Grilled Pineapple Chicken

This easy grilled chicken recipe is sure to bring the flavors of the islands directly to your kitchen! Whether you are serving it hot over some rice or chilled over a salad, this chicken is sure to please! The chicken is marinated in teriyaki and pineapple juice, and the pineapples are soaked in soy sauce with a bit of honey before being grilled to perfection. I hope you get to try this recipe soon! Please make sure to give it a star rating here on the page if you do try it!

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Grilled Pineapple Chicken

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Marinating Time15 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Lunch, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American, Hawaiian, Island

Keyword: Chicken, easy, Grilled, Pineapple

Calories: 203kcal

Cost: $8

Equipment

• Knife
• Two 1 Gallon plastic storage bags for marinating
• Baking sheet for preparation
• Aluminum Foil
• Gas, Charcoal or Stove Top Grill
• Chopping pad or board

Ingredients

• 1 fresh pineapple or 1 can pineapple rings with juice
• 2 large boneless chicken breasts
• salt to rub chicken
• pepper to rub chicken
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp pineapple juice (from fresh pineapple or canned)
• 1 teaspoon freshly minced garlic (or garlic powder)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

Preparing the Chicken

• On a chopping pad or board, take your chicken breasts and butterfly (cut them in half lengthwise, not across the middle) so that you have two "almost even" chicken breasts. This should give you 4 thinner pieces of chicken to cook quicker and it will also make your chicken breast juicier because of lower cook time. I used 3 chicken breasts here since I was feeding 6 people.
  
• Sprinkle each half with a pinch or two of salt and gently rub or pat the salt into the chicken on each side. Repeat this for each breast half.
• Sprinkle each half with a pinch or two of pepper and gently rub or pat the pepper into the chicken on each side. Repeat this for each breast half
• Sprinkle each half with a pinch or two of onion powder and gently rub or pat the onion powder into the chicken on each side. Repeat this for each breast half.

  NOTE: You are probably asking, "Rob, why couldn't I just combine all of that together and put it on at one time?" Well, the answer is "LAYERING." By doing it separately it will help you develop a great layered flavor versus just throwing all the ingredients on at the same time. This is something I have learned over the years! Trust me, it makes a difference.

  However, if you would like to do it all together, then that's okay too! I'm sure it would still turn out ok. 🙂
  

Preparing the Marinades for Chicken and Pineapple

• In one of the gallon storage bags, add soy sauce and honey. If you haven't done so already, slice your fresh pineapple into rings. If you do not like the core pieces then make sure to de-core your pineapple. It will soften as you cook it but some people do not like the texture.
• Place your pineapple rings into the bag and shake gently to coat them. You can also gently massage the bag to move the pineapple rings back and forth.
  
• In the other gallon storage bag, add teriyaki sauce, minced garlic (or garlic powder) and pineapple juice. Give it a gentle shake to combine the ingredients.
• Place your chicken breasts into this bag and gently shake or massage the bag to ensure all pieces are evenly coated.
  
• Let the chicken and the pineapple slices marinate for at least 15 minutes. If you can leave it longer, that's fine too. The longer it sits in those juices, the more intense the flavors.

Grilling the Pineapple and Chicken

• After your pineapple and chicken have marinated, fire up your grill to a medium heat. Don't go too high on the heat as this will cook the outside too fast!
• First, add your pineapple slices to the grill. Use some kitchen tongs to gently pull each slice out of the bag of marinade.
  
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and keep with you at the grill. This will make it easier to place your pineapple and chicken onto once they are done cooking.
• Cook the pineapple on each side for about 3 minutes or until slices are slightly caramelized and soft. You should have nice grill marks on each side.
• Place the finished slices onto your foil lined baking sheets
• Add your chicken breasts to the grill. Gently pull each of them out of the marinade bag with tongs and place on the grill. I normally do a "Four-sided" grill on these. Cook them lengthwise on both sides, then turn them vertical and cook them on each side. This will give you great grill marks. Since your chicken is cut thinner, you would only need to do about two minutes on each side, or 8 minutes total cook time.

  NOTE: If you see the chicken cooking quicker than you want, reduce the cook time on each side.
• Place the finished chicken breasts onto your foil lined baking sheet.
  
• You can serve this warm over rice, or by itself. You can also chop this up and place it on top of a beautiful salad too. However you serve it, it's very tasty!! Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 4people | Calories: 203kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.6g | Protein: 21.3g | Fat: 5.3g | Saturated Fat: 1.4g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 470mg | Potassium: 255mg | Fiber: 0.6g | Sugar: 5.6g | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg