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These Chipotle Pineapple Bang Bang Chicken Skewers are a new warm weather go-to. We just love these! Chicken seasoned with spicy chipotle chilies, tamari, ginger, and honey. Add chunks of pineapple to each skewer for a tropical island flare. Serve these chicken skewers with spicy, tangy, creamy restaurant-style bang bang sauce, it never disappoints. Add extra limes and green onions, plus a bowl of coconut or cilantro rice (or cook up some baked french fries). Such a yummy family meal!
To me, Memorial Day is the official kick-off for grilling season. Burgers, chicken, steaks, and sweet corn will be on rotation from now until mid-September when the brisk fall air sweeps in to stay.
Honestly, I’m not the biggest “griller”. We live in a chillier environment, so our summer nights are a little too cold to stand outside and grill. I usually just use my trusty grill pan any time I want the flavor of something from the grill. Works like a charm!
But of course, I know the rest of you all love a delicious grilled summer dinner. Coming from the Midwest, where summertime is very hot and humid, I totally get it! This year I’m looking forward to sharing some of the dishes I used to make from our summers spent in Cleveland.
We certainly adored making chicken skewers! Something about chicken on a stick is just better, you know?
I’ve always enjoyed adding pineapple to anything grilled. So when I had this idea, I made it almost immediately. It is such a delicious flavor combination!
Here are the details
Step 1: Make the Chipotle marinade
This is a very simple mix of extra virgin olive oil, tomato paste, tamari (or use soy sauce), honey, ginger, chipotle, and fresh thyme. To streamline the process of the marinade I whipped everything together in a blender, so it was ready in seconds.
Next, take the chicken and cut it into 1 or 2-inch cubes. Add the chicken to a bowl and toss with the marinade. At this point, and if time allows, you can refrigerate the chicken for a day or two before grilling. It will develop an even more intense flavor the longer it sits.
Step 2: Thread the chicken and pineapple onto skewers
Now the fun part. Take the chipotle-seasoned chicken and the chunks of pineapple and thread them one after another onto metal or wooden skewers.
I layer/thread 1 piece of chicken, then 1 pineapple chunk. If you want more pineapple, do 1 chicken piece, then 2 pineapple chunks.
Heat your grill and cook each skewer until light grill marks appear.
Step 3: Make the bang bang sauce
Mix mayo in a bowl with Thai chili sauce tamari, garlic, and lime zest. You can add a pinch of salt and pepper or even more chili flakes too!
This is one of my favorite sauces! The sweet Thai chile sauce is the secret to the deliciousness.
To Sum it all up!
The chicken is spicy and just a smidge smoky, but at the same time a little sweet too. It’s such a wonderful marriage of flavors.
The sauce is creamy and tangy with a touch of heat. Putting everything together turns into the most delicious grilled chicken dinner. Serve with rice and you’ll have a complete meal with so much (really) good flavor!
Looking for more recipes? Here are a few to try:
Coconut Chicken Fingers with Bang Bang Sauce
Baked Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken
Sheet Pan Honey Garlic Chicken and Feta Potatoes
Sheet Pan Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Buffalo Cauliflower with Spicy Tahini Ranch
Lastly, if you make these Chipotle Pineapple Bang Bang Chicken Skewers, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
These Chipotle Pineapple Bang Bang Chicken Skewers:
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 435 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons tamari/soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon chopped pickled ginger
- 1-3 chipotle chiles in adobo
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sweet or smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-size chunks
- 3 cups fresh pineapple chunks
- green onions and basil, for serving
Bang Bang sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/3 cup sweet Thai chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons tamari/soy sauce
- 1 small clove garlic grated
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
- 1 tablespoon chopped pickled ginger
Instructions
- 1. In a blender, blend the olive oil, tomato paste, tamari/soy sauce, honey, ginger, chipotle, paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper until the chilies are chopped. 2. Mix the chicken and chipotle sauce in a bowl. Take the skewers and thread the chicken with the pineapple chunks.3. Set your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium-high heat. Grill the skewers until lightly charred and cooked through, turning them occasionally throughout cooking, about 10 to 12 minutes total. 4. To make the sauce: combine all ingredients in a bowl.5. Serve the chicken and pineapple with limes, green onions, and bang bang sauce for dipping. Add extra chili sauce mixed with a couple tablespoons of ketchup for a little double-dip action. Enjoy!
We tried this for the first time tonight at it was EXCELLENT! My husband doesn’t like the flavor of chipotle so I used cayenne power to give it a kick. So delicious! I will definitely be adding this to my rotation!
Hey Bayley,
Happy Monday! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! Xx
Hi! Is this recipe in one of your cookbooks?
Hi there,
This recipe is just on the blog:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Can anything be subbed for pickled ginger
This was amazingly tasty and a very unique dish. Already have plans to make it again!
Love to hear this! Thank you so so much! xT
Could these be cooked in the oven?
What temperature and how long would recommend?
I tried this recipe and did not changed a thing and everyone raved about it. If I may say so myself, I am a pretty good cook and my family said it was one of the best meal i served yet 😉
So thanks you lovely lady fir sharing,
Alex from Ottawa, Canada
Awesome! Thank you so much Alexandra! xT
What would be a good side for these skewers? I have all the ingredients but I would like to make it a meal 🤷🏼♀️
A yummy side salad or some steamed veggies! xT
This was soooooo good, and I didn’t even make the bang bang sauce! I also marinated my chicken which was super tasty
Four stars only because I had to adjust the bang bang sauce to my liking. Used 5 chipotles for some good heat in the purée. Baked the skewers, then finished under a high broiler for caramelization. Bang bang sauce was lacking (especially in spiciness): added 1-2 more Tbs Thai chili sauce for sweetness, a pinch of salt, and ~1.5 Tbs spicy chili crisp oil for heat. Served over rice with LOTS of fresh cilantro and green onion, and yum!!
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! I really hope you enjoyed it! xT
This was delicious!! Would definitely make again! We used 3 chipotle peppers in our marinade and didn’t think it was too spicy. Our bang bang sauce did not look like the one pictured and we followed the recipe exactly. Ours was brown. Maybe try tsps of soy sauce rather than tbsps. It was still tasty though.
So glad you are loving this recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
This has been on frequent rotation this summer! So delicious!! I skip the skewer part and just used chicken tenders. I also just roast spears of pineapple instead of chunks. I make HBH coconut rice recipe and oven roastedH broccoli. Works great to make a “bowl dinner”. Thanks for this one!
Hey Heather! Thanks for giving the recipe a try! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! xT
What’s the spice level here? Want to make but worried about my dad who doesn’t like spicy!
Hi! I would use less chipotles if you’re worried about the spice! Hope this helps! xT
Soooo delish!!! I will add this to our rotation for sure!
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! I hope you loved it! xT
These were a hit! Super easy to make especially for a crowd!
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! I hope you loved it! xT
Our family had these for dinner tonight and we all gave it a big thumbs up!! We were looking for something different to do with chicken breasts and did not want traditional chicken skewers with veggies. We loved the marinade and bang bang sauce made them. They will definitely be added to the rotation 😊
Hey Essie,
Happy Sunday!! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and your comment, I love to hear that it was a winner! xx
Best recipe EVER – super easy! This had my family fighting over left overs and asking for the recipe! Consider trying to make mini versions for a potluck bbq. Absolutely excellent!
Hi Cait,
Happy Monday!! I am thrilled to hear that this dish turned out well for you, thanks for trying it and your comment!🌼🌸 xx