Last Updated October 6th, 2021 at 09:44 pm by Lisa
Grilled Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken served with Coconut Lime Rice in a pineapple bowl is a fun family dinner or a gorgeous way to entertain outdoors for BBQs, cookouts, or pool parties, always a bit hit!
Although this chicken is commonly grilled in Hawaii using a rotisserie turn method, we can do this on our home grills and recreate the same huli marinade with all those deep tropical flavors.
I know you are thinking, hey, my grill certainly doesn't have a rotisserie turn kind of set up, but you can recreate ALL the flavor at home. I will show you how. Plus give you lots of ideas on sides to serve to with these stunning pineapple bowls...
What's Huli Huli Chicken?
In Hawaii, Huli means "turn". In Hawaii, the chicken is traditionally cooked between two grills and then turned over during the grilling process over an open fire. The chicken self bastes and gets a dark deep color and rich flavor from the marinade.
Huli chicken is a serious thing in Hawaii, You will find on roadside food trucks, at fundraisers, and locals commonly grill it at home on weekends with friends and family. It is definitely a "thing" in Hawaii! The chicken is always served with a number of sides to choose from on the menu.
Why Readers Love This Recipe:
- "I cheated a bit with this recipe because it’s too cold outside to grill, so I modified it a bit to use my indoor griddle and it turned out GREAT! These were so full of flavor and I can’t wait to fire up the grill and make them outside." Lauren
- "What a creative way to use the pineapple. Going to try this for sure." Carol
- "This is such a creative and cute dish. Looks so delicious!" Dawn
How To Make Huli Huli Chicken:
Make The Chicken Marinade
- Mix all marinade ingredients, reserve 1 cup of marinade for grilling. PRO TIP: OR you can add the chicken to a ziptop bag with all the marinade, then pour your huli marinade in a BBQ saucepot on the grill which makes it food safe once heated over 165 degrees. But you must cook this marinade as you are basting the chicken to be food safe.
- Place chicken breasts and huli marinade in a sealed container or a zip-top bag sealed bag in the fridge. PRO TIP: Place in a bowl to prevent leaks (because I learned the hard way once 😂). Marinate your chicken for at least a half-hour up to 4 hours in the refrigerator.
This grilled huli chicken gets its amazing flavor from the Asian Hawaiian Island ingredients of the marinade.
It starts with sweet juicy pineapple...sugar...and honey that are balanced by the tart lemon and sharp ginger and garlic. The ginger bite and heat from some crushed red pepper create a huli marinade sauce that is AMAZING!
But there is a secret I have to share, that makes it SO SO SO GOOD!
Do you know what it is?
A BBQ SAUCEPOT!
Basting the chicken over and over and keep turning it with tongs.... Huli Huli Sauce!!!!!!! Serve some on the side with the chicken...
Two things are happening here...
- First, is you can reuse the marinade from your chicken as it is heating up over 165 and food safe! Just pour it into the sauce-pot and keep stirring it. Keep an eye on it, as the sugars can make it burn if it gets too hot! Pull it to a cooler side of the grill or off the grill if it's too hot.
- The second thing is this helps to thicken the huli sauce as you are basting the chicken, giving it that sticky sauce thing that makes the grilled chicken so finger-licking good!
Next, Make Your Pineapple Bowls
You can take a look at my entire post on how to make pineapple bowls, I summarized the steps below to help you make these, so easy when you know the trick!
- Using a large knife cut the pineapple lengthwise and through the leaves into 2 halves.
- Use a small serrated paring knife, cut around the edge of the pineapple leaving about ¾” of pineapple.
- Next, remove the center core by cutting down both sides of the core at a slight angle. Remove core.
- Cut across the pineapple into a grid pattern, and scoop out pieces with a large spoon and place it into a bowl.
What To Serve With Huli Huli Chicken?
Tropical sides are perfect to serve with huli chicken: Macaroni Salad, Tropical Rice (get that recipe in this post), Mango Jicama Slaw, Potato Salad, Grilled Pineapple (that is here too!), Iceberg Green Salad, Grilled Shrimp, Kahlua Pork or Ham, and more Huli Dipping Sauce left from grilling!!!!
Grilled Pineapple
And Coconut Lime Rice
- Rinse jasmine rice until water runs clear in a large fine-mesh strainer. Place in large heavy pot.
- Add coconut water, Thai red curry paste, garlic powder, ginger paste, lime juice, sea salt, and pepper.
- Stir well, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes until rice is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed. Let stand for 10 minutes covered.
- Garnish with shredded coconut, roasted salted cashews, and green onions right before serving.
- PRO TIP: use a large scoop to serve.
Macaroni Salad, Rice, Grilled Pineapple, Iceberg Green Salad, Grilled Shrimp, Kahlua Pork, and Extra Huli Dipping Sauce.
Preheat the grill to medium-high, brush the chicken huli huli sauce/marinade. And don't forget to huli (“turn”) the chicken 3 or 4 times, brush with marinade each time your turn over. This gets the color deep and flavor rich!
Fresh pineapple, ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, sesame oil, red crushed chili pepper, ginger, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon.
More Amazing Huli Huli Chicken Recipes
- Huli Huli Chicken by Kevin Is Cooking
- Grilled Huli Huli Chicken by The Recipe Critic
- Huli Huli Chicken by Dinner At The Zoo
Chicken Dinner Recipes
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Huli Huli Chicken Pineapple Bowls
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts - boneless skinless brest
- 2 large pineapples 4 pineapple bowls & 4 cups pineapple chunks
- 4 cups cooked tropical rice see recipe
huli huli chicken marinade:
- 1 cup fresh pineapple use small pieces finely diced with juice (grill larger pieces)
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons dark sesamie oil
- 1 teaspoon red crushed chili pepper
- 2 tablespoons ginger paste
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- juice of one small lemon
tropical coconut lime rice:
- 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice
- 3 cups coconut water
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
garnish topping ideas:
- 3 tablespoons shredded coconut flakes
- 1-2 green onions sliced thin
- 1 cup salted roasted cashews
Instructions
Huli Huli chicken marinade:
- Mix all marinade ingredients, reserve 1 cup of marinade for basting while grilling.
- PRO TIP: OR you can add the chicken to a ziptop bag with all the marinade, then pour your huli marinade in a BBQ saucepot on the grill which makes it food safe once heated over 165 degrees. But you must cook this marinade as you are basting the chicken to be food safe.
- Place chicken breasts and huli marinade in a sealed container or a zip top bag in the fridge in a bowl to prevent leaks. Marinate your chicken for at least a half-hour up to 4 hours.
make the pineapple bowls:
- Using a large knife cut the pineapple lengthwise and through the leaves into 2 halves.
- Use a small serrated paring knife, cut around the edge of the pineapple leaving about ¾” of pineapple. Next, remove center core by cutting down both sides of the core at a slight angle. Remove core.
- Cut across the pineapple into a grid pattern, and scoop out pieces with a large spoon and place into a bowl.
make the coconut lime rice:
- Rinse jasmine rice until water runs clear in a large fine-mesh strainer. Place in large heavy pot.
- Add coconut water, Thai red curry paste, garlic powder, ginger paste, lime juice, sea salt, and pepper.
- Stir well, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes until rice is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed. Let stand for 10 minutes covered.
- Garnish the rice with shredded coconut, roasted salted cashews, and green onions right before serving.
- PRO TIP: use a large scoop to serve the rice into a pretty round serving in your pineapple bowl.
grilling huli huli chicken and pineapple:
- Preheat the grill to medium-high, brush the chicken with the remaining cup of marinade. And don't forget to huli (“turn”) the chicken 3 or 4 times, brush with marinade each time your turn over. This gets the color deep and flavor rich!
- Grill the large pineapple chunks on a grill grate or piece of heavy foil. Slice or cut the chicken into smaller pieces making it easier to eat. Move all to a platter.
assemble your pineapple bowls:
- In each pineapple bowl, load your grilled huli chicken pieces, scoop in your tropical coconut lime rice, and grilled pineapple.
- Garnish tropical rice with flaked coconut, green onions, and salted cashews.
I cheated a bit with this recipe because it's too cold outside to grill, so I modified it a bit to use my indoor griddle and it turned out GREAT! These were so full of flavor and I can't wait to fire up the grill and make them outside.
What a creative way to use the pineapple. Going to try this for sure.
Oh Carol, thanks so much. I really had fun creating this recipe, and this marinade is amazing!
Aw! This is such a creative and cute dish. Looks so delicious!
Dawn, thank you...I put my heart into what I do and it means the world when people are happy seeing my recipes! ps...the huli chicken marinade on that grilled chicken is just...well ya gotta try it!