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This Sticky Pineapple Chicken is made with chicken tossed in pineapple juice, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and fresh pineapple. This Hawaiian Chicken is perfectly sweet and sticky!
I love easy weeknight meals made with chicken breast that I can throw together in less than 20 minutes like my popular Honey Chicken Recipe. This Sweet and Sticky Pineapple Chicken is made with a sweet pineapple sauce and tossed with fresh pineapple and everyone loves it!
It reminds me so much of summer days spent in Hawaii devouring pineapple for an afternoon snack. This sweet and tangy sauce pairs perfectly with chicken.
INGREDIENTS:
This Pineapple Chicken is made with only 8 ingredients and is so easy to throw together.
- Chicken — I suggest using boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces.
- Pineapple Juice — use fresh pineapple juice in a can or carton.
- Soy Sauce — this adds the perfect amount of saltiness to the dish. You can also substitute tamari sauce if you prefer gluten-free.
- Sweet Chili Sauce — a popular sweet and sour sauce made with sugar, picked red chilis, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. You can find the Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce in most grocery stores in the Asian section. Trader Joe’s also carries their own sweet chili sauce.
- Cornstarch — this helps to thicken the sauce.
- Ginger — use fresh ginger or dried ginger. If using dried ginger, reduce the ginger amount to 1/4 teaspoon.
- Oil — just need a touch of oil to put in the skillet to cook the chicken.
- Fresh Pineapple — add the fresh pineapple right before serving for extra sweetness.
Optional: Cashews, Almonds, and fresh Cilantro. I love to serve this with Homemade Coconut Rice.
How to make Sticky Pineapple Chicken:
- Start by cutting the chicken into bite-size pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Cook chicken for 6-8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the sticky pineapple sauce. Add the pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, sweet chili sauce, cornstarch, and ginger to a pot and let cook and thicken for about 5 minutes.
- Once the chicken has cooked through, add the sauce to the chicken and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle with fresh cilantro.
See the recipe card below for full instructions.
If you love easy, better than take-out recipes, check out these favorite recipes…
Serve this Sweet and Sticky Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice.
STORAGE:
This Hawaiian Chicken can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat it, I suggest heating it in a skillet.
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Sticky Pineapple Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. Chicken Breast (cut into bite-size pieces)1
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 1 cup Pineapple Juice
- 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Sweet Chili Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Ginger (or 1/4 teaspoon Dried Ginger)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups Fresh Pineapple (sliced)
Optional: fresh cilantro, almonds, cashews)
Instructions
- Start by cutting the chicken into bite-size pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Cook chicken for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink.
- Meanwhile, make the sticky pineapple sauce. Add the pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, sweet chili sauce, cornstarch, and ginger to a pot and let cook and thicken for about 5 minutes.
- Once the chicken has cooked through, add the sauce to the chicken and toss to coat. Fold in fresh pineapple slices. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and cashews, if using.
Notes
- Chicken -- I suggest using boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces.
- Pineapple Juice -- use fresh pineapple juice in a can or carton.
- Soy Sauce -- this adds the perfect amount of saltiness to the dish. You can also substitute tamari sauce if you prefer gluten-free.
- Sweet Chili Sauce -- a popular sweet and sour sauce made with sugar, picked red chilis, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. You can find the Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce in most grocery stores in the Asian section. Trader Joe's also carries their own sweet chili sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Quick, easy & delicious 😋
I love chicken and I, always on the hunt for chicken recipes. Made this the other night and it was really good. The sauce didn’t thicken up. Not sure if that’s what makes it sticky. Next time I will add more cornstarch and hopefully that will thicken it up. You add the fresh pineapple in step three, but will need to pat dry it since taking it straight from the can made the sauce runnier from the extra juice.
Made this for dinner last night & it was absolutely delicious! My very picky husband loved it, as did I! I was pressed for time, so used ground ginger & added some garlic powder ( I add garlic to everything!) Normally I use fresh ingredients, though. This recipe was so easy, fast & very tasty! Definitely added to my rotation! Thank you!
That’s one of my favorite things about this recipe too, it can be so simple and easy! I am so glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for trying it out!
Can you bake this in the oven? And how long and what temp do you think would be best?
I made this for supper tonight but I fried my chicken morsels. The sauce never did thicken up for me, I even added extra cornstarch and cooked it for a good 15 minutes. I’m not really sure what I did wrong, I followed the recipe.
What about the pineapple?
This was delicious! I like that the recipe wasn’t complicated and the sauce was sweet but not over the top.
I also noticed it didn’t say what to do with the fresh pineapple so it in the pan for the last few minutes of cooking and added some cashew pieces!
Where do you add in the fresh pineapple? Should it be cooked, just warmed or raw?
Yes – I was wondering about this too!
It’s in step 3