Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Kabobs

Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Kabobs – sweet and savory Hawaiian chicken kabobs with pineapple and vegetables grilled to perfection!

Grilled Hawaiian style chicken is a huge hit with even picky eaters – it is smoky, sweet, savory, and fun to eat – loaded with fruit and veggies, and great for parties.

Huli Huli chicken was invented by Ernest Morgado in the 50's- who grilled chicken on two grills he'd have to flip, which is where the name “huli-huli” (“turn-turn” in Hawaiian) comes in! Hawaiian Huli-Huli chicken remains insanely popular – and while Ernest's recipe is a trade secret, we're sharing our take on the lick-your-fingers-clean recipe. Trust us…. you can't get enough of this chicken!

If you want to make your own Huli Huli sauce, we're including our take on the recipe – but you can buy the authentic, original Huli Huli sauce recipe Ernesto Morgado invented from the Pacific Poultry company on Amazon here.

This chicken is similar to a teriyaki grilled chicken – when paired with grilled pineapple and peppers, the flavor is out of this world.

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

The Best Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Kebobs

This is truly one of our favorite takes on Hawaiian style Huli Huli chicken – eating them on a kebob makes it infinitely more fun!

We love making these skewers for parties, serving them with fruit salad Bacon Ranch Potato SaladAir Fryer French Friesand macaroni salad.

This recipe is going to be one of your new favorites for so many reasons, including:

• If you're looking for sticky, sweet, salty, savory, and out of this world good chicken – you're in the right place because this recipe delivers!
• If you're new to grilling chicken kebobs, we're going to share tons of tips to help you get solid grilled chicken every time – even with different recipes.
• You're throwing a party or cookout and looking for an easy, good recipe that can feed a crowd.
• You want a budget friendly dish that is packed with tropical flavor but uses ingredients that are easy to find at any grocery store!

If you're feeling the island spirit, and want to make a little DIY to get in the mood, check out our Quick and Easy Seashell Ornaments!

How To Grill Chicken Kebobs

Grilling chicken is one of the best, most good ways to bring flavor to the lean meat – but like with our solid Grilled Chicken BreastsGrilled Chicken Stripsand Grilled Chimichurri Chicken there are a couple tips to keep your chicken tender, juicy, and full of melt in your mouth flavor.

We're sharing our tips for the absolute best Huli Huli chicken kabobs below:

• For the absolute most flavorful chicken, make a batch of sauce and divide it in half – marinade half your chicken in it overnight. Save the other half in a jar in the fridge to baste with while grilling. The more time you marinate, the more tender, juicy, and flavor packed your chicken will be!
• Soak bamboo skewers overnight for the absolute best results. Nothing should make you rush cooking chicken on the grill – especially burning wood skewers. Bamboo takes a while to soak up moisture, make sure you give it plenty of time to prevent burning.

How to Keep Kebobs From Burning

Bamboo skewers can burn when on the grill – but thankfully, all you have to do is properly soak them to help prevent this.

Bamboo is slow to release moisture – but it is also slow to soak it up. You need to soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes, but preferably overnight, to prevent them from burning on the grill.

We like to place skewers in a casserole or lasagna pan and fill it up with water and leave it on the counter so it's ready for grilling the next day!

How To Make Huli Huli Sauce

Huli Huli sauce, which is an insanely popular Hawaiian sauce, is similar to Teriyaki. It's sweet and savory, with soy sauce, ginger, and brown cane sugar – as well as other spices.

To make huli huli sauce you need to vigorously whisk ingredients to combine – making sure the sugar entirely dissolves.

Huli huli sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

You can easily double or triple this recipe for Huli Huli sauce – one batch is enough for about 5 to 6 pounds of pieces of chicken or pork meat. You will have some huli huli sauce leftover from this recipe!

Huli Huli Sauce Recipe

To make huli huli sauce, please combine the following ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well to combine:

• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown cane sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 1-2 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1-2-more pieces fresh ginger, crushed
• 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
• Dash or two of Worchestershire sauce
• Sriracha or Asian chili paste (or red pepper flakes) to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Other Grilled Recipes You'll Love

If you're looking for more grill and smoker recipes, please check out some of our recent favorites:

You can find our complete grilled and smoked recipe archives here.

Recipe FAQs

When is huli huli chicken done?

Chicken is fully cooked at 165 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.
Make sure not to hit the bamboo skewer when probing your chicken for the temperature reading for the most accurate temp.

What temperature do we grill chicken kebobs at?

Chicken should be grilled at 425-450 degrees Fahrenheit.

How long can we store huli huli sauce?

Huli huli sauce can last in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one week.

How long do huli huli chicken kebobs last?

Huli huli chicken kebobs are best if eaten within two days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. If you would like to store longer than two days, we recommend removing the pineapple from the skewers, which will allow for better flavor for up to four days. Always fully reheat leftovers to piping hot.
(We find fruit tends to break down faster and should be eaten sooner than the onions and peppers.)

Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Kebobs

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Ingredients

• For the huli huli sauce:
• ⅓ cup ketchup
• ⅓ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup brown cane sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup sherry
• 1-2 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1-2 more pieces fresh ginger, crushed
• 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
• Dash or two of Worchestershire sauce
• Sriracha or Asian chili paste, or red pepper flakes to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• OR – 1 bottle of the Original Huli Huli Chicken Sauce
• For the chicken kebobs:
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1” cubes
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1” cubes
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1” cubes
• 1 sweet onion, cut into 1” cubes
• ½ pineapple, cut into 1” cubes

Method

1. In a small bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients well, so that sugar dissolves. Divide in half and store half for basting later.
2. Soak bamboo skewers in water at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight.
3. Cut chicken breasts into 1" cubes.
4. Place chicken in plastic bag or large bowl and cover with half huli huli sauce to marinate. Marinate at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight in the refrigerator.
5. After chicken is marinated, preheat grill to medium high – between 425 and 450 degrees.
6. Cut onion, pineapple, and peppers into 1" cubes.
7. Remove skewers from water. Slide chicken, peppers, pineapple, and onion onto skewers, alternating as you place on the skewers.
8. Brush a small bit of marinade onto the skewers and place onto the grill. Discard any leftover marinade and wash hands well after handling raw chicken.
9. Cook chicken for 5 minutes. Then, turn the skewers to the opposite side, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken registers 165F on an instant read thermometer.
10. Brush the kabobs with huli huli sauce you saved to baste with and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the huli huli sauce is warmed through and becomes a bit sticky.
11. Remove from grill and let rest 5 minutes – garnish with fresh chopped parsley or cilantro if desired.
12. Enjoy!