Pineapple Chicken Brightens Up Grill Night

Sweet pineapple and a tangy marinade come together to make an easy, juicy glazed pineapple chicken recipe that you can make outdoors on the grill or indoors with a grill pan. The hands-on time for this dish is under 45 minutes, making it a great weeknight option.

With a marinade time of six to eight hours, you can mix the marinade and chicken together before you leave for work, then cook as soon as you get home. A simple side of rice is all you need to complete the dinner.

Learn how to make pineapple chicken, and you'll want this in your regular weeknight rotation.

Ingredients for Pineapple Chicken

This pineapple chicken recipe is easy to make: You stir together the marinade ingredients, set some aside to use as the glaze later on, let the chicken soak, then grill everything, and serve on a bed of rice. Here's what you'll need to make this:

For the marinade, you will need:

• Pineapple juice: Canned pineapple juice works perfectly for this recipe.
• Less sodium soy sauce: Using the lower-sodium version helps keep the sauce from getting too salty.
• Light brown sugar: Adds some sweetness to the marinade. Feel free to use dark brown sugar if that’s what you have on hand.
• Ketchup: Gives the sauce some extra depth without tasting too tomato-y.
• White wine vinegar: A little extra acidity to balance any sweetness from the juice, sugar, or ketchup.
• Minced garlic: A classic ingredient for chicken marinade to add great depth.
• Ground ginger: We call for ground ginger, but fresh will work too—use about one tablespoon of minced fresh.
• Sliced jalapeño pepper: Adds a little bit of a kick to the chicken. To tame any heat, core and seed the peppers before adding to the marinade. If you’d like the extra spice, leave the seeds in.

For the rest of the dish, you will need:

• Boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs: Plan for about two pounds of chicken, but feel free to use your preferred cut.
• Fresh pineapple: Sliced pineapple rings get a quick turn on the grill and are served with the grilled chicken.
• Cornstarch: Thickens the reserved marinade to make it into a glaze to brush on the chicken and pineapple.
• Cooked white rice and chopped scallions: To serve.

How To Make Pineapple Chicken

The hardest part about this pineapple chicken recipe is the long wait for the marinade—and perhaps for the grill to heat up. Otherwise, it's a straightforward dinner. Here's a look at the process; the full recipe is further below:

• Step 1: Make the marinade: First, stir together the marinade. Then measure some of it out and refrigerate for later—this will become the glaze.
• Step 2: Marinate chicken: Pour the rest of the marinade over the chicken and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours until you’re ready to cook. Don't go much beyond this window of time as the fruit juices can break down the chicken meat and make it tough.
• Step 3: Prep the grill: When you’re ready to cook, take the chicken out of the fridge to take the chill off while you prepare the grill (or grill pan). Be sure to cook the rice so it’s ready to serve with the chicken.
• Step 4: Cook the chicken: Grill the chicken until it’s cooked through, about 14 to 16 minutes. During the last few minutes of cooking, grill the pineapple slices. This can be done in batches if you’re working with a smaller grill pan.
• Step 5: Make glaze: Whisk the cornstarch into the marinade that you set aside earlier. Cook in a small saucepan until it’s thickened. Brush the glaze on the chicken and pineapple slices, and serve over cooked rice sprinkled with chopped scallions.

What To Serve With Pineapple Chicken

This dish can be a meal on its own, but another vegetable side dish would be a welcome addition. Try Grilled Okra and Pepper Skewers, Smashed-Cucumber Salad, or Cucumber-Tomato-Avocado Salad.

How To Store Pineapple Chicken

Keep the saucy chicken mixture separate from the rice if you have leftovers. The rice will soak up any sauce, leaving the dish a bit dry. It's better to separate them and then reheat together before you plan to eat another serving.

Our Tips for the Best Pineapple Chicken

This recipe is so great and easy, it doesn't require much extra work, but a few tips will make sure it's a wonderful dinner the first (or 10th) time you make it.

• Don't marinate too long: Fruit juices can make meat tougher if it soaks too long, so don't think "longer is better" in this step. Keep your marinade time to no more than eight hours.
• Watch the heat: If you know people at your dinner table have sensitive palates, you can cut the heat of the jalapeños by removing the membrane and seeds from the peppers—or cut them out altogether.
• Avoid the flame: Because of the sugars in the marinade, the chicken's skin will crisp up beautifully and get a wonderful caramelized flavor on the hot grill. But if you put the chicken too close to the flame, the sugars can burn quickly.