Pineapple Chicken – This easy to make, one pot chicken dinner is perfect for a simple weeknight dinner! The chicken is perfectly juicy and the sauce is absolutely mouthwatering!
One Pan Pineapple Chicken:
I love summer for a lot of reasons, but mainly because I get to cook with all of my favorite fruity ingredients! To me, pineapple is one of the brightest, most summery fruits of all, which is why I love making this easy chicken dinner all summer long, along with my tried and true Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice. This Chinese chicken isn’t just sweet, though. It’s perfectly balanced with savory ingredients like soy sauce, mirin, and more! If you love classic Chinese flavors combined with bright and fruity pineapple, you’re going to be pretty obsessed with this easy dinner recipe.
How to Make Chinese Chicken with Pineapple:
- Make the marinade. Whisk the soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, garlic and salt together in a large bowl then add the chicken and stir to combine.
- Marinate the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours to marinate.
- Drain the chicken. Drain the chicken from the marinade then heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet or wok pan.
- Dredge and fry the chicken. Dredge 12-15 pieces of chicken in 1 cup of the cornstarch then shake off the excess and fry in the pan for 5-6 minutes, tossing every minute or so to prevent burning.
- Work in batches. Remove the chicken then repeat the cooking process with the remaining chicken, adding another tablespoon of oil before each batch. (There should be about 3 batches in total.)
- Cook the peppers. Heat another tablespoon of oil in the pan then add the bell pepper and stir and cook for 2-3 minutes or until they start to soften.
- Caramelize the pineapple. Add the pineapple and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until it starts to caramelize.
- Make a pineapple slurry. In the meantime, whisk the pineapple juice and remaining tablespoon of cornstarch together in a medium bowl then pour it into the pan.
- Thicken it. Continue stirring until it starts to thicken then add the chicken back to the pan and toss to combine.
Serve and enjoy! Serve with steamed white rice and freshly sliced green onions and sesame seeds for garnish if desired.
Notes for Chicken with Pineapple:
- Soy Sauce – Use a low sodium soy sauce to reduce the salitness of the chicken. You can also use tamari or coconut aminos to make this recipe gluten free.
- Garlic – Make sure you’re using fresh garlic, not the jar of pre-minced garlic.
- Mirin – In a pinch, dry rice wine or white wine vinegar will work in place of mirin, but mirin is definitely preferred and is usually really easy to find in the Asian food section at any grocery store.
- Pineapple – I love to use fresh pineapple in the summer when available! You can also use canned pineapple (just drain and only use 1/2 cup of the juice) or frozen that has been thawed.
- Storing – You can store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Just reheat in the microwave, covered for a couple of minutes, stirring if needed.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Pineapple Chicken
Pineapple Chicken - This easy to make, one pot chicken dinner is perfect for a simple weeknight dinner! The chicken is perfectly juicy and the sauce is absolutely mouthwatering!
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 Cup mirin** see note
- 1/4 Cup light brown sugar packed
- 3 Cloves garlic finely minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 Pounds of chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 Cup + 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 3-4 Tablespoons vegetable oil divided
- 1 Red bell pepper deseeded and chopped
- 1 Cup freshly chopped pineapple** see note
- 1/2 Cup of pineapple juice
Instructions
- Whisk the soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, garlic and salt together in a large bowl then add the chicken and stir to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours to marinate.
- Drain the chicken from the marinade then heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet or wok pan.
- Dredge 12-15 pieces of chicken in 1 cup of the cornstarch then shake off the excess and fry in the pan for 5-6 minutes, tossing every minute or so to prevent burning.
- Remove the chicken then repeat the cooking process with the remaining chicken, adding another tablespoon of oil before each batch. (There should be about 3 batches in total.)
- Heat another tablespoon of oil in the pan then add the bell pepper and stir and cook for 2-3 minutes or until they start to soften.
- Add the pineapple and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until it starts to caramelize.
- In the meantime, whisk the pineapple juice and remaining tablespoon of cornstarch together in a medium bowl then pour it into the pan.
- Continue stirring until it starts to thicken then add the chicken back to the pan and toss to combine.
- Serve with steamed white rice and freshly sliced green onions and sesame seeds for garnish if desired.
Video
Notes
NOTE ON MIRIN: Mirin is usually pretty easy to find in the Asian foods section of your grocery store, or online. If necessary you can substitute it for rice wine or white wine vinegar.
NOTE ON PINEAPPLE: You can use canned pineapple or frozen (thawed) if you don't have fresh.
Nutrition
Calories: 72kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 725mg, Potassium: 146mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 15g, Vitamin A: 932IU, Vitamin C: 39mg, Calcium: 22mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Rate & review this recipe below!
The chicken and flavours were delicious, the only thing we found is it needed more sauce. The pineapple juice sauce got too thick and left us wanting more liquidy sauce to go over the rice we served with it.