Hawaiian Grilled Pineapple Chicken — 🍍🌺🍗Transports you to Hawaii with every bite of this tender, juicy chicken and the grilled pineapple seals the deal! EASY, HEALTHY, ready in 10 minutes, and perfect for summer parties, barbecues, and casual weeknight dinners!
Table of Contents
- Ingredients in Pineapple Grilled Chicken
- How to Grill Pineapple Chicken
- Top Tip for Super Juicy Grilled Chicken
- Grilling FAQs
- What to Serve with Aloha Chicken
- Storage and Reheating Instructions
- Aloha Grilled Pineapple Chicken Recipe
- More Grilled Chicken Recipes:
This pineapple grilled chicken recipe tastes like a trip to Hawaii minus the airfare. Okay kidding, sort of.
I called this recipe “Aloha chicken” because the chicken has notes of soy sauce but with hint of brown sugar to mellow the saltiness along with lemon juice and ginger.The chicken is so tender, juicy, and full of awesome tropical flavor.
This is perfect summer outdoor barbecue and hanging out with friends food. And it’s also perfect for casual summer dinners when anything more than 10 minutes sounds like too long or too much work. I can relate.
It’s naturally healthy and gluten-free (use GF soy sauce if this is important to you). Plus anything that has pineapple as a key element of the main course is bound to be popular with the kiddos or picky eaters.
The grilled pineapple chicken is where it’s at for me. This is not the first time I’ve grilled pineapple. This Grilled Pineapple Lemonade Sangria comes to mind and would be perfect with this meal!
Ingredients in Pineapple Grilled Chicken
You may just have everything in your fridge and pantry to make the Hawaiian chicken marinade because it’s so simple:
- Ketchup
- Soy Sauce
- Brown sugar
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Ground ginger
- Salt and pepper
In addition to the Hawaiian marinade ingredients, you’ll also need:
- Chicken breasts
- Fresh pineapple
- Green onions, for garnishing
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Grill Pineapple Chicken
This is such an easy pineapple grilled chicken recipe! Here are the basic steps:
- Add the chicken breasts marinade ingredients to a zip-top bag and let that sit for about an hour in the fridge.
- Preheat the grill in the last 15 or so minutes that the chicken is marinating.
- Grill the chicken and pineapple. The thinly sliced chicken breasts will need to grill for about 5 minutes per side.
Top Tip for Super Juicy Grilled Chicken
As a shortcut, I used thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts. Their thinner size makes for faster grilling times and much more even cooking — both of which contribute to this pineapple grilled chicken being SUPER juicy.
This recipe would be even faster with chicken breast tenders or sometimes called breast cutlets or medallions, but as it is with the thin-sliced breasts I only needed to grill them 5 minutes per side and they were done.
Many times with large chicken breasts on thegrill, I struggle to keep the outside from becoming overly dark before the interior is fully cooked through but with either thin-sliced or breast tenders, you don’t have to worry about that.You can see that the inside is perfectly cooked, without being overcooked.
Grilling FAQs
What’s the best way to cut pineapple for grilling?
I used a medium-sized fresh pineapple. Simply clean it, and in the coring process you should have long spears as a result of getting the core out. Cut the spears so that they’re about 1 to 1 1/2-inches wide. You don’t want skinny spears. They will fall apart or fall through the grill grates. Or burn. None of which would be good.
Can I Use Canned Pineapple?
I have not experimented using canned pineapple rings. The issue is that it’s softer than fresh pineapple and I worry it may not stand up to the heat of the grill. Plus, it’s very juicy and all that juice (sugar) could burn more easily. I recommend using fresh pineapple.
Can i make this with an indoor grill pan?
Yes of course it’s possible to use an indoorgrill panthat you place directly over your stovetop. Cooking times may vary, but cook until the pork is done (145F with a meat thermometer).
Can I Make this Recipe in the Oven?
Yes, but of course it will lack the flavor you get from grilled chicken, the pineapple won’t be the same either, and visually you’ll be missing those love char marks. As long as you know that going in, you can try baking it in a 400F oven for about 20 minutes or until done.
Two great baked chicken recipes with similar flavor profiles is this Baked Teriyaki Chicken and Rice recipe as well as my 15-Minute Sheet Pan Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken.
How Long to Marinate Chicken Before Grilling?
I like to marinate my chicken overnight for the full and tenderizing effects, but if you’re running short on time then 30 to 60 minutes will do.
What to Serve with Aloha Chicken
Grilled Vegetables with Basil Vinaigrette
Balsamic Watermelon and Cucumber Salad
Loaded Greek Salad
Mandarin Orange Chicken Pasta Salad
Storage and Reheating Instructions
In the fridge:Let the chicken cool before storing in an airtight container. It will last up to 5 days in the fridge.
In the freezer: Grilled chicken can be frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat as instructed. I do NOT recommend freezing the grilled pineapple.
To reheat:Leftover grilled chicken can be reheated in 30-second bursts in the microwave.
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4.54 from 52 votes
Aloha Grilled Pineapple Chicken
By Averie Sunshine
🍍🌺🍗 Transports you to Hawaii with every bite of this tender, juicy chicken and the grilled pineapple seals the deal!! EASY, HEALTHY, ready in 10 minutes, and perfect for summer parties, barbecues, and casual weeknight dinners!!
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Marinating Time: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes minutes
Servings: 4
Equipment
1 indoor grill pan (if you don't have an outdoor gas grill)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts, I had 4 breasts
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 fresh pineapple, cleaned, cored, and sliced into about 8 one-inch wide long spears
- thinly sliced green onions, optional for garnishing
Instructions
To a large zip-top plastic bag, add all ingredients except the pineapple and green onions, seal, and smoosh around to evenly coat chicken. Place bag in fridge for at least 30 minutes, or overnight, to marinate.
Lightly oil grill grates and preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Add the chicken, place chicken on grill, and dunk the pineapple spears into the bag with the marinade, and place them on the grill. Discard the bag with the marinade.
Grill the chicken for about 5 minutes on the first side with lid closed, flip, and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on the second side with lid closed, or until chicken is cooked through and as done as desired. The pineapple can be rotated every 2 to 3 minutes, making that all sides touch the grill grates at some point during the cooking process (ensures that you kill the bacteria associated with the raw chicken marinade).
Optionally garnish the chicken with green onions and serve immediately.
Notes
Chicken and pineapple will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1, Calories: 479kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 55g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 145mg, Sodium: 1507mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 22g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Originally posted May 25, 2020 and reposted May 24, 2024 with updated text.
