Sheet Pan Hawaiian Chicken
Cook the sheet pan of Hawaiian chicken tossed in sweet chili sauce with pineapple chunks alongside a pan of chopped veggies for a 20 minute dinner you can spoon over a bed of jasmine rice.
One of my favorite flavor combinations ever is sweet and spicy. Add in some juicy pineapple and I'm in love!
This easy Hawaiian chicken recipe starts with two sheet pans of vegetables and chunks of chicken with pineapple tossed in a sweet chili sauce.
I spooned it over bowls of jasmine rice for a quick and easy weeknight dinner that is done in 20 minutes.
Why This is the Best Recipe
I love easy chicken recipes that don't require a lot of prep work for busy nights. I think this is the best sheet pan Hawaiian chicken recipe because:
- Easy List of Ingredients: You could make this dish with just 6 ingredients plus a few things from your pantry.
- Fresh and Juicy: We LOVE the flavor of cooked pineapple, it gets extra sweet and pairs so well with the chicken.
- Customizable Heat: As written, this dish is not very spicy but you could easily up the spice level for your taste.
Ingredients
To make this dish, all you need to have on hand is:
- Chicken: I used chicken breasts but chicken tenderloins or thighs would work just fine, too.
- Bell Peppers: I recommend a mix of red and green for color, but you could use any color you have on hand.
- Zucchini: I've been adding these into most of our dinners lately, I just love them.
- Onion
- Canned Pineapple Chunks: This is such a great dinner short cut but if you happen to have fresh pineapple on hand, that would work too.
- Sweet Chili Sauce: You'll find this condiment in the Asian foods section of the grocery store. It has some heat but is mostly sweet. It is like a warmer version of sweet and sour sauce.
- Olive Oil
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: You can adjust the spice level with this ingredient. Add more if you like it nice and hot.
Prep the Vegetables
I admit, for years and years I've always chopped my veggies by hand. It only takes a few minutes to do so why would I want to use a veggie chopper I have to wash?
The answer is: Because the chopper makes PERFECTLY sized veggie chunks that all roast at the same time!
I just bought this veggie chopper recently. You still have to slice the veggies to make them work in the appliance but one little bang on that chopper lid and I had all the veggies diced in just 2 minutes.
If you don't have a veggie chopper, just dice everything in similar sizes. Toss with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Want to Save This for Later?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Prep the Chicken
Slice the chicken into 1-inch chunks.
For larger breasts, I like to slice them into three equal strips and then slice each strip into chunks like this:
Place the chicken in a mixing bowl. Drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
Then pour in the sweet chili sauce an stir to coat.
Baking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Spread the prepped veggies in an even layer on a large baking sheet.
Line a second sheet with aluminum foil and spread the prepared chicken in an even layer. The foil helps prevent the juices from burning and sticking to the pan so you can use them to flavor your rice bowls later.
Place the sheet pan of vegetables into the oven first. Let them cook for 4 minutes.
Then add the sheet pan of chicken and cook for 8 minutes or until the thickest pieces of chicken register 170°F.
Add the drained pineapple to the pan of chicken and return the pan to the oven for 5 more minutes.
To give your chicken a little more color, you can turn the oven off and turn the broiler on. Cook the chicken under the broiler for 2 minutes to give it a little more browning if needed.
Variations
This dinner tastes very similar to my favorite sweet and sour chicken take out, minus the deep fried breaded coating on the chicken.
Those flavors would pair really well with additional veggies if you wanted to mix things up on the veggie pan.
In addition to or instead of, consider mixing in:
- Chopped Broccoli
- Pea Pods
- Thinly Sliced Carrots
Make Ahead Tips
I made the Hawaiian chicken and vegetables around lunchtime and prepped the Instant Pot jasmine rice at the same time.
I stored the chicken, pineapple, vegetables, and all the sauce in one container and the rice separately and just popped them in the fridge.
Then at dinnertime, I was able to heat each dish up to the right temp in the microwave before serving.
However, this recipe would also make an excellent Make Your Own Meal Kit. You could just prep the elements of the dish for very quick assembly later:
- Chop the Chicken and Toss with Chili Sauce: You could even freeze this if you wanted! Just let it thaw in the fridge overnight before you cook it.
- Chop the Vegetables: You could pre-chop the veggies and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Then when you're ready to cook, you just load up your sheet pans and pop them in the oven!
Serving Suggestions
When you're ready to serve the dish, spoon the jasmine rice onto your plate or bowl.
Then top the rice with a spoonful of the roasted veggies. Add the chicken and pineapple on top and spoon some of the juices from the sheet pan over the top.
If you want to serve it family style, just place the vegetables in a large serving bowl and then scrape all the chicken and veggies and juices from that sheet pan over the top. Gently stir to coat the veggies in the sauce and serve.
I like to sprinkle ours with sesame seeds for texture, but that's optional. Green onions on top would be super tasty, too.
More Easy Sheet Pan Recipes
📖 Recipe
Sheet Pan Hawaiian Chicken
Ingredients
For the Vegetable Pan:
- 1 red bell pepper chopped into chunks
- 1 green bell pepper chopped into chunks
- 1 zucchini chopped into chunks
- 1 onion chopped into chunks
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper
For the Chicken Pan:
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 cup sweet chili sauce plus more for drizzling over the servings later as desired
- 1 (20 oz) can of pineapple chunks drained
For Serving:
- 2 cups jasmine rice cooked
- Sesame seeds for sprinkling on top, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Cut the peppers, onion, and zucchini into similar sized chunks so they cook evenly. Add them to a large baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss them with your hands or a large spoon to coat in the oil and then spread them into an even layer. Sprinkle them with the salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and drizzle the olive oil over the top. Sprinkle the salt and pepper and toss to combine. Pour the chili sauce over the top and stir to coat.
- Spread the chicken pieces in an even layer on a large baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Drain the canned pineapple and set aside.
- Add the pan of vegetables to the oven first. Set a timer for 4 minutes. When the timer goes off, add the sheet pan of chicken to the oven and cook for 8 more minutes. The chicken pieces should register about 170°F.
- Add the drained pineapple chunks to the chicken pan and return the pan to the oven. Cook the chicken and veggies for 5 more minutes or until the chicken is 175°F, the pineapple is warmed through, and the vegetables have charred edges. If you want more color to your pineapple and chicken, you can place that pan under the oven broiler for 1 - 2 minutes.
- Serve the chicken and pineapple with spoonfuls of the roasted veggies over bowls of jasmine rice with a sprinkle of sesame seeds over the top. Drizzle with additional chili sauce as desired.
Recipe Notes
Make Your Own Meal Kit:
You could prep ahead the elements of the dish for very quick assembly later:- Chop the Chicken and Toss with Chili Sauce: You could even freeze this separately if you wanted! Just let it thaw in the fridge overnight before you cook it.
- Chop the Vegetables: You could pre-chop the veggies and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Do not try to freeze them or they won't roast properly.
Save This Recipe to Your Recipe Box
Find this delicious recipe next time you visit by saving it to your very own recipe box on my site. All your favorites stored in one easy place!
Comments
No Comments