These Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers are one of my favorite OG Our Best Bites recipes. This is one of my favorite fun foods, especially because you can serve it as an appetizer or as a meal. It’s a twist on Teriyaki chicken and you’re going to be pretty hard-pressed to find people, especially men, unimpressed by meat wrapped in meat and then grilled.
Ingredient Notes
- Metal or bamboo skewers – Remember bamboo skewers will need to soak for 30 minutes before grilling so they can handle the heat. I prefer metal skewers with handles. The handles stick out of the grill so they are easy to turn and handle.
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
- Bacon – Use thin-sliced bacon. Thick bacon will not stay wrapped around the chicken as well and won’t cook up as well.
- Pineapple Chunks – I just use canned pineapple chunks, but feel free to try fresh if you’d like.
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Soy Sauce (I prefer low sodium)
- Sugar
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Fresh Garlic
- Dried Ginger
- Black Pepper
How to Make Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers
- Make your teriyaki sauce by combining some soy sauce, sugar, apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. Reserve 1/4 cup of Teriyaki sauce and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Remove the bacon from the package and, while it’s still all stuck together, stretch it out a little (lengthwise). If you’re using center-cut bacon (and the “slab” is not as wide as regular bacon), just cut it in half. Otherwise, use kitchen shears to cut the slab into thirds. Place in a large pie plate or 9×13″ baking dish.
- Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. You can gauge about how many pieces you’ll need by how many pieces of bacon you have–count the slices of bacon and multiply by 2 or 3 (depending on how many pieces you cut the bacon into) and then aim to cut about that many pieces of chicken. Add the chicken to the bacon, then add pineapple and cover in Teriyaki sauce. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
- When ready to cook, wrap each piece of chicken in a piece of bacon and slide it onto the skewer. Top with a chunk of pineapple. Alternate bacon-wrapped meat with pineapple. Don’t pack your skewers too tightly or they won’t cook evenly. Aim for 4-5 pieces each of chicken and pineapple.
- Preheat grill to 375-400. When hot, place skewers on grill and baste with reserved Teriyaki sauce. Cook about 7 minutes and flip skewers. Baste again and cook another 7 minutes. If grilling appetizers, use a grill pan if necessary to prevent them from falling through the grates.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover skewers in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3-4 days for best results.
- If making for appetizers, cut bamboo skewers in half and layer 2-3 pieces each of chicken and pineapple.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these ahead of time?
These skewers are delicious hot or cold. Feel free to cook them up and serve them chilled if necessary. For serving hot, they are best straight off the grill.
Could I use beef instead of chicken?
Absolutely. Sirloin chunks would be delicious here.
Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers
These easy Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers are a hit during grilling season. Perfect for a fun dinner or as an appetizer.
Servings people
Ingredients
Skewers
- 1-1 ½ pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs thighs trimmed of fat
- 1 12- ounce package bacon not thick-sliced; it’s too hard to wrap the chicken
- 1 16- ounce can pineapple chunks
Teriyaki Sauce
- ½ cup soy sauce low sodium if possible
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar I like Braggs
- 1 clove garlic pressed or very finely minced
- ½ teaspoon ginger, ground or ½ tablespoons fresh
- 2-3 cracks freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Teriyaki Sauce
- In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. Reserve ¼ cup of Teriyaki sauce and refrigerate until ready to use.
Skewers
- Remove the bacon from the package and while it’s still all stuck together, stretch it out a little (lengthwise). If you’re using center-cut bacon (and the “slab” is not as wide as regular bacon), just cut it in half. Otherwise, use kitchen shears to cut the slab into thirds. Place in a large pie plate or 9×13″ baking dish.
- Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. You can gauge about how many pieces you’ll need by how many pieces of bacon you have–count the slices of bacon and multiply by 2 or 3 (depending on how many pieces you cut the bacon into) and then aim to cut about that many pieces of chicken. Add the chicken to the bacon, then add pineapple and cover in Teriyaki sauce. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
- When ready to cook, wrap each piece of chicken in a piece of bacon and skewer. Top with a chunk of pineapple. For appetizers, you can make these on toothpicks; for skewers, alternate bacon-wrapped meat with pineapple (3-4 per skewer).
- Preheat grill to 375-400°. When hot, place skewers on grill and baste with reserved Teriyaki sauce. Cook about 7 minutes and flip skewers. Baste again and cook another 7 minutes. If grilling appetizers, use a grill pan if necessary to prevent them from falling through the grates.
Notes
- Wondering what to serve on the side? Try Pineapple Cilantro Rice, Caramelized Green Beans, and Brazilian Lemonade for an amazing meal with tropical flair!
- The original recipe for our Teriyaki Sauce contains cornstarch. However, when making this for a marinade, it’s best to leave out the cornstarch. For your convenience, we’ve left out the cornstarch from this version of the recipe. If you’d like to make the Teriyaki sauce in the future, please refer to the original recipe.
- Store leftover skewers in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3-4 days for best results.
- If making for appetizers, cut bamboo skewers in half and layer 2-3 pieces each of chicken and pineapple.
Nutrition
Calories: 552kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 47g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 167mg, Sodium: 2839mg, Potassium: 481mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 17g, Vitamin A: 168IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 30mg, Iron: 2mg
Calories: 552kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
Like a party in my mouth! This was insanely delicious. I’ve been a OBB fan for a long time and actually make a lot of your recipes as freezer meals… This one included. But I couldn’t wait for this recipe so it didn’t make it into the freezer… We had it right away. Just one (pretty major) issue. Mushy chicken 🙁 boooo! I looked it up and sure enough apparently it’s a fairly widely known fact that the acidity of pineapple will destroy your chicken and make it mushy! Anyway… I will still make this recipe over and over… I could practically drink that amazing teriyaki sauce…but will skewer the chicken and pineapple separately.
How do you keep these warm in the crock pot for a pot luck?
Sorry, I forget to mention that I made this into freezer cooking packets. Cut up the meat into individual baggies, the bacon in another baggie. Write a note on the pineapple cans and the teryaki sauce that they are needed for this recipe. Voila! Thanks for this great recipe (and many others!).
I love these! However, next time I am going to use a BBQ grill pan. Just dump in the ingredients and stir over the grill. KISS is my motto.
I just want to personally thank you for all these wonderful recipes. My grand-daughter is having a party at the beach and I was completely lost on menu wise. So I found your sight and to my amazement I was able to come up with the whole menu for that birthday party..and few other other dishes for future occasions.
Thank you…
Norma
I made the Bacon wrapped Teriyaki chicken skewers because my daughter made them and she said they were delicious. I also made the Caramelized Green Beans along with the Lime-Cilantro rice with Pinapple, which were the suggestions to serve along with the skewers. This was my first time to make them and serve them to guests, it was all a hit and very flavorful. Definitely I would make again and want to try more recipes from Best Bites.
theres dinner for tonight. I already have the chicken marinating in teriyaki sauce
Made these for the 4th of July, my first experience grilling kebabs and they were absolutely delectable! Thank you!
I made these tonight on my George Foreman grill, just set it for 5 minutes and viola! I had no cilantro 🙁 so I made ginger pineapple rice yummmm!!!
Like another reader, my pineapple turned brown. Any way to prvent that?
Also, do you need to soak the skewers before marinating the meat?
I tried them and they taste amazing!! Thanks so much.
Sarah
If you’re using wood/bamboo skewers, definitely soak them. I’m not sure what’s going on with your pineapple, but it’s okay if it browns while cooking, that’s normal!