Sweet and savory meal, with a bit of an Asian flare, we can't think of anything more appropriate than Pineapple Glazed Chicken! A family favorite among adults and kids, serve with rice for the perfect family dinner.
Looking for something a bit non-traditional for dinner tonight? Impress with this very simple, easy-to-make Pineapple Glazed Chicken recipe you can have on your kitchen table in less then 50 minutes.
What's even better is that this dish is all made in ONE pan, saving you valuable cleanup and dish-washing time later.
Easy-to-make, adventurous meals that can be prepared in less then an hour are hard to come by. We're happy to say that Pineapple Glazed Chicken is a HUGE family hit, and a great option for kids to try out some new and exciting flavors.
How to make Pineapple Glazed Chicken?
The basis for this dish are Pineapple and Chicken thighs. Start by pan searing chicken thighs skin side down for 3-4 minutes. Turn over, to fry the other side for the same amount of time. Pan searing is essential for locking in those juices, so when you bake the chicken it doesn't come out dry. Don't forget to sprinkle with salt and pepper!
We thought chicken thighs were the best choice of meat for this dish because the dark meat compliments very well with the sweet and savory sauce. You can of course choose white meat, but we recommend being very careful with the cook and bake time to ensure meat does not dry out.
Next you will want to pan sear the pineapple. Pan searing pineapple warms the sugars of the fruit enhancing it's sweetness. While you can use canned pineapple, we recommend using fresh pineapple as the freshness will enhance the sweet and tangy flavors of the sauce. We used our Pineapple corer to help slice and extract the pineapple fruit. If you were to use canned pineapple fruit, make sure to reserve the juice so that you can reuse it later for the sauce.
For the glaze, start by sauteing garlic and ginger. Then add the lime juice, soy sauce, pineapple juice, ketchup, honey and green onion. Mix together with cornstarch to thicken sauce into more of a glaze. The pineapple rings we extracted from earlier will be baked into this sauce to enhance the tangy flavor of the glaze.
We used ketchup and honey for the sauce as this will not only help enhance the sweetness of the dish, but will counteract the tartness of the pineapple, creating a more savory and sweet flavor profile.
We finished this dish of by baking it in the oven at about 180 degrees Celsius, for about 20 minutes. This will fully cook the chicken thighs while marrying all the other flavors together. We recommend brushing the sauce over the chicken thighs right before placing it in the oven.
To garnish, we sprinkled the final dish with green onion to add a bit of color and bite. You of course can also use Sesame seeds, as an alternative garnish as well.
We recommend serving this dish with white rice, or whole grain rice for a more nutritious alternative. This meal is sure to pack a punch with family and friends.
If you like this dish, or have advice on how to make this recipe even BETTER, let us know down in the comments down below. We'd love to hear from you.
Have a great day and happy cooking!
