Sweet Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken (Print View)
Tender slow-cooked chicken in a sweet Hawaiian sauce with pineapple and bell peppers—easy, family-friendly dinner.
# What You'll Need:
→ Meats
01 - 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
→ Vegetables & Fruit
02 - 1 large red bell pepper, cut into chunks
03 - 1 large green bell pepper, cut into chunks
04 - 1 small yellow onion, sliced
05 - 1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks in juice, drained (reserve juice)
→ Sauces & Condiments
06 - 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce (use gluten-free if needed)
07 - 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice
08 - 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
09 - 2 tablespoons ketchup
10 - 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
11 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
12 - 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
13 - 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional, for thickening)
14 - 2 tablespoons water (for cornstarch slurry)
→ Garnish (optional)
15 - Sliced green onions
16 - Sesame seeds
17 - Fresh cilantro
# How To Make It:
01 - Place the chicken pieces in the bottom of the slow cooker.
02 - Layer the red and green bell peppers, sliced onion, and drained pineapple chunks evenly over the chicken.
03 - In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, reserved pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, minced garlic, and grated ginger until the sugar dissolves. Pour the sauce evenly over the ingredients in the slow cooker.
04 - Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and fork-tender.
05 - During the final 30 minutes of cooking, whisk the cornstarch with water in a small bowl and stir the slurry into the slow cooker to thicken the sauce.
06 - Serve hot over steamed white rice. Garnish with sliced green onions, sesame seeds, or fresh cilantro as desired.
# Expert Hints:
01 -
- The sauce does all the heavy lifting while you go about your day, and the smell when you walk back through the door is genuinely thrilling.
- Chicken thighs come out so tender they practically fall apart, and the pineapple chunks turn into little golden jewels of sweetness.
- It reheats beautifully, making it the rare leftover that you actually look forward to eating again.
02 -
- Do not skip draining the pineapple but saving the juice, because pouring the whole can in makes the sauce too watery and dilutes the flavor.
- Chicken breasts dry out faster than thighs, so check them at the 4 hour mark on LOW rather than waiting the full 6 hours.
- Leftovers thicken even more in the fridge overnight and taste incredible gently reheated the next day over fresh rice.
03 -
- Brown the chicken in a skillet for three minutes per side before adding it to the crockpot for a depth of flavor that tastes like you spent all day cooking.
- Stir the cornstarch slurry into the sauce on HIGH for those last 30 minutes rather than LOW, because it needs the bubbling heat to activate properly.