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Two pineapple halves carved out filled with coconut rice, grilled pineapple and huli huli chicken.
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5 from 1 vote

Huli Huli Chicken Recipe (Pineapple Bowls & Coconut Lime Rice)

Huli Huli Chicken, Grilled Pineapple, and Coconut Lime Rice served in gorgeous pineapple bowls are ideal for BBQs, celebrations, entertaining, or cookouts!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Dinner & Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken marinade, grilled chicken, huli huli chicken
Servings: 4
Calories: 975kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts - boneless skinless brest
  • 2 large pineapples 4 pineapple bowls & 4 cups pineapple chunks
  • 4 cups cooked rice

chicken marinade

  • 1 cup fresh pineapple juice
  • ¼ cup ketchup
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ 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
  • ½ teaspoon Hawaiian sea salt

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 Hawaiian sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

garnish ideas

  • 3 tablespoons shredded coconut flakes
  • 1-2 green onions sliced thin
  • 1 cup salted roasted cashews

Instructions

marinade sauce

  • In a small bowl, mix the pineapple juice (you can add some pineapple pieces too), ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, Hawaiian sea salt, honey, sesame oil, red crushed chili pepper, fresh ginger, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice ingredients and whisk to combine.
  • Reserve 1 cup for basting while grilling. And reserve ½ cup to use as a dipping sauce.
  • Place 4 skinless chicken breasts and 2 cups marinade in a sealed container or a zip top bag in the fridge in a large bowl to prevent leaks. Marinate for at least a half-hour up to 4 hours.

grilling

  • Preheat the grill to medium high heat, brush the chicken with the 1 cup of remaining marinade as you flip the chicken pieces 3 or 4 times, brush with marinade each time your turn over. This gets the color dark and builds flavor. The grilling cook time will vary based on the heat of your grill, and the chicken cooks differently based on thickness of the meat. Use a good thermometer and it is cooked when the meat registers 165 degrees internal temperature.
  • Grill the large pineapple chunks on grill grates or on a piece of heavy foil. Move over indirect heat if they start to char or burn.
  • Slice or cut the chicken into smaller pieces making it easier to eat. Move all to a platter or serve in pineapple bowls with a scoop of rice.

pineapple bowls

  • Using a large knife cut the pineapple lengthwise and through the leaves into 2 halves. use small pieces finely diced with juice (grill the larger pieces of the cut pineapple)
  • 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.

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, Hawaiian 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.

Notes

What's Huli Huli Chicken Served With?

Depending on what you order alongside the juicy chicken will usually be the following sides. One of my favorite things is to get the chicken plate with macaroni salad and rice.
  • Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
  • Big Scoop White Rice
  • Iceberg Green Salad
  • Grilled Pineapple
  • Grilled Shrimp
  • Kahlua Pork
  • Extra Huli Dipping Sauce
PRO TIP: Place the zip-top bag with marinade and chicken in a bowl to prevent leaks (because I learned the hard way once 😂).
PRO TIP: 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 reach that temperature. You must cook this marinade as you are basting the chicken to be food-safe!
Just pour it into a small 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. You can use a regular small pan or a special one for the grill available online. 

basting the chicken

The huli marinade will thicken on the grill as you are basting the chicken, giving it that sticky sauce thing that makes the grilled chicken so finger-licking good! All the flavors really develop with the pineapple, ginger, garlic, lemon etc. 

rice

You can use regular steamed rice or this tropical rice. PRO TIP: use a large scoop to serve the rice into a pretty round serving in your pineapple bowl, that's how they do it in Hawaii!
 

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