Pineapple Grilled Chicken
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This Pineapple Grilled Chicken Recipe is delicious and easy to make! A simple Hawaiian Grilled Chicken recipe that’s healthy and tasty!
It’s grilling season and we absolutely love a delicious, juicy grilled chicken breast!
While we still love our bbq chicken breast, this grilled pineapple chicken recipe is just as amazing with a sweet and tangy marinade sauce and the delicious grilled pineapples.
This tropical recipe will be one your whole family loves! Make it for your next picnic, bbq, or for your weekly meal prep. If you need other ideas check out these Healthy Grilling Recipes!
why we love this Pineapple Chicken Recipe
There is a lot to love about this chicken recipe. It’s one of our favorite proteins for a healthy dinner because it’s:
- Easy to make – Marinate and throw on the grill. That’s it!
- Simple Ingredients – Most of the ingredients are pantry staples, so you only need to add a few things to your grocery list.
- Easy to substitute – Almost every ingredient can be substituted in this recipe! Check the green box below for our recommendations.
- Versatile – You can serve this Hawaiian chicken in so many ways (our favorites are below)!
- Great for meal prep – This recipe lasts 4 days in the fridge, so make it once and have a tasty lunch or dinner for days!
Ingredients for Grilled Pineapple Chicken
To make this grilled pineapple chicken, you’ll need:
- chicken breasts
- pineapple rings + juice
- Hawaiian barbeque sauce
- soy sauce
- olive oil
- brown sugar
- garlic powder, red pepper flakes, onion powder
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box.
We love this instant-read thermometer for checking the internal temperature to make sure your meat is cooked thoroughly!
How to Make Grilled Pineapple Chicken
- In a large bowl, mix pineapple juice, barbecue sauce, soy sauce, olive oil, brown sugar, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and onion powder to make a marinade. Set 1/4 cup of your marinade mixture aside.
- Place your chicken and pineapple into your marinade and let sit covered in a refrigerator for 10-20 minutes.
- Grill marinated pineapple and chicken breasts on medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Serve hot with extra marinade and optional green onion garnish.
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR PINEAPPLE CHICKEN
Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders. You could also substitute with pork chops or salmon.
Canned Pineapple: You can cut your fresh pineapple slices and use the juice. Juice straight from a pineapple contains enzymes that may break down your chicken protein faster and make a mushy textured chicken, so make sure to lower the marinade time to about 5-10 minutes in this case.
Hawaiian Barbecue Sauce: Hawaiian BBQ sauce can be found in most grocery stores or online. This is the brand we like. You can substitute it with regular barbecue sauce if you can’t find it!
Soy Sauce: You can sub soy sauce with coconut aminos for a gluten free/soy free option or Bragg’s liquid aminos. If using Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, use HALF the amount – Bragg’s is much saltier.
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil or sesame oil in place of olive oil.
Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is really the best option for sweetener in this recipe. It helps make a delicious glaze on the chicken. You can substitute coconut sugar, but it will not be as good. I don’t recommend using maple syrup or honey because it may burn easily on the grill.
To Make it Lower Carb: Skip the pineapple slices and only enjoy the chicken.
How to Serve Easy Pineapple Grilled Chicken
You should eat this Hawaiian grilled chicken and pineapple slices right away served warm. Here are some of our favorite things to serve with grilled pineapple chicken.
- grilled veggies
- roasted broccoli or asparagus
- crispy potatoes
- over cauliflower fried rice
- on a Strawberry Spinach Salad
It’s also great with Boiled Broccoli!
Oven Baked Pineapple Chicken
Can I make this in an oven instead of a grill? Yes, you can bake this Hawaiian grilled chicken!
Heat your oven to 375° and bake pineapple slices and chicken breasts for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken and the pineapple reaches 165°.
How do you know if your chicken is done? You can check the internal temperature of chicken to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly, it should be at 165!
Can you cook this chicken on the stove? Yes! You can pan sear the chicken for 7-8 minutes on each side.
Can you cook this in the instant pot? We wouldn’t recommend it, but you can cook it for 11 minutes on sealing, pressure cook.
Can you make this chicken ahead of time? Absolutely! This chicken is great for prepping ahead of time. Grill or bake and store in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
How to Store Pineapple Chicken
Storing: This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. We prefer to eat this pineapple chicken fresh though.
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave, toaster oven, oven, or on the stove.
Other healthy grilling recipes:
Looking for other grilling recipes? Check out these 40+ Healthy Grilling Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy grilling cookbook.
Pineapple Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded and thin cut
- 1 8 oz can pineapple rings drained- set juice aside
- 1/4 cup canned pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup Hawaiian barbeque sauce
- 2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Heat grill to medium-high heat.
- In a large bowl, mix pineapple juice, barbecue sauce, low sodium soy sauce, olive oil, brown sugar, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and onion powder to make a marinade.
- Set ¼ cup of your marinade mixture aside for basting the chicken before serving.
- Place your chicken and pineapple rings into your marinade and let sit covered in a refrigerator for 10-20 minutes. Do not marinate for more than 20 minutes. Pineapple juice can break down chicken.
- Grill marinated pineapple rings and chicken breasts for about 4-5 minutes on each side, making sure that they all reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Serve hot with extra marinade and optional green onion garnish.
The pineapple grilled chicken is absolutely fantastic. I would recommend it to anybody.
This has become a family favorite chicken dish.
Delicious and so easy.
Hi Liz:
This recipe sounds and looks amazing. My wife is allergic to pineapple. Can you suggest a different fruit option for this dinner opportunity?
Thank you, Chris
Hi Chris, I’m sorry I can’t ! Pineapple is the main ingredient in this recipe. You can check out our other healthy grilling recipes list for other ideas! Sorry I couldn’t be more help.
Looks like a winner! Could this be baked in the oven instead? If so, how many degrees and how long?
Yes! This is covered in the blog post: Can I make this in an oven instead of a grill? Yes, you can bake this Hawaiian grilled chicken!
Heat your oven to 375° and bake pineapple slices and chicken breasts for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken and the pineapple reaches 165°.
The perfect summer chicken! So easy. We will definitely be making this again!
This is a winner! I made it exactly as written and double the amount of sauce which I’m glad I did. Everyone I’ve served it to so far has done nothing but rave about it. Had big plans to make it tonight and my gas grill is apparently on strike so I am going to try it in the air fryer. Fingers crossed! I’ll report back
This is so easy to make and absolutely delicious! The chicken remains tender…so tender it can be cut with a fork! Also, the pineapple slices are to die for!! Delicious!!
would using fresh pineapple and pineapple juice work or does it have to be canned ?
You can cut your fresh pineapple slices and use the juice. Juice straight from a pineapple contains enzymes that may break down your chicken protein faster and make a mushy textured chicken, so make sure to lower the marinade time to about 5-10 minutes in this case.
This recipe is so easy and yummy! I make this at least a few times a month.
This recipe was soooooo delicious. Thanks for sharing all your amazing recipes. We are loving them.
This is really good, but I would definitely advise doubling the marinade (except for the sugar, plenty sweet enough with less sugar). I had about 1.5 lb of chicken and 8 slices of fresh pineapple and placed it in a bag with double the marinade, and it wasn’t too much. I reserved a small amount as suggested in the recipe and used it as extra sauce at the table. Next time I think I will cook and reduce it so it is a little thicker. Served with jasmine rice and grilled zucchini. I will definitely make this again!
Excellent!!!!!
Delicious! Will definitely make this recipe again.
Is it safe to eat the pineapple after it’s been in raw chicken?
You can grill the pineapple and eat it after it’s been marinating but you definitely can’t eat it raw after it’s been with raw chicken!
Can this be air fried? If so, what would be the recommended settings?
I’m not sure, sorry! I would google air fryer chicken breast and apply the instructions to that!
I want to try this really bad but I have stomach issues so the garlic powder and red pepper flakes would not be good for me to use in the marinade 😢 Do you have any recommendations for things to substitute those with???
I would just skip it! It probably won’t be as flavorful but I’m sure it will be delicious!
This was so delicious! It had just enough sweetness with a little spice from the red pepper flakes. The grilled pineapple rings were 🤌🏻🤌🏻 I served it with roasted fingerling potatoes and green beans.
Delicious! And super easy to make.
This should have 5 plus stars. I did double the sauce and next time I would reserve 1/2 c. rather than a 1/4 c. Used coconut amino rather than soy, and left out brown sugar due to diabetes. EXCELLENT FLAVOR – this sauce can be put to such good use on so many meats. Thank you Liz for another flavorful dish.
This turned out so delicious! Easy and tasty; what more do you need? Thanks for the great recipe!
This recipe is so easy to make and it is delicious! 10/10 recommended for a great summer night!