I’ve gotten a little lax with my grocery spending lately, so during the month of June I’m making it my mission to use up as many things in my pantry and freezer as possible. First up: chicken thighs! I fell in love with chicken thighs when I made the Maple Dijon Chicken because they are just so easy to prepare and come out so wonderfully juicy. All you really need to do is slather on a sauce and bake.
So, that’s what I did. I whipped up a quick pineapple teriyaki sauce (again using pantry staples), poured it over the chicken and let it bake. I served it over some brown jasmine rice, topped it with some left over sliced green onions, and a side of some frozen broccoli florets (ALSO leftovers from the freezer). All I bought for this recipe was the pineapple. That makes me HAPPY. …and I’m sure I’ll be happy munching on this for lunch tomorrow at work!
P.S. I made four chicken thighs because that’s what I had in my freezer, but this amount of sauce could probably handle up to 6 smallish thighs without needing to make more.
Baked Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Baked Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Servings 4Ingredients
- 15 oz can pineapple chunks in juice ($1.29)
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated ($0.11)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.40)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar ($0.17)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.03)
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.04)
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/4 lbs) ($2.35)
- 3 whole green onions, sliced ($0.33)
- 4 cups cooked rice ($0.69)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drain the pineapple juice from the can to use in the sauce (it should be about 3/4 cup juice total). Save the pineapple chunks for later. Combine the pineapple juice, grated ginger, minced garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and cornstarch in a small sauce pot. Stir until everything is well combined and the cornstarch is dissolved. Cook the mixture over medium heat until it begins to boil and becomes thick and glossy. Turn the burner off and add the pineapple chunks to the sauce.
- Coat a small casserole dish with non-stick spray. Arrange the chicken thighs in the dish so that they are not overlapping. Pour the pineapple teriyaki sauce over the chicken, allowing some to get under the chicken pieces.
- Bake the chicken in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Top the chicken with the sliced green onions. To serve, scoop one chicken thigh plus pineapple pieces and sauce over a bowl of cooked rice.
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Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, then begin to make the sauce. Pour off the juice from one 15-oz. can of pineapple chunks in juice. You should have about 3/4 cup juice (if you have less, say 1/2 cup, you’ll still be okay).
Combine that pineapple juice in a small sauce pot with 1 inch of freshly grated ginger, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup soy sauce 1.5 Tbsp rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, and 1 Tbsp cornstarch. Stir until all of the corn starch is dissolved. it will look kind of cloudy, like this.
Cook the sauce over medium heat until it begins to boil, at which point it will become thick and glossy (that’s the magic of corn starch!). This only takes about five minutes. Turn the heat off and stir in the pineapple chunks.
Place the chicken thighs in a casserole dish so that they are not overlapping. You want them to have a little bit of space, so if you’re cooking more than just four, use a larger dish. I don’t bother trimming the fat because it mostly melts off and it tastes good. Yes, I said it. Chicken fat tastes good!
Pour the yummy sauce all over ’em. I lifted up the chicken a bit to let some of the sauce get underneath…
Then just cook it in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked all the way through and the sauce is nice and bubbly. DONE!
Sprinkle some sliced green onions on top and you’re ready to serve!
I served mine with some brown rice and leftover frozen broccoli florets. I had plenty of sauce to spoon over the rice and broccoli for a FANTASTIC meal. So easy!
Dear god, that was good! The only change is I sauteed some chopped onion in coconut oil and then made the sauce into the onion. Amazing good eats! Thanks!!
You are a freakin’ visionary. I have not had one meal from your website that has been anything but amazing — and that’s with me cooking!
This recipe came out awesome! My family loved it! In the spirit of “using what you have”, I made it with jasmine rice and roasted asparagus. I would not change a single thing about the chicken dish. Thank you for the post!
yum this is going to be a staple in our house except I wont add the pineapple because the boys wouldnt eat it. or maybe just add a bit on my breasts because cooked is the only way I can enjoy pineapple.
I used 6 thighs and 2 huge chicken breasts and it was more than enough sauce and everything was yummy tender!!
Hi there!
I found your blog a cpl of wks ago. Overhauling my household budget, including meal planning. I’ve used several of your recipes, and mentioned you in today’s blog post. (if you’re interested, that’s here: http://notastepfordlife.blogspot.ca/2014/06/budgeting-meal-planning-housework.html )
Anyways, I *love* your site and your recipes! And, what’s even better, is that EVERYONE in my family does too! Considering that includes a hubby and five kids, that’s saying a lot!
This is definitely heading into the meal planning! Thanks again, and look forward to trying more recipes!
Thank YOU! :D
You are so very welcome!
We had your easy sesame chicken tonight. My meal plan is about, oh…95% your stuff….LOL
I have been following this blog for quite some time and made this dish last night! It was SO good!! I think I overdid it on the Ginger though…
Thank you for the easy chicken recipe!!
I’m not a huge dark meat fan – how would breasts work?
It would, but baking time might be different depending on the size and it won’t be quite as tender. :)
I used breasts and it turned out great! I did cut them into smaller chunks though.
Beth, If I made this with drumsticks would you still cook them for the same amount of time and at the same temperature? I would say they are probably medium sized drumsticks, not overly big or small, I think my package has 5 in it. Thanks!!
Yes, probably. Check them at 30 minutes and kind of pull apart the thickest part of the largest drumstick to see if it’s still pink inside. If so, add another ten minutes and check again. Typically chicken with the bone in takes longer, but drumsticks are fairly small, so it might even out to be about the same.
This looks delish! I love the frugality of chicken thighs. All I need is the pineapple. Thanks for another great recipe!
Our local Costco sells a frozen teriyaki pineapple chicken that I am borderline obsessed with… But chicken thighs are such a great value and so easy to cook with, I think I should just whip up a batch of this when I’m eating carbs again!
YUM. This looks fabulous…it is breakfast time, but this sounds pretty delicious right about now!!
Could you crock pot this recipe as well? Seems very adaptable to that!
Yes, you could, but the chicken will get very tender that way and it will most likely be more liquidy that way (because there is no evaporation like there is in the oven).
Sounds delish! Definitely going to do this with tofu.
Hi Beth,
I love your blog and have made several of your recipes. I wondered what you think about the risks of eating chicken now, with so many reports that it is contaminated (thinking of the Consumer Reports piece)? I think they may have said that even organic chicken may not be safe.
I hate to give up so many yummy dishes made with chicken :(
I haven’t read that piece, or heard anything about it yet. :P
This recipe just reminded me that I have some frozen chicken thighs that I need to use. Pineapple Teriyaki…here I come! I think I actually have everything for this in my pantry.