Ooooh, I ate good for lunch today! 🤤 I whipped up this really easy Skillet Pineapple BBQ Chicken, spooned it over some rice, and fixed a little broccoli for the side. I absolutely love skillet chicken dishes because the browning action that you get in a skillet makes super flavorful pan sauces without the need for a million ingredients. This sauce combines sweet pineapple, tangy BBQ sauce, and the savory chicken drippings for a to-die-for sauce. So easy and delicious, so little needed. This is the perfect easy weeknight dinner!
See this recipe used in my weekly meal prep.
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Make it Spicy or Mild
I’ve had a thing lately for super thinly sliced fresh jalapeños, so I added those to the dish at the end, but they are entirely optional if you don’t want a spicy dish.
Can I use Chicken Breast?
Also, you can totally do this with chicken breasts instead of thighs. I do suggest pounding the chicken breast to an even thickness first to help them cook evenly (You don’t want the tip to get tough and rubbery before the thick part cooks through).
Try Other BBQ Sauce Flavors!
P.S. I used regular BBQ sauce in effort to make a “base” recipe but as I was standing in the sauce aisle at the grocery store my mind was spinning with all the fun BBQ sauce flavors that would go great with this. Or maybe it was spinning because I had just gotten out of a really hard circuit training class. Either way, there are a lot of options!
Skillet Pineapple BBQ Chicken
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.02)
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs* (about 2.3 lbs.) ($6.85)
- Pinch Salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 20 oz. can Pineapple slices in juice ($1.19)
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce ($0.68)
- 1 jalapeño (optional), sliced thinly ($0.08)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.25)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium. Once hot add the cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface. While waiting for the skillet to heat, season both sides of the chicken thighs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Once the skillet is hot and the oil is shimmering, add the chicken thighs and cook until golden brown on each side and cooked through. Remove the cooked chicken to a clean plate.
- While the chicken is cooking, drain and reserve the juice from the canned pineapple slices.
- After removing the chicken from the skillet, turn the heat down to low and add about 1/2 cup of the reserved pineapple juice. Stir to dissolve and loosen the browned chicken bits from the bottom of the skillet. Once everything has been loosened from the skillet, add the BBQ sauce and stir until a thick sauce forms. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed. If your sauce gets too thick, simply add another splash of the reserved pineapple juice.
- Add the cooked chicken thighs and pineapple slices to the skillet, dredging both sides in the pineapple BBQ sauce. Spoon any excess sauce over the chicken.
- Adjust your oven’s rack so that the skillet will be about 6 inches from the broiler unit and turn the broiler on to high. Transfer the skillet to the oven and broil for about 5 minutes, or just until the BBQ sauce caramelizes on the edges of the chicken and pineapple. If you don’t have an oven safe skillet** you can transfer the chicken, pineapple, and ALL of the sauce to a casserole dish for broiling, or skip the broiling step and enjoy as is.
- After broiling, sprinkle the sliced jalapeño and green onion over top, and then serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Pineapple BBQ Chicken – Step by Step Photos
Heat a large skillet over medium, then add a tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the skillet. While waiting for the skillet to heat, season both sides of six boneless, skinless chicken thighs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
One the oil is hot and shimmering, add the chicken thighs and cook until golden brown on each side and cooked through. Remove the cooked chicken thighs to a clean plate.
While the chicken is cooking, drain and reserve the juice from a 20 oz. can of pineapple slices (packed in juice, NOT heavy syrup).
After removing the chicken from the skillet, turn the head down to low and add about 1/2 cup of the pineapple juice. Stir to dissolve the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. You want to stir and gently scrape until it all comes off the skillet and is floating around in the liquid.
See how the appearance of the pineapple juice has changed after all the chicken bits are dissolved into it? Add 1/2 cup BBQ sauce and stir until a thick sauce forms.
If the sauce is too thick (say, if the skillet was too hot and the juice reduced too much), you can add a splash more of the reserved pineapple juice. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed. The chicken I used was heavily brined, so that seemed to season the sauce well enough with salt. And when I say brined, that’s like when you look at the package and it says “contains up to 15% broth” or “sodium chloride solution”. That’s basically a brine that makes the meat super tender and juicy.
Add the cooked chicken back to the skillet along with the pineapple slices, dredging both sides of both in the pineapple bbq pan sauce. Adjust your oven’s rack so that the skillet will be about 6 inches from the broiler unit, then turn the broiler on to high. If your skillet is not oven safe, you can put everything in a casserole dish or just skip the broiling part (it’s still quite delicious at this point!).
Broil the chicken and pineapple for about five minutes, or until it’s caramelized on top and the edges. Sprinkle thinly sliced jalapeño and green onion over top, then serve!
Seriously though, that pan sauce… And I can’t lie. If you sprinkled some Monterey jack cheese over the skillet pineapple BBQ chicken before broiling, it would be like a BBQ chicken pizza minus the crust.
So good! So flavorful!! Best recipe I’ve made in a long time
YUM! We are typically more of a savory meal family, but this just sounded so intriguing and easy that I had to try it – so glad I did! I did make a couple of additions to suit our tastes, I added garlic powder (next time will add fresh garlic) and added soy sauce because it just tasted a little flat, which could have been the Kinder’s mild bbq sauce I used – next time I’ll try a bbq sauce with more flavor/spice. I served it with unseasoned, steamed baby green beans and coconut rice. It would be good with plain Jasmine rice, but I’m glad I went all out and made coconut rice (for the first time), it really completes the meal. I’ll be making this often, it’s made from common ingredients, super easy, presents beautifully and tastes so good! I’ll be checking into more recipes by this blogger and I highly recommend this recipe for everyone who likes pineapple!
Just made this recipe and it came out great!! Used this recipe to meal prep for my work week. Lots of flavor from the pineapple, and the barbecue sauce wasn’t too strong/salty. I’ll definitely be making this again!
Wonderful! My stepson and I like to take leftovers for lunch, so I used a bigger pack of thighs and there was still enough sauce. Might try with bite sized chicken breast and pineapple chunks and serve over rice next time, just for easier eating at lunchtime. Thank you!
This was easy, quick and delicious, also a pretty presentation! I used pineapple chunks because that’s what I had and served with rice. Will make again.
This was super delish, easy to make, easy cleanup. All ingredients on hand except the chicken.
Paired with coconut rice as suggested and it was perfect!
Thank you!
Can you use this recipe with pork chops? I’ve made this many times and love it, but wondering if it would be the same for pork.
Yes, you could definitely do this with pork chops. I would do boneless, though, as bone-in chops would take too long to cook through.
As promised this reciped was tasty, quick and economical. My husband’s “this was good” is my top priority. Simplicity is a high priority for me. Smaller portion pounded breast was perfect for the two of us. I’ll be exploring more of your site!
As promised this reciped was tasty, quick and economical. My husband’s “this was good” is my top priority. Simplicity is a high priority for me. I’ll be exploring more of your site!
This was awesome! I always double everything. Next time I might lightly brown the chicken in the pan make the sauce and cook them in the oven to save time then broil. I made rice with this and it was sooo good! Will definitely be making this again. One of my favorite recipes for chicken for sure!
THANKS FOR THE RECIPE,AM GOING TO TRY IT THIS WEEK,……
My sauce didn’t really thicken up. I like it when more specific times are given. The chicken gets golden brown after about 4 mins each side, but I normally cook 6-8 mins so it’s darker brown but I was trying to follow the recipe. I broiled probably longer than 5 mins.
Flavor was okay sauce was runny – will try cooking the sauce only for longer. I served with coconut rice and roasted broccoli
Unfortunately, it’s often impossible to provide more specific time frames because there are so many variables that affect how long things take to cook (type of stove top, type of cookware, size of cookware, size of ingredients, variances in heat settings from one stove top to another), so we try to offer other visual queues to help. In this case, if the sauce was runny, it probably just needed a slightly higher heat or to simmer just a bit longer.
My boyfriend loves anything with pineapple so I decided to give this a go. I made it for dinner when his parents came over. It was a huge hit. Everyone loved it. I served it with some brown rice. 10/10 will make again.
Had some fresh pineapple I waited too long to cut. It has to be used immediately! So I made this tonight. It was SCRUMPTIOUS!!!! We added peanuts on top for a little added salt and crunch. It was truly delicious! Budget Bytes is my “go to” website if ever I want to know how to use something or do something. So glad you’re out there!!!
I’m glad to see you had success using a fresh pineapple. I have one I need to cut up and use, too.
Very, very easy and delicious!!
Is soo delicious! I made for new year’s.
My daughter loves and her mom’s too
Thanks for sharing 🙏
I add little ginger and garlic
I made this tonight with a couple subs based on what we had. I had fresh pineapple cut up in the fridge so I used that, and used the juice it rendered from sitting in the fridge, and a splash of chicken broth. I also used bone in thighs that I deboned myself, because that’s what I took out this morning. I didn’t have any Jalapeno, so we didn’t use that, but I did have green onion! When my son asked what was for supper and I told him, he said EW that sounds gross. He’s now on his second plate and asked for “a lot more of the sauce!” Definitely a keeper and very easy to make!! We had broccoli and brown rice on the side.
Made this last night, what a hit! My partner and I had seconds and still produced leftovers for lunch for the next few days! Delicious and also affordable!
I made this last night for my family and doubled the recipe because there’s 5 of us and we like leftovers! 😁 It was a hit! I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious. I served it with rice and the Cowboy Caviar you suggested as a side in your meal plan. I will make again for sure!
This turned out amazing! My husband normally doesn’t like thighs and he loved it. Thank you!
This was so easy, and sooo delicious! Smelled great, looked great, and tasted great. The way the pineapple caramelized a bit and added a smoky edge was particularly delicious. And there was plenty of sauce for rice and/or veggies to sop up!
Way too sweet! I’m not certain if I did something wrong (Or perhaps just chose the wrong recipe!) but my recipe came out super, duper sweet. Be careful when adding the pineapple juice!
Loved this recipe! I tried it with pork today (I don’t really like pork so I figured I’d smother it with two flavours I love that I know would go well with it) – it dried out a little but I’m sure a more experienced cook could avoid that. Definitely looking forward to making it properly with chicken! I love that basically everything in this recipe can be kept in the pantry or freezer, so I can make a delicious easy dinner even if I haven’t grocery shopped in a while.
This was so good, I want to make it again ASAP. I used fresh pineapple chunks, so I had to juice a bunch of them to get a half cup juice, but still added the leftover pieces to the skillet. I also used 3 big flattened chicken breasts instead of thighs.
I’ll admit that I changed this up a bit by using bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. Here’s what I did:
Brown them skin side down over medium in my cast iron for around 10 minutes until crispy
Remove the thighs and add pineapple juice (deglaze) and BBQ sauce
Return the chicken thighs to the pan along with the pineapple slices and bake at 400 for around 15 minutes until internal temp reads 165F
Although I made modifications to the method to accommodate my cut of chicken, the flavor was the same and delicious! I also love how insanely easy this is with such a short ingredient list. Very pantry friendly. We ate it with a big pile of chili-powder roasted vegetables (same, temp, same time) and it was perfect!
I made this last night using drumsticks, they were starting to get too dark and weren’t done yet on the skillet so I transferred the drumsticks to a pan and finished cooking them in our toaster oven for 10 minutes and then made the sauce in the skillet while the drumsticks baked. I also added some shallots and fave spices. This was delicious, thank-you for the recipe we will definitely have this again.
Easy to make for an inexperienced cook such as myself, and it came out very tasty! I did not have very much pineapple on hand so I also added some orange slices and orange juice to the sauce, and it was very good. :)
Made this tonight! Was very delicious and very easy to follow. Love all your recipes.
In case anyone is interested in a vegetarian/vegan version:
This recipe is SO easy and delicious! My husband is vegan and we subbed tofu for the chicken and it worked great. We cut each 2 blocks of tofu (that had been pressed, frozen, and thawed for best texture!) into quarters that are about the size/shape of a small chicken breast, and then coated with a mix of salt, pepper, and cornstarch before browning. From there we followed the recipe exactly. It was a big hit and will be going on the regular rotation!
Great idea, thanks! I’m vegetarian, but my husband eats meat, and this smelled soooooo good when he made it tonight. I can’t wait to try it with tofu! (And thanks for the texture tip – I’m looking forward to trying that out as well.)
This is an easy quick one dish meal. I unfortunately did not have pineapple. I had already started the dish so I used peach mango preserves with chicken broth and added some pepper flakes because it was a little sweet. It turned out well.
This was a quick and easy meal that we all loved. I added chunks of red pepper and it complimented everything really nicely. This will definitely be added to our monthly rotation!
This was super easy to make and really tasty! I only had crushed pineapple, but it produced the same flavor.
Do you have the nutritional information for this recipe?
No, I’m sorry, I do not.
Do you think this recipe would work with prawns or fish as a substitute for the chicken? Thanks :)
Yes, that would probably be delicious and they’ll cook much faster. :)
Turned out amazing. Broiled my jalapeño in with the pineapple and chicken instead of leaving it raw and served with a choice of rice or Mac and Cheese
A great recipe, i have made it twice now and it was a hit with my wife as well as my work crew!
Would chicken thighs with bone still work?
No, unfortunately you need boneless for this quick cooking method. Bone-in take much longer to cook through, so you’d probably need to end up baking them or simmering them for a while after the browning step. So it *could* be done, but you’d have to make some significant adjustments to the recipe and I’d need to test out the methods to see what the best route would be.
WOW! this recipe is sooooo delicious. It was a little dry but that was an easy fix. Definitely making this again and saving this recipe.
I made this for dinner tonight. I was skeptical mostly because my children are 10 years apart and agree on nothing when it comes to food. However, this was a hit with them both. I will be doing this again.
So good! Had this on our balcony on a warm and sunny Seattle evening. Only disappointed that we didn’t have leftovers for lunches. Will make again!
Made this 2 nights ago, and tonight will be our third night eating. It’s SO GOOD I don’t even mind eating it 3 days– I’m looking forward to it!
I served it with your sweet potato rainbow salad with lime crema. Amazing meal. We’ve been making your recipes regularly since 2010 and haven’t made a bad one yet!
We had this tonight it was so yummy.
This was great and so easy! I used my favorite BBQ sauce – wango tango by Dinosaur BBQ. I think the choice of BBQ sauce could make a big difference.
Excellent. My kids request that I make this often. It was so yummy!
Had this for dinner tonight. Everyone thought it was great. We will surely have this again. It was so easy. I did add a extra 1/4 cup bbq sauce, otherwise followed recipe.
I did the same thing, adding an extra 1/4 cup of sauce. The pineapple juice made it more watery than I would’ve liked.
This was surprisingly great! I am a single person and usually get sick of any dish after eating it for several dinners in a row. This one, however, kept on being delicious through the end of the week! I wouldn’t serve it at a dinner party, but I’ll definitely make it for myself again on a weeknight.
Great recipe! My sauce was thinking. Next time I will thicken it with some cornstarch. Used breasts. Definitely will cook it again.
I made this it came out good I made 2 batches one with thighs and 1 with chicken breast
Sad to say I did not have the same results as the positive commenters have posted here. My sauce was soup city! Found it odd that the recipe said one can add MORE pineapple juice to if TOO THICK- when I desperately needed a trick to do the opposite.
I’ll try again- maybe I need to use a higher heat to thicken sauce, or more fatty chicken so the fat can be the thickening agent.
My one technical criticism of the recipe is it does not state cooking time for chicken and whether to flip. I guessed and it came out fine except it’s swimming in oodles and oodles of juicy bbq sauce.
I agree, it does sound like you needed more heat to get your sauce to thicken. 👍 Unfortunately the time it takes to cook the chicken can vary greatly depending on the size of the chicken pieces, the type of cookware you’re using, or even the nuances of the settings on your particular range top, so sometimes it’s better to give other cues, like what the food should look like when it’s done (golden brown on each side and cooked through). Cooking does require a lot of learned intuition, so just keep at it and you’ll be reading these subtle cues in no time! I’ve compiled a short guide, 10 Tips for Recipe Success, to help people navigate the sometimes confusing nature of written recipes.
Great recipe and quick. Used cast iron skillet to get that dark brown color on the chicken. Definitely a keeper. The scallions and jalapeño is a must.
This is very flavorful and filling. I made this and put it over white rice for my lunches this week.. It’s very satisfying and tasty!
Loved this recipe – easy, delicious and pretty! I’m kind of wimpy when it comes to spice, so although I sliced up the jalapenos for the other people, I didn’t eat them myself. But I could see how a little spice would make this dish even more wonderful. So next time, I’m going to chop up some seeded jalapenos and saute them just a little before I deglaze the pan. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Made this for dinner tonight and it came out fantastic. It was a hit with the whole family.
So good! I used chicken breast because that’s what I had on hand. Served with brown rice
Very easy and delicious! I didn’t leave the chicken under the broiler long enough to caramelize (I was afraid the chicken would dry out), but it was still good!
Thanks for a Great Recipe!! I added the sliced jalapeño to the sauce while letting it thicken up. Turned out wonderful! 5 Stars… this is a keeper
Super easy to make and very tasty. I left the sauce a little thinner to spoon over rice. Also added the jalepenos before putting under the broiler. Next time wull make more sauce because it was really good on rice.
I’ve made this several times and it is quickly becoming a staple recipe in my household.
This meal over white rice would be delicious!!
She said to serve it over rice, it even shows it over rice in the photo….
lol
This was absolutely delicious will definitely be adding to my go to dinners
I love the combo of pineapple and BBQ Sauce. This is definitely going on the list to make!
I made this last week for dinner one night and it was PERFECT! I didn’t have any rice in the house so we ate it with mashed potatoes and broccoli, strange combination maybe, but it was so good. And very, very easy to make.
I love this. But is there a method for doing it in the oven as a sheet pan dinner, rather than a skillet?
I think that would take some testing to get right. Unfortunately I can’t guess with that one. :)
used chicken breasts, didnt broil and was STILL AMAZING! cant wait to cook it again. it was literally so easy that it just might become a staple for me :)
Tried this tonight and it was exactly as I thought it would be … simple, tasty, and the whole family gobbled it down! Even my 2-year old, who is currently in the pickiest phase ever! I had to bribe him to eat the pineapple but once he did he couldn’t stop devouring! Thanks for the recipe that will surely be a family fave for years!
This is AWESOME! The kids loved it too. So delicious!
Pineapple Barbecue Chicken is so freaking delicious, and very simple to make. I had some left overs for breakfast this morning. I can’t wait to make this recipe again soon. Thanks, Beth!! :-)
We loved this! Very sweet and tangy. I don’t know if I did something wrong but it took at least 20 minutes for the sauce to thicken. So this took more like an hour to make.
I used teriyaki instead of BBQ sauce for a bit of asian flare (and cause thats what I had in my pantry) and it was wonderful! Great recipe and super simple. Thank you!
That sounds delicious, and will definitely have to try teriyaki sauce next time!!! :-)
We made this last night and LOVED it!! So easy and fresh and delicious- and the leftovers were just as good for lunch today. I think this would be such a good meal to take to friends that need a meal after a sickness, new baby, etc…just seems universally appealing and yummy!
Can I use drumsticks .?
Yes, but you’ll probably need to cook the drumsticks longer to make sure they’re cooked through because of the bone.
This was so good. I wanted to save it in the app but I can’t find it.
This is my first time using your recipe after much stalking lol. It was super yummy and so easy to make. It was a hit with my teenage son and husband. Can’t wait to try another one . I used chicken breast and a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce
My boyfriend and I made this, and it was great! Thanks for the recipe.
AbSolutely incredible- I used bone in skin on chicken thighs because that’s what I could find at the store. Due to the skin and bone I did finish baking them in the oven at 350 after searing them on the cooktop, baked them for 10-15 min until they reached a food safe temperature.
So quick and so easy! Even my SO loved, he just didn’t eat the pineapple rings because he doesn’t like pineapple but he loved the sauce!!!
I’m making this tonight and your Monterrey Chicken Skillet tomorrow with the leftover bbq chicken. You should make blog posts where you cook one day and reuse the leftovers for a different meal the next.
Giant grocery store has a store brand “Charred pineapple” BBQ sauce, so I grabbed a bottle to use with this. It was great. We served with mashed sweet potatoes instead of rice.
My tried and true recipe for “fresh pineapple” juice is below. I peel and core the pineapple, slice it into rings and use leftover pieces and/or a few of the rings for processing. You will need a blender or small food chopper, tablespoon, large water glass and a fine mesh strainer for the recipe. To make about 1/2 cup of fresh pineapple juice, you will need:
1-1/3 cups fresh pineapple, chopped into small pieces.
1/3 cup ice water
1 tsp. granulated sugar, or more for desired taste
pinch of salt
Place chopped pineapple in a blender or food chopper. Add chilled water and blend until smooth. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and taste for sweetness and add more in small amounts, if desired. Continue blending until smooth. Pour mixture into a fine mesh strainer, placed over a large glass. Strain the juice by using the back of a tablespoon to gently press the liquid into the glass. Continue pressing down until all the juices are extracted, and discard the remaining pineapple fibers in the strainer. Add a pinch of salt to the liquid and stir. Keep juice chilled, if not using immediately. Just double the recipe for more juice. I used a large pineapple for this recipe and had plenty of rings to make the Skillet BBQ Pineapple recipe for 6 servings. I suggest not using the core for pieces, as it may tend to add bitterness in flavor.
Made this over the last weekend and it was easy and delicious! Definitely will make again, and I can easily see this being adapted for whatever boneless skinless chicken pieces are on sale. After I started the recipe I found out that I’d mistakenly bought bone in, skin on chicken thighs but it only took a few minutes to pull the skin off and then I removed the bones after cooking the chicken in the sauce.
I just so happen to have a beautifully ripe fresh pineapple I got on a whim while grocery shopping, and always have frozen chicken on hand, so this is nearly perfect. Obviously I can use rings/pieces from the fresh fruit in place of the canned, but I’m wondering what to do about the juice in the sauce? Maybe let the fresh pieces cook a bit? Any thoughts?
I think you’re on the right track there. I’d probably dice the pineapple and sauté it in the skillet, which should release enough juice to dissolve the browned bits. And if you need more moisture, you can use a little water or chicken broth.
Did this yesterday with the fresh pineapple and it turned out great! A tip to anyone else who wants to try it: put a lid on the pan when cooking the pineapple to release juices so the juice doesn’t completely evaporate off.
This was AMAZING.
This is going on the meal plan ASAP! My family is going to love it. We love pineapples and BBQ sauce, definitely going to try this soon!!
How long does it take to cook the thighs roughly?
Probably about 5 minutes per side, but it will ultimately depend on the size of the thighs, the type of cookware you’re using, and the nuances of your range top. :)
What’s your favorite BBQ sauce that doesn’t have HFCS?
Any ideas on what protein would be good to use in place of the chicken to make this vegan?
I would try very firm tofu slices.
Hmm, I’m not sure. Those browned chicken bits are quite important to the end flavor.
The pineapple + BBQ combo looks awesome! Love the simplicity of the recipe too, only 7 ingredients!
I can just taste this as I’m reading. Come Saturday, my grands & family will love ❤️ it too. Thank you.
I would also like to ask if the labels under the recipes,(like related posts) could be in a darker color. Old eyes will happen to everyone, if you’re lucky.
Thank you. I love your food philosophy and your recipes. I have tried many, and even though I adjusted them to my carnivorous family’s preferences, you haven’t given us a loser yet.
Claire
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Thanks. This just became dinner tonight.
Although this looks delicious, the photo of the chicken thighs in the step by step shots, reveal skinless thighs and the finished photos most definitely reflect skin on the thighs. For that reason, I am hesitant to bother with the recipe. Why the discrepancy?
I can guarantee you that the chicken in the end photos is the same chicken in the other photos – no skin. When the chicken goes under the broiler, the BBQ sauce caramelizes and created that browned crust appearance that I think you are mistaking for skin.
OMG. I LOVE pineapple and barbecue sauce. I’m going to have to make this recipe very soon!!! :-)