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    Home » Recipes » Dinner

    One Pot Hawaiian Chicken with Coconut Rice

    Updated: June 9, 2022 | Published on: June 22, 2021 - Molly Thompson11 Comments

    Dairy Free RecipesDF
    Gluten Free RecipesGF
    Jump to Recipe

    This Hawaiian chicken recipe is made with tender chicken thighs flavored with a tropical pineapple marinade and cooked in one pot with fluffy coconut rice. This one pot dinner is great for any night of the week!

    Hawaiian chicken thighs on top of a bed of coconut rice and topped with cilantro and shredded coconut all cooked in one pot

    Scroll down to the recipe video if you prefer to watch instead of read!

    Jump to:
    • What makes this recipe so good?
    • How to make Hawaiian chicken
    • Prefer to watch instead of read?
    • How long to marinate chicken
    • How to make the chicken extra crispy
    • What to serve with Hawaiian Chicken
    • Recipe

    My husband is obsessed with all things Hawaiian and coconut. His favorite pizza is Canadian bacon and pineapple, so I figured it was time to make a flavorful Hawaiian chicken dish at home. He went crazy for this meal!

    What makes this recipe so good?

    • It's really healthy! Full of protein and healthy fats, plus it's gluten free and dairy free.
    • This recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make.
    • It's all made in one pot, so that means one pot to clean!

    How to make Hawaiian chicken

    1. Make the marinade: Combine the marinade ingredients then add the chicken and toss to coat well. After that, marinate in the fridge for 1-24 hours.
    2. Cook the chicken: Sear the chicken to a hot pan with olive oil and discard the remaining marinade. Sear for 3-4 minutes on one side then flip it over and cook for another 1-2minutes then transfer to a plate.
    3. Make the rice: Add the coconut milk and pineapple juice to the same skillet the chicken was cooked in then add the spices. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat then stir in the uncooked rice and reserved pineapple chunks and stir well.
    4. Close the lid and cook: Add the browned chicken on top then close the lid, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is fluffy and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

    Prefer to watch instead of read?

    [adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="FXA7RIau" upload-date="2021-06-18T18:07:30.000Z" name="One Pot Hawaiian Chicken with Tropical Coconut Rice" description="This Hawaiian chicken recipe is made with tender chicken thighs flavored with a tropical pineapple marinade and cooked in one pot with fluffy coconut rice. This one pot dinner is great for any night of the week!" player-type="collapse" override-embed="false"]
    chicken thighs in a pineapple coconut marinade

    How long to marinate chicken

    The chicken thighs should marinate for 1-24 hours. The longer the better! If you're short on time, one hour will do. Pro tip: throw the chicken and marinade together the night before so it's ready for dinner the next day.

    Does the pineapple juice make the chicken mushy? Canned pineapple juice infuses the chicken with a bright, sweet flavor while also tenderizing the meat. Be careful not to marinade it well over 24 hours to avoid it being mushy.

    How to make the chicken extra crispy

    The key to getting the outside of the chicken crispy is to sear the tops for 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat without moving them at all. This gives them an extra crispy crust. Color equals flavor in cooking!

    What to serve with Hawaiian Chicken

    This recipe is a great one pot meal, so my first recommendation is the tropical coconut rice. However, you could serve it with air fryer asparagus or a fresh cucumber tomato salad.

    Want to add more veggies? Add some diced red bell peppers to the rice with the coconut and stir in spinach to wilt at the end.

    two plates of crispy seared Hawiian chicken on top a bed of coconut rice with coconut flakes and cilantro on top

     If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!

    More of our favorite one pot meals:

    • Sweet and spicy pork lettuce wraps
    • 30 Minute chicken Pad Thai
    • One pot creamy cajun shrimp pasta
    • Lemon garlic chicken asparagus pasta
    • One pot creamy cajun chicken pasta
    • One pot taco pasta

    Recipe

    6 hawiian chicken thighs in a skillet with coode basmati rice and topped with toasted coconut and cilantro

    One Pot Hawaiian Chicken with Coconut Rice

    This Hawaiian chicken recipe is made with tender chicken thighs flavored with a tropical pineapple marinade cooked in one pot with fluffy coconut rice. This one pot dinner is great for any night of the week!
    5 from 14 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dinner
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Marinade Time:: 1 hour
    Servings: 6 people
    Calories: 590kcal
    Author: Molly Thompson
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    For the chicken and marinade:

    • 1/2 cup coconut aminos
    • 1/2 cup full fat canned coconut milk shaken
    • 2 tablespoons honey
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1/4 cup 100% pineapple juice (use the juice from the canned pineapple below)
    • 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil

    For the tropical coconut pineapple rice:

    • 1 (13.5 ounce) can full fat coconut milk shaken
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
    • 1 1/2 cups uncooked jasmine rice (or long grain white rice)
    • 1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks in 100% pineapple juice
    • To garnish: cilantro, chopped cashews or toasted coconut

    Instructions

    • Strain the pineapple chunks from the pineapple juice and store the chunks in an air tight container until you're ready to make the dish. Measure out 1/4 cup of the pineapple juice and add it to a plastic or reusable storage bag with the rest of the marinade ingredients. Store the leftover juice for later as well.
    • Add the chicken thighs to the marinade bag, close the lid and toss well to coat. Marinate in the fridge for 1-24 hours. The longer you can marinade the better, but even 1 hour will work. This makes a great recipe to prep the night before.
    • Heat the olive oil in a deep saute pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chicken to the hot pan and discard the remaining marinade. Sear for 3-4 minutes on one side then flip it over and cook for another 1-2minutes. The chicken should have a crispy brown skin. Transfer it to a plate. It doe not need to be cooked all the way through.
    • Measure out the reserved pineapple juice in a large liquid measuring cup, then add the canned coconut milk to reach 3 cups. If there isn't enough coconut milk, top it off with water.
    • Add the mixture to the same skillet the chicken was cooked in and use a wooden spoon to scrape off any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add add the garlic powder, onion powder, ground ginger, salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat then stir in the uncooked rice and reserved pineapple chunks and stir well.
    • Add the browned chicken on top of the rice then close the lid, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is fluffy and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
    • Top with chopped cashews, toasted coconut or chopped cilantro if desired.

    Notes

    Meal prep: divide the chicken and rice evenly into individual storage containers and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30 second increments.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2chicken thighs and rice | Calories: 590kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 37.3g | Fat: 28g | Cholesterol: 159.8mg | Sodium: 783mg | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 17.8g
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @What_MollyMade or tag #whatmollymade!

    More Healthy Dinners

    • Creamy One Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta [Dairy Free]
    • One Pan Tahini Ginger Salmon with Sesame Asparagus
    • Gluten Free Mexican Lasagna [Without Boiling Noodles!]
    • Fiesta Lime Shrimp Bowl

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Marge Lejeune says

      October 11, 2021 at 1:19 pm

      5 stars
      incredible. you won't be disappointed

      Reply
      • Molly Thompson says

        October 19, 2021 at 1:42 pm

        Love that! Thanks!

        Reply
    2. Michele says

      November 09, 2021 at 6:40 pm

      5 stars
      Good golly Miss Molly! Loved this! Keeper for sure! And can we take a moment and appreciate the level of care she put in this post? Her directions included videos for every step. Wow!

      Reply
    3. Katie says

      November 14, 2021 at 9:51 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious! Actually just returned from a trip to Hawaii and was looking for a meal to ease the transition back to the midwest 🙂 Easy, tasty, and will make again

      Reply
    4. Amanda says

      March 06, 2022 at 6:59 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is amazing! My entire family loved it and my incredibly picky 5 year old (seriously she eats like 5 foods) loved the chicken so much she asked for seconds and to eat the leftovers the next day. She has dubbed this "Beach girl Chicken". I made the recipe as is but added a little bit of better than boullion to the rice for a stronger chicken flavor. My husband and I added some sirracha to our plates for a little extra kick. This will absolutely be added to our normal rotation.

      Reply
    5. Amy says

      March 18, 2022 at 8:48 pm

      5 stars
      Definitely adding this one to the rotation. SO GOOD.

      Reply
    6. Emma Hoar says

      April 12, 2022 at 11:44 am

      5 stars
      This is one of our go to's!! I love it. Yesterday I made it with chicken breast (I just cut it up and then cooked it first) and then did all the other steps like normal. I also used an instant pot and it turned out great! I did 7 minutes on high pressure after the chicken was cooked. SO GOOD!

      Reply
    7. Emily O says

      July 11, 2022 at 6:45 pm

      5 stars
      This was SO good! We used half the amount of pineapple it called for (we weren’t sure we’d like it) and we realized it needs all. We also chopped the chunks. Next time I’ll use fresh ginger and garlic. But this deserves 5 stars because it was that good with dried spices. Going into rotation for sure

      Reply
    8. Niki says

      September 05, 2022 at 10:43 am

      5 stars
      This recipe is super good. It’s also a great, pretty easy one pot dinner:)

      Reply
    9. Jenna says

      September 30, 2022 at 7:19 pm

      Delicious. Would it be possible to make this in the instant pot?

      Reply
      • Djr says

        October 30, 2022 at 4:02 pm

        See the post from April 12th.

        Reply

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    molly thompson from what molly made

    I'm Molly! I'm so grateful you're here. My hope is that my recipes bless your home and your bodies. I want my website to be a tool to help you feel your best and nourish you with recipes you (and your family) look forward to making!

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    One Pan Meals

    • One Pot Hawaiian Chicken with Coconut Rice
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