This Pineapple Chicken is the perfect combination of sweet, savory, and spicy. It’s packed with tender chicken, juicy pineapple, and red bell pepper. Ready in just 25 minutes!
Table of Contents
We are big pineapple lovers here! This Pineapple Chicken was an instant hit with the family — they love it almost as much as they love this Pineapple Upside Down Cake, this Pineapple Coconut Cake, or this Pineapple Smoothie 😉
Now, we’ve already made crockpot pineapple chicken, but sometimes I’m craving its sweet and savory flavors and I don’t have three hours to wait for it to cook.
That’s where this stovetop Pineapple Chicken comes in.
This recipe is packed with tender bites of chicken in a gooey, sweet, slightly spicy pineapple sauce—and it’s ready in just 25 minutes!
Ingredients needed for Pineapple Chicken:
- Pineapple Sauce: we’re making up a gooey, sweet, tangy, spicy pineapple sauce with pineapple juice, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, hoisin sauce, cornstarch, minced garlic and ginger, salt, and red pepper flakes.
- Cornstarch, Salt, and Black Pepper: we coat the chicken pieces in cornstarch and seasonings to help add flavor and absorb moisture. This gives the exterior that crispy texture!
- Chicken Breast: I use boneless and skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2-3/4″ pieces. You could also use chicken thigh, but it may take slightly longer to cook.
- Oil: you’ll use oil to cook the pepper and brown the chicken before adding the pineapple sauce.
- Red Bell Pepper: adds some color and a boost of nutrition
- Pineapple Chunks: I use canned pineapple chunks but you could chop up fresh pineapple and use that instead.
How to make Pineapple Chicken
- Make the pineapple sauce: In a bowl, whisk together all of the pineapple sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- Coat the chicken: In a baking dish or ziplock bag, combine cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Add in the chicken pieces and toss until fully coated.
- Cook the pepper: Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add in 1 tablespoon of oil. Add in the pepper and cook until crisp-tender. Remove from the pan.
- Brown the chicken: In the same pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil and the chicken pieces. Cook until golden-brown.
- Combine: When the chicken is browned, add the sauce, peppers, and. pineapple to the skillet. Cook until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is cooked through.
FAQs
Pineapple contains a group of enzymes called Bromelain which help break down the connective tissues in meat. So not only does it add a fresh, tangy, fruity flavor, it also creates a deliciously tender texture.
Yes! I like to use canned pineapple because I can get the juice and the fruit I need for this recipe with one 540 ml can. However, if you want to use fresh pineapple and buy the juice separately, feel free to do that instead.
Leftover pineapple chicken will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months. To reheat, thaw in the fridge if frozen, then microwave or warm on the stove until heated through.
Variations
- Add other veggies. Feel free to cook any veggies you like along with the red bell pepper. Try broccoli, snap peas, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, you name it.
- Make it spicier. This dish already has a kick of heat from the red pepper flakes, but if you like an even spicier sauce, mix in a drizzle of Sriracha!
Serving suggestions
Serve this chicken and pineapple sauce over a bed of white or brown rice and with a side of your favorite veggie. I love roasted green beans or steamed broccoli!
More sweet chicken recipes you’ll love
Easy Pineapple Chicken
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
Pineapple Sauce
- 1 cup pineapple juice*
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar (or sub white vinegar)
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Pineapple Chicken
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2-3 breasts) cut into ½-¾" pieces
- 2 tablespoons oil (divided)
- 1 red bell pepper (cut into ½" pieces)
- 1½ cups pineapple chunks
Instructions
Pineapple Sauce
- Whisk together pineapple sauce ingredients (juice, brown sugar, vinegar, hoisin sauce, corn starch, garlic, ginger, salt and crushed red pepper flakes). Set aside.
Pineapple Chicken
- Combine corn starch, salt and pepper in a baking dish or large zip-top bag. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat well.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon oil.
- Cook pepper for 2-3 minutes, just until crisp-tender. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and chicken pieces. Cook chicken on each side for 2-3 minutes, until light golden brown.
- Add sauce, peppers and pineapple to the skillet and cook just until sauce is thickened and chicken is cooked through (chicken will reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F).
- Serve over rice or as desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Kalia says
I omitted the sugar and used 1 tbl of honey instead. Omitted the hoisin and used tamari. And used a fresh pineapple and made my own pineapple juice from the pineapple I didn’t use. Delish!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Kalia! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Gary H Bellis says
Just made this, absolutely delicious! Better than any Chinese restaurant.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Gary! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Corrina says
Made this using 1/2c brown sugar. We all found this recipe way too sweet. Next time I will leave out the sugar. I also added shaved carrots with the red pepper for nice pop of color.
The Recipe Rebel says
I’m sorry to hear this wasn’t to your taste, Corrina. Myself and others have made it, and enjoy it so i wish it would of been a hit for you too.
jbbeaty76@gmail.com says
This was 10 stars!! SO good and easy!! The recipe was easy to follow. Bonus, the leftovers were still just as good. I added some steamed broccoli at the end and served over steam-in-a-bag jasmine rice. Super!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your review!
Beatriz Cabrera says
Thank you for the recipe! The only thing I changed was that I did not added extra sugar
( the pineapple juice had lots of sugar). I loved it, the recipe is fantastic and definitely a keeper!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Beatriz, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Jim says
This is like a Philippine recipe my wife makes only she uses soy sauce not hoison sauce still it is a great recipe
The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks Jim!
Amanda says
It’s a good recipe, but I think you could cut the brown sugar down a lot… maybe consider not even adding any.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Amanda, you could definitely try to make it bases on your taste.
Christine says
Thanks for this recipe, Ashley! I made it for dinner last night, had it with rice and roasted carrots and Broccoli. Delicious! Finished the leftovers tonight, tasted even better!
Going to make this a regular meal!
Marilyn Burcham says
Thank you for posting this!! One of our favorites.
Tina says
Hi what could I use instead of hoisin sauce? Is hot wheat in it and my daughter is allergic to wheat…it looks delicious
Jim says
Try soy sauce that’s what they use in the Philippines
Kathy Pretell says
You could add gluten-free oyster sauce or use tamari sauce (gluten-free soy sauce).
Emily says
Such a great recipe! Delicious, we loved it. I added some broccoli.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Emily, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Donna says
Yes! Tasty! Will make again!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Donna! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Kim says
What if you left out the spice, red pepper flakes and/or red pepper? Would it make a huge difference? The kids are spicy food eaters 😅
Donna says
No I left out some of these. Still good 😊
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Kim! You could definitely adjust the spices according to your taste.