Pineapple chicken bowls are a fun and flavorful way to turn dinner into something special! These vibrant meals bring together sweet pineapple, savory chicken, and colorful stir-fried vegetables, all served in a fresh pineapple shell. It’s not just a meal—it’s a whole experience.
These pineapple chicken bowl recipes offer a delicious blend of sweet and savory flavors that work beautifully for lunch or dinner. The tender chicken strips soak up the teriyaki glaze, while the stir-fried vegetables and rice create a satisfying base. It’s a flavorful dish that’s easy to prep ahead and perfect for busy weeknights.
If you love the flavors in a classic teriyaki chicken rice bowl, this recipe gives it a fresh twist by serving it inside a pineapple shell. The pineapple not only adds a tropical flair but also enhances the overall taste with natural sweetness. For a more casual option, you can skip the pineapple shells and serve everything in a regular bowl—still every bit as tasty and fun.
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Why We Love This Pineapple Chicken Bowl
- It’s an easy 30 minute meal that you can prepare in bulk to feed yourself and your family for the week! It’s just as quick (but not quite as hands-off) as our Instant Pot Hawaiian chicken recipe.
- It’s anything but boring!
The mouthwatering combination of salty, sweet, and savory flavors keeps each bite interesting — you’ll never get bored of these pineapple chicken bowls! - An all-in-one meal.
With protein, veggies, and carbs all in one bowl, there’s no need for extra sides. Not to mention, there are less dishes to wash!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Pineapple: You’ll need a whole fruit to make the serving bowl.
- Bacon: Don’t use pre-cooked bacon — you will want to make use of the bacon fat! Turkey bacon is a decent substitute – just be aware that turkey bacon is higher in sodium than pork bacon.
- Sesame seed oil: This ingredient adds an appetizing aroma. Olive, grapeseed, and avocado oil are all good substitutes.
- Chicken tenderloins: Any boneless skinless pieces of chicken or turkey will work as a substitute.
- White rice: Whole grain brown rice is a heartier option, and it makes this Hawaiian chicken recipe healthier!
- Teriyaki glaze: Add a bit of hot sauce to give your pineapple bowl some heat! Sriracha is our favorite, but any hot sauce works.
- Seasonal vegetables have the best flavor. Zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, squash, and broccoli are good options for this Blackstone griddle recipe, because they hold their flavor and shape well.
If the vegetables that you want to use aren’t in season, there’s nothing wrong with using frozen veggies. They’re just as healthy as fresh!
Recipe Variations
- Cauliflower rice bowl: Swap out the white rice for cauliflower rice to make this a lower-carb dish. Stir-fry it with a touch of fresh ginger, salt, and garlic for a flavorful base before adding the teriyaki chicken and vegetables.
- Coconut rice with green Beans: Cook jasmine rice with coconut milk for a fragrant coconut rice option. Add sautéed green beans to the stir-fried vegetables for extra crunch. Finish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and sliced green onions for a bright, tropical twist.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs with rice vinegar: Use boneless skinless chicken thighs marinated in a teriyaki marinade enhanced with a splash of rice vinegar. This gives the chicken a touch of acidity and helps tenderize the meat even more. Top the bowl with sesame seeds before serving.
- Ginger teriyaki stir fry bowl: Amp up the flavor by adding extra ginger and green onions to the teriyaki sauce. Serve everything over a bed of steamed rice or grains, and garnish with sesame seeds and a few pinches of salt to balance the sweetness.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
Chopped peanuts or cashews jazz up the teriyaki chicken rice bowl visually while adding crunch.
Toast them lightly in a skillet before mixing them into the pineapple-fried rice.
Equipment Used in this Recipe
- Skillet
- Chef’s knife – (for making the pineapple bowls)
- Large metal spatula
- Tongs – (if you wish to char the pineapple)
How to Make Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl
Prepare the pineapple bowls
- Slice the fruit in half vertically, through the crown on top, and down through the bottom end. Each half will be hollowed out to form the serving bowls.
- Make cuts to loosen the flesh.
Starting at the top of one half of your fruit, make several cuts through the flesh; at the top, bottom, through the middle, and all the way around, about 1 inch in from the outer peel of the fruit.
At this point, the fruit will be loose inside.
- Slice through the center of the inner pineapple section lengthwise. This will leave you with two sections of flesh.
- Starting at the top of one half, cut through the flesh, about 1 inch in from the outer peel of the fruit. At this point, the fruit will be loose inside.
Then, just use a spoon to help you remove the flesh and core.
- We remove the core and chop it into small bits to use in the chicken stir fry. You can throw out the fibrous core if you want, but it softens up to where you won’t even notice.
- After you cut the fruit in half and remove most of the insides, there will be a few tablespoons of fresh juice inside. Pour the juice into a small bowl or glass measuring cup – you’ll use it for the glaze.
Preheat and cook the bacon
- Heat a griddle, wok, or large skillet on high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Cut bacon into bite-sized pieces and add to the hot pan.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook until the bacon is halfway done, about 4 minutes.
Sauté the vegetables
- Add chopped vegetables and chopped onion to the pan with the bacon.
- Sprinkle with garlic powder and stir frequently to cook until tender.
Cook the chicken
- On another side of the pan, add sesame oil and the chicken strips.
- Drizzle soy sauce over the chicken and cook for 3–4 minutes.
- Flip the chicken, then add the pineapple chunks to the pan.
- In a bowl, stir together the reserved pineapple juice and brown sugar. Pour over the chicken and continue to cook for 3–4 more minutes until the sauce is glossy and the chicken is cooked through.
Stir-fry the rice
- Create a well in the center of the bacon and veggie mixture and melt butter in the space.
- Add cold cooked rice and stir to combine with vegetables. Cook for about 3 minutes until heated through.
Use cold rice if possible. The secret to learning how to make fried rice on Blackstone is using cold rice! Warm grains have a tendency to become mushy when you use them for pineapple chicken fried rice. - Prep ahead to save time.
If possible, cook the rice at least an hour before starting the teriyaki chicken rice bowl. This will give the grains some time to cool in the fridge.
Even better, prepare the rice the night before making the pineapple bowl, fried rice, and chicken teriyaki.
Assemble the pineapple chicken bowls
- Fill the hollowed pineapple halves with the fried rice mixture and top with the glazed chicken and pineapple.
- Finish with a drizzle of teriyaki glaze and garnish with sliced green onions or sesame seeds, if desired.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip #2 – Work smarter, not harder!
To make your prep even easier, you can also create the pineapple bowls the night before. Keep them (and the fruit chunks) in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.
Spending a few minutes on meal prep reduces stress, and will save you time in the long run!
Using a regular serving bowl may be easier and less messy, but spending a few minutes to make a pineapple bowl is SO worth it! The teriyaki chicken looks gorgeous when served inside the pineapple bowl. Plus, you’ll have fewer dishes to wash.
Serving Suggestions
To perfectly pair with the pineapple chicken bowl, sauté green bell peppers, red bell pepper, and red onion in a large skillet, tossing them with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes for a bit of heat. Add some hibachi shrimp to the chicken or serve them as appetizers with our pineapple bowl recipe.
Recipe FAQs
While the teriyaki technique is almost a hallmark of Japanese cuisine, the sauce is commonly thought to have originated in Hawaii. There is a lot of gray area to consider: the common ingredients of teriyaki sauce (soy sauce, mirin, and sugar) were certainly used in Japanese cooking years ago. However, the sauce we know today is characteristically Hawaiian.
The pineapple teriyaki chicken sauce combines pineapple juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce. It all cooks together to form a thick, yummy glaze!
Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. The bowls themselves will also last that long, which is very convenient.
Reheating is the tricky part. It’s best to reheat the leftovers separately from the pineapple bowl.
For the best results, scoop out the Hawaiian teriyaki chicken mixture and reheat it in a skillet over medium heat. Or microwave it for a few minutes until it warms through.
Then, return everything to the pineapple bowl for serving.
Love Dinner Recipes? Here’s More…
- Smoked Pork Tenderloin Recipe
- How to Cook Turkey Tenders
- BBQ Baked Chicken Tenders
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Pasta
If you tried this pineapple chicken bowl recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Pineapple Chicken Bowls
Equipment
- skillet
- chef's knife - (for making the pineapple bowls)
- large metal spatula
- tongs - (if you wish to char the pineapple)
Ingredients
- 1 pineapple
- 8 ounces bacon
- 3 cups chopped vegetables use a variety of broccoli, squash, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, snap peas, etc.
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins or 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips. *See Notes below
- 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium soy sauce, or tamari sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups cooked white rice (if time allows, refrigerate rice for 1-2 hours) *See Notes below
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup teriyaki glaze
Instructions
How to Make a Pineapple Bowl
- Lay the pineapple on its side on a sturdy cutting board. Using a large chef's knife, slice pineapple in half lengthwise, from top to bottom. If desired, cut off the crown at the top of the fruit.Starting at the top of one half, cut through the flesh, about 1 inch in from the outer peel of the fruit.Next, slice through the center of the inner pineapple section lengthwise to make two halves. Use a large spoon to scoop underneath each section, freeing it from the pineapple. NOTE: There will be a lot of juice in the pineapple. Pour it off into a small bowl or glass measuring cup and set it aside. You will use it later, to make the teriyaki glaze.Repeat steps to create a bowl from the other half of pineapple. Pour the juice from the second pineapple half into the bowl with the other juice.
- Cut off and discard the fibrous core from the sections of flesh you removed. Slice each piece into chunks. Add pineapple chunks to a bowl and set aside. Set empty pineapple bowls aside.
Make the Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken and Fried Rice
- Add a tablespoon of oil to griddle, wok, or skillet then preheat on high heat until oil is shimmering. While the oil is heating, cut bacon into bite-size pieces. Lower heat to medium and add bacon. Cook until bacon is halfway rendered, about 4 minutes.
- Add the cut vegetables and onion to the griddle/wok/skillet with the bacon. Season with garlic powder and continue to cook the mixture. Meanwhile, add the sesame oil and chicken to the other side of the griddle, wok, or skillet. Drizzle soy sauce over the chicken and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces over, then add the pineapple chunks. Add brown sugar to the pineapple juice and stir to combine; pour it over the chicken and pineapple.
- Continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside, the pineapple is lightly golden, and the pineapple juice and brown sugar have glazed on the chicken. If you prefer bite-sized chicken, pull it from the griddle and chop it before returning it to the griddle, wok, or skillet.
- Create a well in the middle of the bacon and vegetables, then place the butter in the well. When the butter is melted, add the cold rice, breaking it up. Stir fry the rice and vegetables for about 3 minutes, or until rice is warm.
- Add the teriyaki chicken and fried rice to the pineapple halves. Garnish each pineapple bowl with a drizzle of teriyaki sauce before serving.
Notes
- Chopped peanuts or cashews jazz up the teriyaki chicken bowls visually, while also adding crunch. Toast them lightly in a skillet prior to mixing them into the pineapple fried rice.
- To make your prep even easier, you can also create the pineapple bowls the night before. Just keep them (and the fruit chunks) in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.
- Spending a few minutes on meal prep reduces stress, and will save you time in the long run!
- It has been my experience that the colder the rice is, the more favorable hibachi fried rice it makes. So, if you have time, refrigerate your rice for 1-2 hours prior to cooking on your griddle.
- Cut chicken breasts into strips: Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts crosswise into 1 1/2 by 2 inch strips like chicken tenderloins.
- Cauliflower rice bowl: Swap out the white rice for cauliflower rice to make this a lower-carb dish. Stir-fry it with a touch of fresh ginger, salt, and garlic for a flavorful base before adding the teriyaki chicken and vegetables.
- Coconut rice with green Beans: Cook jasmine rice with coconut milk for a fragrant coconut rice option. Add sautéed green beans to the stir-fried vegetables for extra crunch. Finish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and sliced green onions for a bright, tropical twist.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs with rice vinegar: Use boneless skinless chicken thighs marinated in a teriyaki marinade enhanced with a splash of rice vinegar. This gives the chicken a touch of acidity and helps tenderize the meat even more. Top the bowl with sesame seeds before serving.
- Ginger teriyaki stir fry bowl: Amp up the flavor by adding extra ginger and green onions to the teriyaki sauce. Serve everything over a bed of steamed rice or grains, and garnish with sesame seeds and a few pinches of salt to balance the sweetness.
- Any leftover Hawaiian teriyaki chicken and pineapple fried rice can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. The bowls themselves will last that long as well, which is very convenient.
- Reheating is the tricky part. It’s best to reheat the leftovers separately from the pineapple bowl.
- For the best results, scoop out the Hawaiian teriyaki chicken mixture, and reheat it in a skillet over medium heat. Or, microwave it for a few minutes, until it warms through.
- Then, return everything to the pineapple bowl for serving.
- If possible, cook the rice at least an hour before you make the rest of the Hawaiian chicken recipe. This will give the grains some time to cool in the fridge.
- After an hour or two, you can move forward with making the Hawaiian chicken recipe.
- Even better, prepare the rice the night before you plan to make the pineapple bowl, fried rice, and chicken teriyaki.
Nutrition
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Ned says
The combo of sweet and savory presented in a pineapple was perfect! Our guests loved these so much! Thank you!
kushigalu says
Love the combination of flavors and great presentation. Thanks for sharing.
Ann says
The presentation for this is amazing. Who doesn’t love a Pineapple bowl. Thanks!!!