This delicious sweet and tangy Hawaiian Chicken caramelizes as it grills with brown sugar and pineapple in a simple to make marinade.
It’s summer and we are trying to eat a little healthier, be more active doing yard work, and making lighter dishes.
I love that corn oil has a neutral taste that lets the natural flavor of your food stand out. This quick and easy chicken marinade that takes only 15 minutes to prep, you’ll have dinner fast!
If you love this Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken, you’ll love my Chicken Marinade, Steak Marinade, and Chicken Fajitas.
This simple chicken marinade has a few basic ingredients including Mazola Corn Oil, brown sugar, pineapple juice, Dijon mustard, white wine, teriyaki sauce, minced garlic, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Marinating chicken makes it so juicy and flavorful!
Chicken Marinade
- Prepare your chicken for the marinade. While this marinade works for chicken thighs and drumsticks, I love using boneless skinless chicken breasts. Flatten them slightly, so they cook more evenly.
- Prepare your marinade. Whisk together the chicken marinade ingredients in a large glass measuring cup. Reserve ⅓ cup in the refrigerator for making your glaze. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken in a large zip style bag. Refrigerate the chicken in the marinade for 4 hours and up to 24 hours. (The longer you can let the chicken marinade- the more flavor it will absorb!)
• Remove the marinated chicken from the marinade with tongs. Let the excess marinade drip off the chicken and back into the gallon zip-top bag. Place the chicken on your preheated outdoor grill, over direct heat. Pour remaining marinade over the chicken as it cooks.
I love grilling outside! Besides saving me from having to clean up the stove, grilling gives such wonderful flavors to food. Since it’s summer and we’re eating lighter meals, we’re incorporating more fresh vegetables into meals and making a few simple changes. Using boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of chicken with skin or removing the skin from chicken thighs. In addition, to lighten up this pineapple chicken marinade, I used Mazola Corn Oil in place of extra virgin olive oil.
Corn oil is a perfect choice for marinades for grilling this summer. Corn oil is great for marinades that make great-tasting food because it has a neutral taste that lets the natural flavor of your food stand out.
Try some of my other great grilling recipes that you can swap out corn oil in the recipe to make them better for you! Blood Orange Chicken, Citrus Marinated Chicken, Whiskey Marinated Steak, and Grilled Pork Chops.
This easy brown sugar pineapple chicken is the perfect summer dish. I love grilled chicken and have been perfecting my marinade recipe for some time. I have several go to recipes for marinating boneless chicken breasts or chicken thighs. This is the only marinade you’ll need this summer for juicy grilled chicken!
Corn oil has a smoke point higher than most cooking oils at 450°F and performs well in a variety of cooking applications. Many home cooks may not realize that all cooking oils have a smoke point that, once exceeded, not only negatively affect the food’s flavor and nutritional value.
For more great grilling recipes be sure and try Honey Chipotle Ribs, Barbecue Chicken Kebabs, Citrus Marinated Chicken, and Whiskey Marinated Steak.
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Brown Sugar Pineapple Chicken
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Pineapple Chicken
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¼ cup Mazola Corn Oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple slices and juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- ¼ cup teriyaki sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
Brown Sugar Pineapple Chicken
- In a gallon size zip-top freezer bag or in between two layers of plastic wrap, pound the chicken to about ¾-inch thickness, with either a meat tenderizer or a wooden rolling pin.
- Whisk together the chicken marinade ingredients in a large glass measuring cup. Reserve ⅓ cup in the refrigerator for making your glaze.
- In another gallon size zip-top freezer bag, pour marinade and squish around with your hand, from the outside of the bag. Place the flattened chicken breasts into marinade. Seal the bag, and massage the chicken with your fingers to coat in the marinade. Place the entire bag onto a baking sheet or pan, position so it sits flat. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat the outdoor grill to medium high heat. Scrape any debris from the grill grates.
- Cook on the grill, over direct heat, close the grill, and cook for about 6 minutes. Use tongs to flip the chicken, close the grill, and cook for an additional 6 minutes. Or until the chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Transfer the cooked chicken to a half sheet pan lined with clean parchment paper or clean serving plate. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
- As the chicken cooks, grill the pineapple slices. Cook until you have good grill marks on both sides of the pineapple slices, about 3 minutes each side.
- Bring the reserved marinade to a boil in a small saucepan. Whisk in 1 teaspoon corn starch dissolved in a few tablespoons of cold water. Whisk continuously until thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and brush on the chicken.
Amy Engberson says
I’m always on the hunt for a great grilled chicken recipe. This one is packed with flavor and so easy!
Laura says
This chicken was so yummy! The marinade was so good and I know what you mean about grilling. It’s the best. Anything to save time in the kitchen.
Jessica Robinson says
Thank you so much Laura! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!