Crock Pot (or Instant Pot) Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken

This one is for those lazy days. Or busy days. Or clueless, don’t know what to cook days. All it takes is a few minutes of your time sometime in the morning. This Hawaiian pineapple chicken is easy, dump and run slow cooking at its finest!

By the time you’re sipping your coffee or cocktail in the evening, this chicken, with a fusion of flavors, is cooking itself to make that pot ready for you. Sweet, tangy and umami flavors are waffling in your home while you relax and do whatever you like to do, rather than slaving in the kitchen. Mega-Super-Ultra-Easy Pineapple chicken… here I come…

I love pineapple chicken, sweet and tangy delicious. Sometimes I make it a stir fry, which can take some effort. On those days when I don’t feel like cooking, yet crave for my pineapple island style chicken, I feel very appreciative of that black appliance hidden under my cabinet. Don’t you all feel thankful for such a clever thing in your life? Your beloved crockpot.

Well now a days you can make this the super fast way in your new kitchen crush. Yes, your instant pot. We will give you instructions for both methods.

Personally, I prefer the slow cooking method as I feel the flavors are more intense than with faster cooking. But hey, if you’re in a hurry and need a tasty dinner on a busy weeknight, why not throw everything in your Insta and go for it. 🙂

Here is what you need for this easy weeknight dinner

• Chicken – We are using bone in thighs with skin removed. It’s a personal preference to go skinless in the crockpot, as the skin just turns mushy. If you like, you can try it with boneless skinless thighs or even breasts. Go ahead, both of them are great in this pineapple based sauce.
• Aromatics – Garlic, ginger, scallions, fresh red chilis or dried red chili flakes (you can skip the chilis if you prefer no heat). All Asian staples.
• Canned pineapple rings
• Red bell pepper
• For the Sauce – Pineapple juice, ketchup, soy sauce, mustard, brown sugar, honey, salt and pepper.

SOUND EASY RIGHT?

Here’s how to make this happen in your slow cooker

Chop all the aromatics and mix them with all the sauce ingredients.

For the chicken, you can place the pieces directly into the greased crockpot and season well with salt and pepper.

Some days, if you don’t mind the effort, you might want to first give them some color by quickly searing on both sides in a pan. This definitely adds more flavor to the dish and will add 5-6 minutes to the prep time.

Pour the sauce all over the chicken and place the pineapple rings on top. Ridiculously easy right? Cover and cook…

Place the bell peppers rings or strips on top for the final hour of cooking. In the end the chicken should be fall off the bone tender and that sauce will look pretty inviting. You can thicken up the sauce by simmering it in a separate pot and adding a cornstarch and water mixture. Somehow I like the sticky, gooey consistency rather than runny. But both ways are great.

Want this pineapple chicken at a faster pace? Take out that Instant Pot!

You can first give the chicken thighs a little color by browning them up on Sauté mode. Or you can just dump all the ingredients in the pot, chicken, then sauce, then pineapple and peppers.

Close the lid and make sure the pressure cooker is sealed. Select the Poultry function and adjust the time to 12 minutes on High Pressure. You can also select Manual and set 12 minutes on high pressure. Use a 10 minute Natural release then open the lid.

If you like, you can thicken up the sauce by putting the Instant Pot back on sauté mode and slowly stirring in cornstarch mixed with water.

Some may ask “Can I cook this in the oven?”

Yes, you can. Of course.

Place the chicken thighs in a greased oven safe pan or dish (I would recommend a dutch oven). Whisk that sauce and pour it over the chicken, followed by pineapple and bell pepper rings. Cover and bake in a pre heated oven at 400°F for 50 minutes to an hour, depending on the oven.

Check the internal temperature of chicken with a meat thermometer. It is safe to eat at 165°F, but for fall off the bone tender I like to cook it to 180°F.

How to serve

As with any other Asian inspired dish, this will go great with white or brown rice, or even cauliflower rice.

Some days you can pull the chicken off the bone and mix it back in with the sauce. This pulled chicken is a great fixing for your wraps and burritos, part of a bowl or salad meal, or in sliders.

Storing Leftovers

This will last great in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it for a couple of months in an airtight container.

Meal prep

Sometimes I make a giant batch for meal prep. Just shred the chicken and remove the bones (or use boneless to begin with) and mix with the sauce. Then, once cooled, put individual portion size amounts into freezer rated ziploc bags and freeze.

Make this Hawaiian inspired chicken this week and make your life easy and delicious. Who doesn’t like easy, ahh? Make the most of crock pot season, or bake it in your oven.

Pin or bookmark this so you can come back to it anytime you want in the future. Keep on coming back to GypsyPlate. We love seeing you again and again… 🙂

Crock Pot Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken, on my Gypsy Plate… enjoy!

These recipes go great in your Crock Pot or Instant Pot!
Smoky Chipotle Chili
Barbacoa Pork
Guinness Beef Stew
Kedjenou Chicken
Zuppa Toscana
Irish Coddle
Islander Pork
Moroccan Lentil Soup
White Bean Turkey Chili
Loaded Cauliflower Soup

Crock Pot Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours

Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes

This Hawaiian Pineapple chicken is a fall off the bone hit. Just a few minutes of hands on time and your trusty crock pot or instant pot does the rest!

Print

Ingredients

• 6 bone in chicken thighs, skin removed
• 1 20oz can pineapple rings, syrup discarded
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into rings or strips
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 Red chili, chopped (or 1/2-1 tsp dried red chili flakes)
• 1.5 cups pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 Tbsp mustard
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place chicken in lightly greased crock pot. (see note 1)
2. Mix Pineapple juice, ketchup, soy sauce, mustard, brown sugar, honey, salt and pepper, ginger, garlic, scallions and red chili in a bowl. Pour over chicken.
3. Place pineapple rings atop chicken.
4. Cover and cook 5-6 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. With one hour remaining, place peppers on top of pineapple.
5. Optional: If you prefer a thicker sauce, remove some of the sauce to a pan on stovetop over medium high heat. Make a slurry of water and corn starch. Gradually stir in slurry until you reach desired consistency.

Notes

1. For a little more umami flavor, you can first brown the chicken in a greased pan on stovetop.
   

Instant Pot Directions

• Set pressure cooker to Sauté mode and add a little oil. Add chicken and lightly brown each side.
• Mix Pineapple juice, ketchup, soy sauce, mustard, brown sugar, honey, salt and pepper ginger, garlic, scallions and red chili in a bowl. Pour over chicken.
• Place pineapple rings atop chicken.
• Close and seal lid.
• Select the Poultry function and adjust the time to 12 minutes on High Pressure.
• Use a 10 minute Natural release then open the lid.
• Optional: If you prefer a thicker sauce, return pressure cooker to Sauté mode. Make a slurry of water and corn starch. Gradually stir in slurry until you reach desired consistency.
  

Nutrition Information

Yield 6 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 468Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 153mgSodium 1110mgCarbohydrates 53gFiber 3gSugar 38gProtein 35g

Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.

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Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.