This Pineapple Chicken is a delicious stir fry recipe made with tender sautéed chicken, pineapple chunks, and crisp red bell peppers tossed in a sweet and savory sauce. Skip the take-out and enjoy this Chinese chicken recipe at home in 30 minutes or less.
Pineapple Chicken is an easy chicken recipe that everyone will love. I love how quick and simple this Chinese chicken recipe is, and it’s been on our family dinner rotation for the last couple of months. If you can’t tell, we love our Asian inspired recipes and have quite a few to try. Some of our favorite recipes are our Sesame Chicken, General Tso’s Chicken, Tuscan Chicken Mac and Cheese, and our most popular recipe on the blog, Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl.
Ingredients for Pineapple Chicken
- Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil or vegetable both work well.
- Chicken Breasts: Both chicken breasts and thighs taste great in this recipe. If you are using things, your cooking time will increase by a few minutes.
- Red Bell Pepper: I like the flavor of red bell peppers, but orange and yellow taste great also.
- Pineapple Chunks: Canned pineapple chunks or you can use a fresh pineapple cut into bit size pieces.
- Minced Garlic: I prefer to use minced garlic in a jar. It’s easy to use and I always have it on hand.
- Ground Ginger: Ground ginger or fresh minced ginger both work well.
- Soy Sauce: Using low sodium soy sauce will cut down on the sodium in your recipe.
- Pineapple Juice: When I use canned pineapple chunks, I use the pineapple juice from the can. If using fresh pineapple, I always buy a small can of pineapple juice.
- Chicken Broth: You can substitute water for the chicken broth if you don’t have any on hand.
- Hoisin Sauce: You can find hoisin sauce down the Asian isle of your local grocery store.
- Brown Sugar: I prefer the flavor of brown sugar, but you can substitute it for honey if you prefer.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch is used to thicken the sauce. If you find it’s not as thick as you want, add a tsp of cornstarch to a tsp of water and pour over chicken, stirring until it becomes thicker.
- Sesame Seeds: Sesame seeds are an options garnish to sprinkle over pineapple chicken.
How to make pineapple chicken
- In a medium size mixing bowl combine minced garlic, ground ginger, soy sauce, pineapple juice, chicken broth, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, and cornstarch. Stir to mix well, and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add chicken to skillet and cook for 6-7 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through (drain any extra liquid).
- Next add red bell pepper and pineapple chunks to the skillet and continue cooking until bell pepper becomes tender.
- Add sauce mixture to skillet and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce becomes thick.
- Serve with white or brown rice. If you are using fresh pineapple, you can serve your pineapple chicken and rice in the hallow pineapple. Enjoy!
How to serve pineapple chicken
- For a show stopping appearance you can serve your pineapple chicken in a hallowed pineapple. It’s beautiful and a fun way to get your kids to eat dinner. Simply cut the pineapple in half leaving the stem in intact, slice the fruit around the perimeters, angling your knife towards the middle, then make a few cuts across. Scoop pineapple chunks out with a spoon. This is perfect is you are using fresh pineapple for your recipe.
- Simply serve pineapple chicken over a bed of white rice, brown rice, quinoa, or by itself. You can’t go wrong with this recipe.
Pineapple Chicken
This Pineapple Chicken recipe is made with tender sautéed chicken, pineapple chunks, and crisp red bell peppers tossed in a sweet and savory sauce. Skip the take-out and enjoy this Chinese chicken recipe at home in 30 minutes or less.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup pineapple chunks, fresh or canned
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3/4 cup pineapple juice
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 tsp. cornstarch
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a medium size mixing bowl combine minced garlic, ground ginger, soy sauce, pineapple juice, chicken broth, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, and cornstarch. Stir to mix well, and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add chicken to skillet and cook for 6-7 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and cooked through (drain any extra liquid).
- Add red bell pepper and pineapple chunks to the skillet and continue cooking until bell pepper becomes tender.
- Add sauce mixture to skillet and bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce becomes thick.
- Serve with white or brown rice. If you are using fresh pineapple, you can serve your pineapple chicken and rice in the hallow pineapple. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on Modernmealmakeover.com should only be used as a general guideline.
Nutrition
Calories: 315kcalCarbohydrates: 27.1gProtein: 37.8gFat: 4.6gSaturated Fat: 0.8gCholesterol: 112.5mgSodium: 765mgPotassium: 54.5mgFiber: 0.7gSugar: 23.1gVitamin A: 8.3IUVitamin C: 75.8mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 1.1mg
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I love pineapple in stir-fries. I bet this is so tasty and delicious!
Beth, you will love it.
Loved this pineapple chicken recipe! So easy to make and that tangy sauce goes well with rice.
The sauce is my favorite too!
My kids can’t get enough of this recipe… I always make extra for lunch the next day!
I am so glad that you and your family liked it.
A delicious recipe made even better with its presentation in a pineapple. Super fun!
Thank you, I’ll do anything I can to get my little kids to eat dinner, haha.
We absolutely loved this recipe. The classic pineapple chicken flavors are always a favorite but in this easy recipe they were particularly great! Love the presentation too.
The presentation makes it so fun for the kiddos.