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These grilled sweet and sour turkey kebabs are the perfect summertime grilling recipe. Delicious turkey chunks are skewered with pineapple, orange slices, bell peppers, red onion and glazed with a homemade sweet and sour sauce.
Bust out your grill for turkey kebabs!
These grilled sweet and sour turkey kebabs are made right on the grill and glazed to sticky sweet and sour perfection. Yes, the sauce has to be made on the stove, but don’t worry, it doesn’t heat up your house.
Honestly, the most challenging part of this recipe is putting all the goodies onto the kebab skewers, which is not challenging at all. It’s just time-consuming.
I love making kebabs and skewers for simple summer meals, but I don’t have a ton on the blog. This must change! If you have ever tried my Pineapple Chicken Kebabs, Hot Honey Chicken Skewers, Grilled Chicken Meatball Skewers, or Chimichurri Grilled Shrimp Skewers, you know how delicious they can be!
That’s why when I thought of a fun new twist on turkey, I went straight to the grill! Depending on where you live, you can grill all year round!
I layered cut turkey with red bell peppers, onion, oranges, and pineapple on the skewers, grilled them to perfection, and glazed them in a homemade sweet and sour sauce.
It’s beyond delicious and beyond easy! To make it even easier, you can prep the skewers and the sweet and sour sauce a day before.
Ingredients needed
- Turkey thighs
- Pineapple
- Oranges
- Bell peppers
- Onion
- Homemade sweet and sour sauce
How to grill turkey kebabs
I love making kebabs because they are so easy to make!
- Add all your ingredients to either soaked wooden or metal skewers.
- Add to a preheated grill and grill until the veggies are soft and the turkey registers 165 F internally.
- Glaze with homemade sweet and sour sauce and cook for a few minutes to get sticky.
- Serve with your favorite sides.
My Pro Tips
Recipe Tips & Substitutions
- You can use turkey breasts if you can’t find boneless turkey thighs.
- Don’t forget to preheat your grill! It helps to cook the turkey kebabs evenly.
- You can make the sweet and sour sauce a day in advance.
- Swap out vegetables to use what you love.
- Chicken breast or chicken thighs can be used here as well.
- Use precut pineapple to cut down on prep time.
- If you use wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least an hour before grilling. This helps to stop them from burning.
- Turkey is fully cooked at 165 degrees F.
What to serve alongside
FAQ’s
More grilling recipes
Grilled Sweet and Sour Turkey Kebabs
Equipment
Ingredients
For kebabs:
- 3 navel oranges, thinly sliced
- 1 whole pineapple, cleaned and cut into chunks
- 2 pounds boneless turkey thigh meat, cut into chunks
- 2 red bell peppers, cored, cut into bite size pieces
- 2 yellow bell peppers, cored, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 large red onion, quartered
For sauce:
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup pineapple juice
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
For skewers:
- Heat grill to medium high heat.
- Using long skewers skewer on a pineapple chunk, an orange slice folded in half, a turkey chunk, a pepper slice and a piece of red onion. Repeat 1 or 2 times depending on length of kebab sticks. Continue until you run out of meat.
- Add kebabs to your grill and grill for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are slightly charred and the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Glaze each kebab with the sweet and sour sauce, flip, glaze the other side and cook for just a few minutes to help make the glaze sticky.
- Serve with a little extra sauce for dipping.
For glaze:
- Add brown sugar, juices, vinegar, ketchup, and soy sauce to a small skillet. Simmer gently over medium heat.
- In a small bowl whisk together cornstarch and cold water.
- Add cornstarch mixture to your skillet mixture and whisk till smooth and thick. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m all about the grill in the summer too! Not only keeping the house cool but who wants to be stuck inside. I’ll be putting these on the menu for this weekend!
Turkey and grilling…. two of my favorite things! These are perfect for me!
I need to eat more turkey. I always forget about it until Thanksgiving.
I love all the colors!
Mmm. These kebabs sound absolutely incredible and perfect for the summer!
That sauce sounds so good! Wish I had some now.
Kebabs are one of my favorite things to grill in the summertime! Will have to try these; I’ve never thought to make them with turkey before!
I love making kebabs! Using turkey in them is such a great idea, I’ve never tried that!
These look amazing! Can’t wait to give them a try!