Grilled Ham and Pineapple Kabobs

These grilled ham and pineapple kabobs are an easy summer dinner made with chunks of ham, fresh pineapple, green pepper, and red onion. Everything gets threaded onto skewers and brushed generously with a sweet brown sugar pineapple sauce while it cooks on the grill.

Recipe Tips

I really liked the sauce on these. Sometimes ketchup-based sauces taste a little too much like ketchup, but the pineapple juice and brown sugar balanced this one really well.

I had actually planned to add a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and completely forgot it. After tasting the finished kabobs, I was glad I did. The sauce was really good without it, so I left it out of the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1 lb. fully cooked boneless ham, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3 cups fresh pineapple, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 12-inch bamboo skewers, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes

How to Make Grilled Ham and Pineapple Kabobs

Make the Pineapple Brown Sugar Sauce

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

Add ketchup, brown sugar, garlic powder, salt, and pineapple juice to a bowl. Whisk until well combined and the brown sugar is dissolved.

Assemble the Kabobs

Thread a piece of pineapple, ham, green pepper, and red onion onto a pre-soaked bamboo skewer. Repeat the pattern until the skewer is filled, leaving enough room at both ends to easily pick it up and turn it on the grill.

Continue with the remaining ingredients. I used 12-inch skewers and ended up with about 6-8 kabobs.

Grill and Baste

Place the ham and pineapple kabobs onto the preheated grill and generously brush them with sauce.

Grill for about 3 minutes, turn to another side, and brush with more sauce. Continue turning, basting, and grilling until all sides are hot and lightly grilled, about 12 minutes total.

If you have several skewers lined up on the grill, start basting the ones toward the back and work your way forward. The sauce will drip through the grates and can cause flare-ups, especially once you start moving a saucy brush over the grill.

Serve immediately.

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Be Generous with the Sauce

This recipe makes plenty of sauce. I had about one-third of it left after grilling, so there is no reason to be conservative with it.

Can You Use Canned Pineapple?

Fresh pineapple is my preference for these kabobs because the pieces stay firm on the skewers and hold up well on the grill.

If you are using canned pineapple, choose pineapple chunks and drain them very well before threading them onto the skewers.

What to Serve with Ham and Pineapple Kabobs

Because these kabobs already have ham, vegetables, and fruit, I would keep the rest of the meal simple.

• A cold red potato salad or old-fashioned macaroni salad works especially well for a summer BBQ.
• You could also serve them with pineapple rice if you want something a little more filling, or keep dinner lighter with grilled corn, a green salad, or simple roasted vegetables.

More Skewer Recipes

For another easy summer skewer recipe, try peach Caprese skewers.

For parties or BBQs, rainbow fruit skewers are another easy option that can be made ahead and kept chilled until serving.