Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken is bursting with flavor and grilled to perfection along with sweet and tangy pineapples- perfect for summer BBQs.
Hawaiian Chicken Recipes are great way to kick off summer! Fire up the grill and try more of my tropical chicken like Crispy Hawaiian Garlic Chicken and Hawaiian BBQ Chicken.
Why You’ll Love This Chicken?
- The glaze is really what gives this chicken dish its amazing flavor.
- Hawaiian Chicken is perfect for a summer cookout along side of grilled pineapple.
Sabrina’s Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken Recipe
This Hawaiian Chicken recipe is perfect for a summer cookout or a simple weeknight dinner. As long as you get the marinade prepped ahead of time the Huli Huli Chicken recipe is super quick and easy to make on the day you’re serving it. Just pop it on the hot grill and glaze as it cooks. The Healthy Grilled Chicken is also served with an amazing Grilled Pineapple for garnish that enhances the tropical flavors of the whole dinner.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar , packed
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup sherry
- 5 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger , minced
- 8 chicken thighs , boneless skinless
- 1 pineapple , trimmed and cut into spears (core removed)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup green onions , thinly sliced
Instructions
- Whisk together brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, sherry, garlic, and ginger.
- Reserve half the sauce in a covered bowl in the refrigerator.
- Add the remaining sauce and chicken to a large zip lock bag and marinate overnight or 8 hours.
- On medium-high heat, grill the chicken for 5-6 minutes on each side.
- Coat pineapple spears with vegetable oil and grill alongside the chicken.
- Brush remaining sauce over the chicken while grilling the second side (do not serve remaining sauce if you use brush on partially raw chicken).
- Garnish with green onions.
Nutrition
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Note from Sabrina
For the best Huli Huli Chicken, don’t skip the overnight marinade—it gives the soy, ginger, garlic, and sherry time to fully flavor the chicken. Before grilling, let any excess marinade drip off to prevent flare-ups, then brush on the reserved sauce only during the last few minutes of cooking. This creates a glossy, caramelized glaze without burning the sugars, while keeping the chicken juicy and tender. Grill the pineapple alongside the chicken for an extra layer of smoky-sweet flavor that complements every bite.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
Authentic Huli Huli Chicken is a classic Hawaiian chicken dish that’s prepared by grilling and basting with a delicious, sticky-sweet sauce. The glaze is really what gives this chicken dish its amazing flavor. I’ve made it with distinct sweet and savory flavors from ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, and sherry. The sauce does double duty in this recipe acting as a marinade and a nice glaze to make the perfect mouthwatering chicken.
Pairing Suggestions
This chicken is packed with tropical flavor that makes it the perfect dish for summer. You can heat it up on your outdoor grill for the perfect cookout dish served with classic sides like Fruit Salad, Potato Salad, or Hawaiian Macaroni Salad. Don’t forget your Hawaiian themed dessert, finish your meal with this delicious Hawaiian Cake.
How to Store
- Serve: Don’t leave grilled chicken at room temperature for more than 2 hours after cooking.
- Store: Let leftovers cool to room temperature, then cover them in plastic wrap or put them in an airtight container to store in the fridge and eat later in the week. They’ll stay good for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Another option is sealing and freezing the chicken for up to 6 months. Let the chicken thaw in the fridge before reheating on the stove or in the oven.
Ideas to Serve
If you’re serving it for a simple weeknight meal and want an easy way to make it more filling, serve the chicken over a bed of white or Brown Rice. Or, if you want to change up the recipe a little bit, you can serve it in Huli Huli Chicken Tacos with amazing food like carrots, pineapple, and cabbage all served in a soft tortilla with the meat.
Variations
- Chicken Marinade: There are lots of ways you can experiment with the overall flavor of the dish by using different ingredients in the marinade. First off, you can replace the sherry with apple cider vinegar, wine vinegar, or rice vinegar. You could also add in different sauces like barbecue sauce or hot sauce. For a sweeter flavor, you could also replace some of the regular soy sauce with teriyaki sauce.
- Pineapple Marinade: Another great way to change up the flavor of this mouthwatering chicken, is by adding more pineapple flavor to the chicken by marinating it in fresh pineapple juice. Whisk ½ cup of pineapple juice into the marinade so the sweet, tropical flavor can soak into the chicken.
- Seasonings: You can also add yummy flavors with simple spices like red pepper flakes, black pepper, paprika, oregano, cumin, or chili powder.
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I want to grill these with bone-in & skin-on (Gotta have my skin!)
Any recommendations?
I haven’t tried this yet, but I would marinate the chicken for the same amount of time. When grilling, grill skin side down for 6-8 minutes, to render some of the fat, and crisp up the skin. Then flip and cook for another 8-12 minutes, ensuring that the thighs reach an internal temperature of 165. Let me know how it turns out, John.
Could this be baked in an oven
I wouldn’t recommend baking this recipe in the oven. The grilled glaze is what makes this recipe so special.
Could both the chicken and pineapple spears be baked in the over? If so, what temp and for how long?
Thank you