brag worthy. This falls into the latter category. These Maple Glazed Chicken Kabobs have knocked our favorite Grilled Chicken Skewers with Tomatillos out of first place in the grilled chicken meal lineup.
With a beautiful basting glaze sauce. With maple syrup, soy sauce and pineapple juice, the chicken stays tender and juicy and the sugar in the maple syrup gives the chunks of chicken a nice crisp caramelized outer coating.
It’s served with a pineapple and jalapeno salsa that compliments the flavors perfectly.
Can you tell we really like this recipe? It was inspired by a Pioneer Woman recipe. Always reliable in my book.
Basting Glaze for Grilled Chicken Breast Kabobs:
One thing I love about this recipe, is that there’s no marinade and marinade time. So many times I’ll be looking for a recipe for dinner only to read that dreaded words “place in plastic bag and marinade overnight”.
This easy chicken skewers recipe is super quick to make, has no marinade time, and the chicken breast stays tender and juicy with the basting glaze.
Just combine the glaze ingredients in a small sauce pan and let it steep/bubble over low heat until it reduces and thickens. The flavor it brings to the chicken is rich and lovely.
Tips for Grilling This Easy Chicken Skewer Recipe:
- 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 1/2 – 2 inches will do.
- What temp to grill chicken kabobs? Heat your grill to high to get those grates nice and hot, and then lower the temp to 350 – 375 degrees before adding the chicken skewers. This will create a nice initial sear and keep those juices inside.
- How Long For Grilling Chicken Kabobs? Cooking time should only take about 5 – 6 minutes per side. Even though those chicken pieces are small, still use a meat thermometer to make sure you’ve reached that safe 165 degree cooking temp.
- Grill the Kabobs over direct medium heat turning once or twice. Keep the lid closed as much as possible and use every drop of that maple glaze. I only turned the kabobs twice, with a generous dose of that glaze on each side.
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are a good choice for chicken kabobs. But I’d stick to breasts for this recipe. Save those thighs for a satay style recipe such as this Grilled Chicken Thigh Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce.
Recipe for Maple Glazed Grilled Chicken Kabobs:
I hope you give these maple glazed grilled chicken kabobs a try. They’re easy and perfect for a quick Summer dinner.
Keep that grill fired up with more Summer Grilling Recipes:
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Maple Glazed Chicken Kabobs with Sweet Jalapeno Salsa
Ingredients
- 6-7 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- For the basting sauce:
- 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
- 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/4 cup Pineapple Juice
- For the Salsa
- 1-20 ounce can crushed pineapple drained and juice reserved
- 1 fresh Jalapeno deseeded, deveined and minced
- 1 fresh poblano minced
- 1/2 cup rough chopped Cilantro
- 1 whole Small Red Onion Diced
- 1 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar or White Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- Black Pepper To Taste
Instructions
- If you’re using wooden skewers, be sure to soak the skewers in water for several hours first.
- Slice the chicken breasts into six even pieces, then thread each piece onto a separate skewer.
- Combine maple syrup, soy sauce, and pineapple juice in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and let it bubble up and reduce by about one-fourth. Set aside to cool.
- In a small bowl, combine chopped pineapple, jalapeno, cilantro, red onion, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Set this aside, and try not to eat it all with a bag of blue corn chips! I speak from experience here.
- Grill the chicken kabobs until they’re done, then baste the maple reduction over the kabobs toward the end of the grilling time. Remove them from heat and place them on a platter.
Notes
Nutrition
Maple Glazed Chicken Kabobs … They’re What’s For Dinner
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to make this!
I am always looking for new recipes for grilling chicken and I will give this one a try. I love the pineapple salsa. Pinned!
I love these sweet and spicy chicken kebabs! This is the perfect recipe for dealing with midsummer heat at the beginning of June~ Can’t wait to try it!
The first photograph had me sold…I’ve pinned and can’t wait to give it a try.
I could eat like this every day! Love that sweet and hot salsa – must be so delicious! Great to reconnect Lea Ann! Hope all is well in the wild west 🙂
You are so welcome Tricia. That salsa is delicious and also very good for chip dipping.
They sound delicious Chef and wish I’d see this yesterday as we grilled chicken so I would have used this recipe – will give it a try next time.
Oh, these look grilled to perfection! I cannot wait to have them on our summer menu!