This Ham and Pineapple Rice is a fun and easy one pot meal for busy weeknights! Perfect for those Hawaiian lovers 🙂 Make it with long grain, brown or instant rice.
I know this is a hot topic, but ham and pineapple is one of our favorite flavor combinations.
On pizza, in pasta, on this Instant Pot Ham — in pretty much anything.
So this Ham and Pineapple Rice was bound to happen, and I’m so glad it did.
It’s a little like a pineapple fried rice, minus the frying and the egg.
It has a similar flavor profile and pairs great with ham, pork or chicken and makes a great meal on its own!
This rice would be the perfect accompaniment to an Easter ham if you are celebrating that way this year — you can leave them ham out of this rice recipe to serve alongside, or use leftover Easter ham to make this recipe for a quick weeknight dinner!
Variations on this Ham and Pineapple Rice recipe:
This is one of those dishes that you can really customize to your tastes.
- It’s perfect for adding extra veggies (spinach, kale, mushrooms, peas, frozen mixed veggies — anything you want). Before I updated this recipe, I had a shredded carrot as part of the recipe. I took that out to simplify this recipe as much as possible, but it’s a great addition and no one really notices.
- You can also swap out the cooking liquids. Milk would give it a creamier taste, tomato sauce would give it more of a Hawaiian pizza flavor (but don’t forget the cheese if you’re going that route!). If you want to use tomato sauce as part of your cooking liquid, you may need to add additional broth to cook the rice.
- You can leave out the ham and use vegetable broth to make it vegetarian, or swap the ham for shredded chicken if you have some to use up.
- To substitute long grain brown rice, use 1 cup rice (rinsed), increase the cooking liquid to 1 ½ cups and the cook time to 25-40 minutes (check your product package for guidance)
- To substitute instant white rice, increase the rice to 1 ½ cups. Bring to a simmer, add the rice, then cover and remove from the heat. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Use your imagination and put your own spin on it!
More rice recipes you’ll love!
- Mango Salsa Chicken and Rice
- 7 Ingredient Chicken and Rice Bake
- Chicken Rice Soup: Stove Top or Slow Cooker
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice
*This post, recipe and photos have been updated since the original post in March 2016
Ham and Pineapple Rice
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped cooked ham
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 391 ml canned pineapple tidbits drained (reserve any juices) about 1 cup
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce gluten-free if necessary
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup long grain white rice **see notes for brown rice
- 2 green onions sliced
Instructions
- In a large skillet combine ham, chicken broth, pineapple, pineapple juice, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, and salt and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- Rinse rice well using a fine mesh sieve.
- Stir in rice, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 10 minutes, stir, cover and continue cooking 5-10 minutes until rice is tender. Stir in green onions and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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kathy says
Really enjoyed this….added mushrooms, and green peppers, a bit of sesame oil and a bit of cider vinegar, lessened the chicken broth
by 1/4 to accommodate 1/4 cider vinegar.. ..cooked in pressure cooker which made it even easier..delicious meal thx for posting it.
Ryan says
This did not turn out well at all. The brown rice directions were confusing. It says to “increase to 1.5 cups of liquid” but there is already 2 cups of liquid in the recipe. So I followed the directions on the bag for the brown rice also per the instructions above. It was all liquid and the rice was still not cooked after 40 minutes. What a waste of time and ingredients.
Alysse says
This was a great recipe for leftover ham. I used chicken bouillon in substitution for chicken broth and it made the dish a tad too salty but that was my mistake. If I had omitted the salt I think the dish would have been perfect!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Alysse! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Meredith says
I never leave comments on recipe blogs but this one was SO GOOD. I had a ton of leftover Christmas ham I needed to use up by today, plus a whole fresh pineapple that was starting to get too ripe. Perfect combo of both. I did about 1.5 cups each of ham and pineapple, and threw them in the cast iron at high heat with some butter to get a little sear going; I added the soy sauce and Worcestershire first to deglaze a bit, then everything else. I used apple cider instead of pineapple juice and jasmine rice. I also had fresh thyme on hand.
I added some water (~1/4 c) midway through cooking because I was worried it would be too dry, but I should have trusted the ratios! Ended up leaving it on a bit longer to cook out the extra liquid I added. But it turned out delicious… I definitely want to try it with some sesame oil next time like another commenter suggested! Thanks for a great recipe. 🙂
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Meredith! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
Steph says
That is the saltiest dish I’ve ever had. If I make this again, I’m for sure leaving out the salt, and only using half the soy sauce. Also, this does not serve 4. It serves 40.
The Recipe Rebel says
Sorry to hear you this wasn’t to your taste, Steph. The amounts have worked well for myself (and others) so I wished they would of been a hit for you too.
Erin says
I used coconut milk rather than the chicken broth to try to give it more of an Thai style flair, but I think I added too much coconut milk (almost 3/4 of a can) and the overall dish lost some flavor. Next time I would cut back on the coconut milk (only half a can), include some of the chicken broth (maybe 3/4’s of a cup?), and maybe a little green or yellow curry. It was good but definitely needed something to kick up the flavors!
The Recipe Rebel says
Glad the substitution worked for you Erin!
Dee says
Has anyone tried this with cauliflower rice? I’m thinking slightly steamed in the bag or fresh cooked in pan per recipe? Your thoughts?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Dee! It could likely work, although I haven’t tried it myself. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!
Camomoto says
Try a little sesame oil in this!
The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks for the tip!
Ian says
I tried this with instant rice, bringing it up to a simmer and removing from the heat for 5 minutes wasnt enough to finish, i had to simmer it for 5 mins then remove from heat to fully cook it
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Ian! It will depend on the type of rice you buy. I would make sure to check the box for exact cook times
Kathy says
Love a 1-pot versatile recipe that uses up leftovers! Added red pepper flakes upon tasting it to give it more flavor – worked well. The kids liked it just the way it was. Thanks for sharing this meal!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Kathy!
Gena says
This is definitely a winner! I had a bunch of leftover ham, and this was an excellent way to use it. Mine got a little drizzle of sriracha on top. Great salty/sweet/spicy combo. What a smart recipe!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Gena!