Huli Huli Chicken

Last Updated May 29th, 2020 at 07:01 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 a cookout or pool party, always a bit hit!

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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.

I know you are thinking, hey, my grill certainly doesn’t have this kind of set up, but you can recreate ALL the flavor at home. I will show you how!

Although this chicken is commonly grilled in Hawaii using this rotisserie turn method, we can do this on our home grills and recreate the same huli sauce and all that deep flavor.

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.

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.”
• “This is such a creative and cute dish. Looks so delicious!”

Huli Huli Chicken Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breast (boneless skinless breasts)
• 2 large pineapples 4 pineapple bowls & 4 cups pineapple chunks
• 4 cups cooked tropical rice (see recipe below) or use regular white rice!

Chicken Marinade:

• 1 cup fresh pineapple use small pieces finely diced with juice (grill larger pieces)
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon red crushed chili pepper 
• 2 tablespoons ginger paste
• 3 cloves garlic crushed
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• juice of one small lemon

Chicken Marinade Instructions :

1. 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. But you must cook this marinade as you are basting the chicken to be food safe.
2. 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.

How To Make Huli Huli Chicken:

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 SAUCE POT!

Two things are happening here…

1. 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.
2. 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!

Make Pineapple Bowls:

1. Using a large knife cut the pineapple lengthwise and through the leaves into 2 halves.
2. Use a small serrated paring knife, cut around the edge of the pineapple leaving about 3/4” of pineapple.
3. Next, remove the center core by cutting down both sides of the core at a slight angle. Remove core.
4. 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?

Grilled Pineapple!

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.

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 Recipe Ideas:

Chicken Dinner Idea: Lemony Chicken, Croutons, and Baby Potatoes

EASY Weeknight CHICKEN DINNER IDEA with sides of Croutons and Baby Potatoes takes 20 minutes to prep and bakes in 50 minutes with incredible lemony flavor!

Check out this recipe

Pretzel Honey Mustard Chicken

Easy oven baked Pretzel Honey Mustard Chicken can be on the table for your family in under an hour, with four simple ingredients and 10-minute assembly.

Check out this recipe

Gorgonzola Leek Stuffed Chicken (One Pan)

Make ahead one pan Gorgonzola Leek Stuffed Chicken is a hit for entertaining, special occasions, or a romantic date night dinner. Stuff the chicken, saute in one pan, and drizzle with the easy pan sauce!

Check out this recipe

Roasted Lemon Chicken

Roasted Lemon Chicken is a really easy recipe and can be made for family dinner or entertaining.

Check out this recipe

Aloha!

All The Best Dishes,

Lisa

XO

Print Pin Recipe

Huli Huli Chicken Pineapple Bowls

Huli Huli Chicken, Grilled Pineapple, and Coconut Lime Rice are served in pineapple bowls and make the BEST party food for BBQs, Holidays, or a Cookout!

Course Dinner & Main Dishes

Cuisine American

Keyword grilled chicken, how to make a pineapple bowl, huli chicken

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 975kcal

Author Lisa Hatfield

Equipment

Epicurean Non-Slip Cutting Board

Chef Knife

BBQ Sauce Pot

Large Scoop

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)
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons dark sesame 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
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• 3 tablespoons shredded coconut flakes
• 1-2 green onions sliced thin
• 1 cup salted roasted cashews

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Huli Huli chicken marinade:

• Mix all marinade ingredients, reserve 1 cup of marinade for grilling. (Or you can heat your huli marinade in a BBQ sauce pot on the grill which makes it 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 3/4” 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 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, tropical coconut lime rice, and grilled pineapple. Garnish tropical rice with flaked coconut, green onions, and salted cashews.

Nutrition

Calories: 975kcal | Carbohydrates: 164g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 1559mg | Potassium: 1418mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 101g | Vitamin A: 930IU | Vitamin C: 241.7mg | Calcium: 165mg | Iron: 5.5mg

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Need ingredients or equipment to make this recipe? Shop Now Every cooking product recommended I own, use, and love how they perform in my kitchen. Happy Cooking! Lisa

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