Pineapple Chicken
Quick and easy to make, good for you and better than take out. There’s absolutely nothing not to like about this Pineapple Chicken!
This Pineapple Chicken I had originally created 7 years ago, when I’d just started blogging. I recently stumbled upon the original post and thought that the recipe had way too much potential to be left in the dark and receive so very little love…
So, I decided to redo the recipe exactly as is and revamp the old post. As such, I didn’t change a thing in recreating the dish, but of course, I gave the picture a little bit of a much needed revamp. Let’s just say that my picture taking skills of the time weren’t exactly what they are today and didn’t really do justice to this delicious, mouth watering dish!
Mind you, to be completely honest, I did change a few little things. For starters, I used coconut aminos as opposed to the tamari sauce I’d used back then, because that’s all I tend to keep in my fridge nowadays. If all you happen to have on hand is tamari then by all means, go ahead and use that!
Secondly, in the original recipe, I’d chosen to use a green bell pepper whereas this time, I opted for a red one. To my defense, my original recipe did state that any color bell pepper would do, and I still stand by that! Any color bell pepper will do, so feel free to use whichever one you prefer.
Other than that, you’re looking at a recipe that’s incredibly quick and easy to make, that’s genuinely good for you and that tastes a million times better than take out.
Frankly, there’s simply nothing not to like about this Pineapple Chicken. I strongly suggest that you whip up your own, the sooner the better!
To start, combine the corn starch, salt and pepper together in a good sized bowl; add the pieces of chicken and toss to coat evenly on all sides.
Then, heat a few tablespoons of your choice of cooking fat in a large wok or skillet set over high heat. When the pan is nice and hot, add the chicken and cook until it’s nice and slightly golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, work on making the sauce. To do that, combine all the ingredients together in a glass measuring cup and whisk until well combined.
Make sure to keep a close eye on your chicken and as soon as it is cooked to your liking, add the onions and bell peppers. Stir and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until slightly softened.
Add the pineapple chunks and pour the sauce right in…
Stir well and simmer for a minute or two, just until the sauce is thickened and the pineapple has warmed all the way through.
Garnish with sliced green onions and black sesame seed and serve without delay.
I strongly recommend a side of white rice, but noodles would work great as well, or cauliflower rice if you don’t do rice, or even steamed green veggies, like broccoli, green beans or sugar sap peas.
Pineapple Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, patted dry and cut into bite size chunks (about 2 large)
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1/2 tsp salt, I use Himalayan salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
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- 1 lb fresh pineapple, cut into bite size chunks (about 1/2 a medium)
- 1 large onion, cut into chunks
- 1 bell pepper, use any colour you want, cut into chunks
For the sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tbsp tamari , or coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp unpasteurized honey
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tbsp sambal oelek
Optional Garnish
- Sliced green onions
- Black sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the corn starch, salt and pepper. Add the pieces of chicken and toss to coat evenly on all sides;
- Heat a few tablespoons of your choice of cooking fat in a large wok or skillet set over high heat. When the pan is nice and hot, add the chicken and cook until nice and slightly golden on all sides, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce: combine all the ingredients together in a glass measuring cup and whisk until well combined. As soon as the chicken is cooked to your liking, add the onions and bell peppers, stir and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until slightly softened.
- Add the pineapple, pour the sauce in, stir well and simmer for a minute or two, until the sauce is thickened and pineapple is warmed all the way through.
- Garnish with sliced green onions and black sesame seed and serve without delay with a side of cooked white rice, if desired.
Nutrition
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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50 Comments on “Pineapple Chicken”
This is an amazing recipe! It is sooo delicious. We felt like we were eating a cheat meal but wasn’t! I can’t wait to dig into your website and try some more recipes.
Haha! Thank you kindly Melissa! Glad you liked the recipe that much; I can guarantee you you’ll find more like that on here! 🙂
Super delicious! The sauce has amazing flavor and really ties everything together
This recipe will definately be in my future plans. I have looked at a couple of your recipes and can’t wait to dig in. Thank you for sharing.
Tried the pineapple chicken today and I have to say it was delicious will make it again and again
Thanks for the recipe
You are very welcome, Martina, and thank YOU for the great feedback! 🙂
amazing recipe! I just tried it and followed it with not much fuss and susbtituted with things I had on-hand and it turned out fantastic; tangy and delish! Thank-you
Real happy to hear, Anthony! Thanks for the great review! 🙂
Easy and delicious. My husband loved it. I doubled the recipe as my husband likes leftovers. He put dibs on the leftover as we were having dinner. Going to my son s house this week and planning on making it for my daughter in law.
Haha! Usually, when husbands dig the food, means it’s good! Thank you so much for the great feedback, Jessie. So glad to hear the recipe was a success for ya! 🙂
Delicious! However, I am struggling to find the right Wok. Made it the first time with old Teflon wok. Came out great but some of the Teflon scraped off. Second time I used a new stainless wok with ghee. Not as good…bits of chicken stuck to pan and never cooked right because so much was stuck to bottom. Any recommendations?
Glad you like the recipe, Janice, but sorry to hear your woks are giving you a hard time. This article might help you pick the right one: https://onthegas.org/cookware/choosing-best-carbon-steel-wok-enjoy-authentic-asian-cooking-home
Hope this helps!
Good spices and flavor. I had to adjust as I didn’t have equal products on hand. In other words, I was out of sesame oil. So, I used a regular olive oil. (I know sesame has such a unique flavor- oh vell). Also, with the rice vinegar- out of stock. So chose a Basalmic. It turned out just fine! We enjoyed it. I learned something. I’ve never put the cornstarch, salt and pepper with the chicken. It works just fine . New trick for me.
Thanks for sharing, Betty
Thanks for taking the time to leave such great feedback, Betty! Glad to hear the recipe was to your liking, and that you also learned a new trick! <3
Oh my goodness! This chicken is awesome! Just made it and finished straight away! I didn’t have rice vinegar but just clear barley one and I don’t know if it has made any difference but I think it was the best pineapple chicken I’ve ever had! I will for sure stick around and try more of your recipes. Thank you!
Aw, thank you so much, Alessandra, that is so very kind of you to say! Real happy to hear that the recipe was to your liking, and hope that you find many more that you will enjoy just as much! 🙂
Ok, It was a hit. Had to substitute regular soy sauce and curry paste. My question is this: I have had several recipes wanting 1 to 2 tablespoons of tomato paste – how do you save the rest?
What I like to do is either line an ice cube tray with plastic film and then fill the compartments with the tomato paste and freeze it, then remove and store in ziploc bags, or just put the tomato paste in a ziploc bag, flatten it, score the paste in several places and freeze flat, so I can then break off little pieces of frozen tomato paste when and as needed.
Hope this helps, and glad to hear the recipe was a hit, by the way! 🙂
I have made this twice now. Excellent! Very tasty. I love it. I often get pineapple from costco already cut. This is a great way to use up some of it. I also left out the tomatoe paste. I am going to try the method above of freezing it.
Loved this recipe. Very very tasty. It does not taste lightened up at all. I used a tablespoon of peanut oil to stir fry the chicken. I also left out the tomato past (I will try the method of freezing it as mentioned above). Totally worth the 10 weightwatchers points including a half cup of rice.
Thanks so much for the great feedback and review, Patricia! Happy to hear the recipe was a success for you! 🙂
This was great! Definitely adding it to my normal meal plan from now on. I used regular soy sauce since I didn’t have tamari. Had a side of brown rice with red quinoa and it was fantastic. Thanks!
So very happy to hear, Belinda! Thanks for the fantastic feedback, you totally rock!!! <3
I’ve tried this recipe at home, must say it was the best one I’ve had!
Aw,thank you! That’s really super nice of you to say! 🙂
Yum, will be making this again
Awesome! Real happy to hear! 🙂
This meal was so good! It is so very simple to throw together too. It takes a little prep time to cut and chop everything but it all goes together easy and fast. Hubby even liked it and he shies away from “healthy food”! I will be making this many times again, thank you for this great dinner choice.
Beautiful music to my ears, Susan, all of this! Thank YOU so much for your amazing feedback, I’m so incredibly grateful for that! 🙂
So, here I am, 75 yrs old, tired and not particularly liking to cook. That said, my daughter, who I share a house with, does the grocery shopping and I do the dinners. She’s a hard working nurse so I do my best to make meals that meet her criteria…… healthy.
I knew she’d love pineapple chicken so I Googled and found your recipe.
Boy did I substitute! I love that you provided links right into the recipe. Here’s a list of my substitutes:
1. I thawed chicken ‘thighs’ by mistake. No big deal
2. I completely overlooked that you’re supposed to coat the chicken with the corn starch mix. I did add salt and pepper to the chicken in the wok.
3. Used ‘canned’ pineapple.
4. Used frozen chopped onion. (guessed at the amount).
5. Had no bell pepper but a back of frozen mixed vegetables did, so I picked out red peppers from that mix.
6. No Tamari. Never heard of it but I will be buying some. Used standard everyday soy sauce.
7. No rice vinegar let alone unseasoned. Used ‘white’ vinegar. Found out later my daughter has rice vinegar.
“You must be cringing by now”.
8. No honey. so used none. Again, my daughter had some.
9. No sesame oil. Used Canola/Olive oil.
10. No tomato paste. Just used my last can. Used ketchup. Hoped it would make up for the tomato paste and the sweetness would make up for no honey.
11. No sambal oelek so used 3/4 tbsp chili powder. Still don’t know if they’re even close.
12. I realized the corn starch would be the thickener and, as I hadn’t used it on the chicken, I sprinkled it over the ‘stuff’ in the wok before adding the sauce.
It turned out quite delicious believe it or not. I was pleasantly shocked.
Daughter loved it.
So, now I will stock up on all the items I’m missing and will make the recipe the right way and it’s bound to be exceptional if it can take such a beating and still taste good!!
Can’t wait to try many others of your recipes.
Regards, Ann
Haha, that’s quite the list of substitutions! Glad the recipe turned out good, and that it was to your liking. Hopefully, it’ll be just the same with the next ones you try! Be sure to keep me posted! <3
This recipe is amazing! My husband and I had it for dinner last night and it was delicious. We will be making this again! It was very easy too. The only changes we made were omitting the black pepper and we decided to add some cashews. It turned out great! We’ve really enjoyed several of your recipes. Thanks for another great one!
HIGH FIVE!!! So very happy to hear, Kristen, and thanks for the awesome feedback! 😀
Hi I’m from India and tried this recipe of yours today it’s really easy n delicious!
I just want to know one thing…my chicken pieces weren’t soft and this has happened always whenever I make chilli chicken or this so basically whenever I fry chicken . I did exactly as per your recipe…please guide me how to fix this problem my dad did not enjoy coz of this ..
Thanks and looking forward to your revert soon 😊
I can’t tell for sure, but my guess is you just let it cook for a bit too long. Also too, you could try brining your chicken in a solution of salted water (1 tsp of salt per cup of water) for up to 48 hours before cooking it. This will help keep it juicy and moist.
Recipe looks great. Just wondering, could you do it in a slow cooker?
Tried and tested very tasty and quick to make
High Five! Super happy to hear, Senga. Thanks for that! 🙂
Awesome dish! Chicken was tender, sauce was flavourful and thickened up very nicely. I added a couple more veggies (carrots and celery) and it was a hit with myself and the kids. Thanks!
Thank you much Amy! Happy to hear that it was to your liking! 🙂
I made a few modifications in the sauce because of ingredients on hand and I also added mushrooms with the bell pepper. It turned out great and will be added to our recipe rotation.
Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Good stuff! You are very welcome, Nicki. Glad to hear it was a success!
I finally pleased the spouse! This was EASY and delicious. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Whoa this is sooo good. Thank you!
Overall good recipe. Served over Asian noodles. Loved the sweetness of the pineapple with the peppers and onions. I wish the sauce had thickened a little more and it needed a little more heat for us. It’s a keeper with some extra sambal olek next time and maybe some sriracha.
Cooked for my husband and he absolutely loved both the smell of it cooking and the taste of it. Will definitely have again
So yum. I added a big dollop of BBQ sauce. Will make this often.
This sounds good and I intend to make it, possibly tonight. I will do a couple of substitutions such as using soy sauce instead of tamari and there are a couple of ingredients in it that would seem a waste to buy for one recipe, such as unseasoned rice vinegar and sambal oelek.
I also wondered, why does it specify unpasteurized honey? I presume that regular honey can be substituted. I cannot have the unpasteurized varieties due to immunosuppression and the possibility of bacteria being in honey when it is not pasteurized.
Made it with gochujang and this isn’t chicken. Delicious! Thanak for the recipe