Hawaiian Chicken Bites are an easy dinner or appetizer recipe made with chicken, bell peppers, and pineapple tossed in a sweet, tangy sauce!
Hawaiian Chicken Bites are one of my family’s favorite dinners. It’s a hearty meal with cubes of chicken breast, perfectly cooked bell peppers, and delicious, juicy, chunks of pineapple. Every bite is deliciously glazed with a sweet, tangy sauce that keeps you coming back for more serve it over rice for a delicious dinner or put everything on a skewer for the perfect party appetizers. Either way, I promise you everyone is going to ask for seconds!
HAWAIIAN CHICKEN BITES
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A good sauce can take any recipe to the next level, and the glaze of sweet, salty, tangy sauce on my Hawaiian Chicken Bites is no exception. Hawaiian cuisine has a lot of Asian influence, and this sauce is a perfect example. It is a cross between a typical bbq sauce and the teriyaki sauce I use on my Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs. Made with brown sugar, ketchup, and garlic like many bbq sauces and then you add soy sauce, rice vinegar, ground ginger, to add a little Asian flavor. Tie it all together with pineapple juice to give it that Hawaiian flair. Seriously, guys, I could eat this sauce with a spoon, it’s that good!
How to make this Hawaiian Chicken Recipe
The Hawaiian Chicken recipes are so easy to throw together, and you can make it all in one pot. First, the chicken and veggies are cooked separately and set aside, secondly, you combine all of the sauce ingredients and cook them until the sauce thickens. When the sauce is ready, you add the chicken, peppers, and pineapple back to the pot and stir everything together.
Most importantly on busy weeknights, I serve it over white rice. The sweet pineapples and zesty bell peppers go perfectly with the chicken and that sauce coats everything and soak into the rice so that every bite is a mix of sweet, salty, and tangy. This Hawaiian Chicken recipe is one dish that my whole family agrees on. Even the kids dig right in!
Hawaiian Chicken Bites also make a pretty fantastic appetizer. I serve it at all of my summer parties along with my Grilled Pineapple Teriyaki Skewers, and the guys think it makes pretty great halftime food during football season. When I serve it as an appetizer, I make it the same way, but instead of adding the chicken, peppers, and pineapple back to the sauce at the end, I place them on skewers and then baste them with the sauce before serving. The colorful skewers of chicken, pineapple, and red and green bell peppers, make a beautiful appetizer and the delicious glaze coats it all in excellent Hawaiian flavors. Everyone is going to be asking you for this recipe!
Check out these recipes that can transition from appetizer to entree!
- Easy Wedge Salad
- Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Philly Cheese Steak Bread
- Meatball Parmesan Bites
- Grilled Veggie Pesto Flatbread
- More appetizer recipes…
Tools used to make these Hawaiian Chicken Bites
Large Skillet: This skillet is my go-to kitchen tool. It’s large circumference and high sides make it perfect for cooking anything from one pan meals to soups and sauces.
Skewers: No soaking required! These metal skewers are my favorite to use for everything from dinner to s’mores!
Ingredients
- 1 pound Chicken breast cubed
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ⅛ teaspoon Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Onion powder
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil divided
- 1 clove Garlic finely minced
- 1 cup Red bell pepper large dice
- 1 cup Green bell pepper large dice
- 1 cup Pineapple chunks
Sauce
- ⅓ cup Ketchup
- ⅓ cup Pineapple juice
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon Garlic finely minced
Instructions
- Season the cubed chicken breast with salt, pepper, and onion powder.
- In a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the cubed chicken breast. Saute until cooked through, approximately 10 minutes, and set aside.
- Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan along with the garlic, red and green bell peppers, and pineapple. Saute until peppers have softened, approximately 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Add the cornstarch to the pineapple juice and stir until fully combined.
- Add ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ground ginger, and garlic to the skillet. Stir together over medium-high heat. Add the pineapple juice and cornstarch mixture stirring together so there are no lumps.
- Cook sauce until it thickens enough to coat your spoon, approximately 5-10 minutes.
- Add chicken, peppers, and pineapple to the sauce and stir to coat.
- Serve over white rice as a meal or on skewers as an appetizer.
Nutrition
Pam Ramsey says
Made this tonight. Doubled the recipe and added onion. Delish!