I was having one of those days today, y’all. The kind where your have a mile long to-do list but your body is just telling you to curl up and watch Netflix all day. You know those days. But I still needed to eat, so I threw together the easiest thing possible, this Slow Cooker Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken. #noregrets
This is definitely one of those meals that cooks itself, so you can Netflix binge, do laundry, or whatever while it’s doing it’s thing, and then just come back at the end to plate it up and enjoy. Perfect for a busy (or lazy) Saturday, or even for cooking while you’re away at the office during the week.
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Can I use Chicken Breast?
Yes, you can make this Slow Cooker Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken with breasts instead, but I will warn you that they will turn out a little more dry and not nearly as succulent as these dark meat thighs. Unfortunately that’s just the way it works.
Serving Options
There is plenty of pineapple teriyaki sauce in the pot at the end of cooking, so spoon the meat, sauce, and pineapple over some hot rice, or a big ol’ pile of vegetables. …or both! I just reached into my freezer for a few broccoli florets to add some green to the meal, but you could always stir fry up a vegetable mix and then add the chicken and sauce on top of that instead of rice. YUM!
Pairs well with Savory Coconut Rice.
Slow Cooker Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken
Servings 5Ingredients
- 1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks in juice ($1.59)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.24)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.10)
- 5 skinless chicken thighs* ($4.87)
- 1.5 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.04)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.17)
- 5 cups cooked rice, for serving (optional) ($0.88)
Instructions
- Separate the juice from the pineapple chunks. You should have approximately 3/4 cup juice. The juice will go into the sauce and the pineapple chunks will be added later. Refrigerate the pineapple chunks until they’re needed.
- To make the pineapple teriyaki sauce, stir together the pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, and grated ginger. If you have a little less than 3/4 cup pineapple juice, you can add a bit of water to bring it up to 3/4 cup.
- Place the chicken thighs in the slow cooker and pour the pineapple teriyaki sauce over top. Close the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or low for eight hours. Flip the chicken 3/4 of the way through cooking to make sure all the meat is exposed to the marinade.
- After cooking, carefully lift the chicken out of the slow cooker (it will be fall-apart tender). In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch with 2 Tbsp water, then whisk it into the remaining liquid in the slow cooker. Replace the lid and let it simmer for 5 minutes on high, or until thickened.
- Once the sauce is thickened, add the pineapple chunks and stir to combine. Finally, add the cooked chicken back to the pot and coat with sauce. Sprinkle sliced green onions over top, and serve over a bed of rice.
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Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Slow Cooker PIneapple Teriyaki Chicken – Step by Step Photos
Begin by draining one 20 oz. can of pineapple chunks in juice. You’ll be using both the juice and the pineapple chunks, but they’ll be added to the recipe at different points. You should get approximately 3/4 cup juice out of the can. If you’re slightly under, you can add a bit of water to bring it up to 3/4 cup. Refrigerate the pineapple chunks until it’s time to add them to the recipe.
To make the pineapple teriyaki sauce, combine the 3/4 cup pineapple juice with 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 cloves garlic (minced), and about 1 tsp grated fresh ginger.
Place five skinless chicken thighs in the slow cooker (bone-in or boneless) and pour the marinade over top. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or low for eight hours.
Turn the chicken once about 3/4 of the way through, just to make sure all the meat is in contact with the sauce. After cooking, carefully lift the chicken out of the pot and place it on a plate or cutting board.
In a small dish, stir together 1.5 Tbsp cornstarch and 2 Tbsp water. Whisk this into the remaining liquid in the slow cooker. Replace the lid and let it simmer on high for about 5 minutes, or until it has thickened. Cornstarch only thickens liquids once it reaches a simmer, so make sure it’s simmering.
Once the sauce has thickened, add the pineapple chunks to the pot and stir to combine.
And finally, add the cooked chicken back to the pot and coat it in the sauce. Sprinkle sliced green onions over top and serve!
Sooo saucy. ;) (And not too salty)
Slow Cooker Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken – The official meal of “pajamas and Netflix” days!
I have been using your recipes for years.. my family and I love them so much. This was another winner. So simple and delicious .. I’m
Glad I can pass these recipes on to my college age kids. Thank you so much!
Just made this tonight and it’s SO GOOD! I used pork instead since it’s what I had on hand and only cooked on low for 7 hours. I’m sure some would consider it dry but it fell apart beautifully and tastes delicious! The sauce is a bit loose, but I’m more than happy to sop it up with more rice 😁
I’ve been making this for years and it’s delicious. Tried it with the coconut rice this week and it takes the whole recipe to the next level!!
Made this today and adapted it for the instant pot as I forgot to get the slow cooker going earlier in the day haha Make the marinade and place the chicken in it (try to get the chicken submerged in as much marinade as you can). Pressure cook for 10min (add 1-2min if using frozen meat). Let the instant pot do a natural release of pressure for 5min and then very carefully do a quick release of the valve seal. Take the chicken out, add in the corn starch slurry, and change to the saute function to help thicken up the sauce (~1-2min). Then add the chicken back to the pot along with the pineapple chunks :)
Flavors were a good base, but I’d most likely increase the measurements in the marinade next time to adjust it to our liking. Definitely recommend trying the savory coconut rice recipe with this as recommended above! Thanks Beth!
If you mention Tamari instead of Soy Sauce in the recipe, this could fit in the Gluten-Free section too :)
Do you think it would work okay to double the recipe?
Probably. :)
This was very tasty! I also loved the versatility of vegetables that you could add to it. I served some steamed vegetables on the side and let the family choose what they wanted to add to their main dish.
It has great potential to be a super yummy dish! But honestly I feel like the measurements are too modest! I tasted it as is, how you said to do and it had flavor but basically needed to be elevated, I added higher portions of the ingredients, tasted way better.
Not bad by any means, but the chicken could use more seasoning. Additionally, nothing I did would reduce the sauce at the end. I added the slurry and even boiled for 10 min on the stovetop.
Things I did different: used 1 cup of pineapple juice (that’s how much was in the can) and only cooked on low for 6 hours+2 more on warm (everything cooked through in 6) but even the extra 1/4 cup doesn’t seem like it would thin things that much.
Yes! Agreed! I added more as well
Absolutely love this recipe! Made it countless times and every time it was a hit! Currently experimenting with using seitan/other meat substitutes!
Yummy! My husband enjoyed it. I used boneless thighs and they were pretty dry after 3.75 hours. I’d use bone-in next time.
Hello! Just wondering if the calorie information is including the rice or not. Thanks!
Yep! I just ran it through the calculator again to make sure. :)
Has anyone cooked this on the stove at low heat? I have a nice Dutch oven pot that I would like to test out!
If I’m using ground ginger instead of grated should the amount be different than one teaspoon as directed in this recipe?
Yes, ground ginger and fresh ginger aren’t just different in potency, but they actually have different flavors. I’d need to test it first before offering a suggestion on how much to use.
Loved it! Tasted delicious. Only thing I changed was adding a dash of salt and pepper into the sauce after the chicken was finished. It was also taking too long to thicken in the slow cooker so instead I put it in a pan to bring to boil. Much quicker that way. I will definitely be making this again! Thanks for the amazing recipe.
Just to clarify it was only the sauce I threw into a pan to thicken after cooking everything in the slow cooker.
Fantastic recipe! Really great flavor, and very simple. Thank you!
Loved this recipe so much! I used cauliflower rice because it is so easy/cheap (just tossed from the freezer to the microwave while sauce thickened). I don’t know why so many people stated it was bland – I wonder if they did not use fresh garlic/ginger and instead opted for spice? Everybody has different tastes I suppose. Regardless, for me, this recipe is a keeper!
I’ve made this twice now and I definitely play with the sauce and make to taste. I add more brown sugar and soy sauce, and it’s fantastic. I do end up needing more cornstarch to thicken it to a consistency I like too.
I used more cornstarch too. I was very pleased with this. I used crushed pineapple instead of chunks and kept it in the slow cooker all day. It was still good but next time I will use chunks and separate it out. I’d like to have a bit more soy sauce taste next time. Will make this recipe again. I used breasts and they turned out fine, nice and juicy and fall apart.
This was so good and easy to make. I did make stir fry veggies on the side just because I like the combination. I will definitely be making this again.
Oh yeah, I did use breast meat instead of thighs and it was very tender.
This was SO easy to make, and so delicious – even without the garlic! (My husband is allergic to garlic, which is sad, because we’re both huge garlic fiends.) I love recipes like this where you can pretty much just throw everything into the slow cooker and forget about it. :D This would be delicious with some steamed broccoli or snow peas as well.
This smelled so good all day long as it was cooking but it was underwhelming. It needed more seasoning. Maybe doubling the soy sauce? I saw another review it said it was too salty so maybe different soy sauces have different levels of flavor? The chicken was very tender and I added some steamed broccoli at the end and served it over rice. It needed quite a bit of salt at the table.
I liked the chicken pineapple combo but this dish was sooo salty!
Hi my slow cooker lid is broken – can I cook this in the oven? If so how long for what temperature etc?? thanks
Unfortunately I’ve never tried this one in the oven, so I can’t say for sure. You might be able to Google to find out what oven temperature and cooking time is equivalent to using a slow cooker, but you’ll definitely want to also make sure to cook it in something really thick and heavy like a Dutch oven to replicate the even heat that you get with a thick crock pot.
I’m planning to make this tomorrow, but I realized I only have bone-in chicken thighs. Is it ok to cook them as is and then just eat around the bone? I’m assuming I’d still want to remove the skins
Yes you should be just fine.
Added an extra tablespoon of brown sugar and two more tablespoons of soy sauce after cooking for 8 hours because the reviews were right – the sauce turned out just a little bland. The additions made the flavors really pop!
Good to know Stephanie!
Anyone make this in instant pot to pressure cook?
yes, 30 mins
How would you recommend subbing for fresh pineapple? What can replace the pineapple juice?
This smelled absolutely amazing while cooking, but the slurry messed things up for me. I followed all steps exactly and carefully measured it out, but I could taste it heavily in the sauce (it did come up to a simmer). I normally love all Budget Bytes recipes but it almost ruined it. :( I will probably remake this but will drastically cut down the slurry.
Idk why I replied to my own old random comment. Btw I used fresh pineapple chunks but got the juice from an old can I had laying around (then used the less flavorful tidbits in a smoothie).
It was good, but kinda bland. Next time I would season the chicken before adding sauce.
This recipe is delicious! It’s so easy and flavorful. It’s become one of my meal prep staples. Thank you so much for all your fantastic recipes Beth. You make them so delicious and easy to follow.
Thanks Paige!
This was great and the whole family loved it. Definitely a keeper.
Yum! One thing I did differently was grill the pineapple chunks for a few minutes just because I prefer the taste of cooked pineapple. Add to sauce in the usual way.
You are amazing!!! Keep posting recipes as I work 7 days a week and your recipes have saved me countless hours and tons of money plus they are delicious!!!
Chicken was tender, but the sauce just had no flavor.
Hi Beth, I just started cooking and I was wondering if you have a favorite recipe you use to stir fry the frozen broccoli? I’ve searched the website, but couldn’t find one. Thanks!
These Simple Mushroom Broccoli Stir Fry Noodles are good!
Do you think cutting the cooking time would help if I only have breasts? I think my kids would love this but I don’t love dry, crockpot chicken breast.
It’s possible that might help, but it’s hard to say without testing it.
I used 3 large chicken breasts. I cooked it for 2.5 hours on low. I checked them with a thermometer and they were around 170°. I could have done a little less time, but they were moist, much better than other times I’ve overcooked breasts in the crockpot. I added 2 large chopped red peppers when I took the chicken out. The meal was delicious
! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing how it turned out!! I know a lot of people will want to know. :)
Amazing recipe! The first time I made it, I was home all day and could flip the chicken 3/4 of the way, as you say. I’d like to make it during the week – set the slow cooker in the morning and have it ready when I get home from work. Do you think not flipping 3/4 of the way through will be a total dealbreaker?
Nah, I don’t think it will be a total deal breaker. :)
YUM! so easy and so tasty, a new favorite for sure! The rice I used was the savory coconut rice, which was SO GOOD (I use that rice for everything..). https://www.budgetbytes.com/coconut-rice-take-2/ Awesome!
Too sweet for me, and everything just turned into mush. Could be bad quality chicken, but it seemed fine to me. Couldn’t stomach the smell while cooking either. Right in the trash for me unfortunately :( Easy enough to prepare but the slow cooker method is not for me
Do you think this would work well in the instant pot? I sold my slow cooker once I got mine and haven’t looked back, but am hesitant to convert slow cooking recipes. Thank you Beth!
I would think so. I feel like most slow cooker recipes convert to IP very well. I don’t have specific instructions on how to do so, but I know there are a lot of resources out there on the web about converting slow cooker to IP. :)
Hi, do you think this will freeze well after cooking?
The salsa definitely won’t stay fresh, but other than that I think it would do okay frozen. I’d probably still eat it and enjoy it, salsa and all! Haha
Very easy and tasty. I used plain breasts because that’s what I had, and it still turned out fine if a little dry. But I don’t mind. Will do it again.
Delish! I made this tonight and everyone loved it, even my toddler devoured it. I’m a 90s kid, and grew up eating only chicken breasts, so I’m always hesitant to cook up dark meat, but this was seriously good and the chicken so tender. You renewed my hope in dark meat.
Why do you not show nutritional numbers?
I do not have a reliable source for that information. The databases and calculators used by most websites are general estimates at best, and can be disastrously inaccurate at worst. I don’t feel comfortable posting numbers that I have no way of verifying. That can be extremely dangerous for people with health concerns. I prefer to leave it to my readers to use the calculator that they trust.
Have you cooked this in the insta pot? I’ve made this recipe before and it was great, just trying to speed up the process! Thanks for the goof food
I haven’t tried this one in the Instant Pot yet, but I feel like it would convert pretty well. I’d probably try using the “chicken” setting and see how that does. You might need just a little more water, too, because Instant Pots need a specific amount of liquid to generate the correct amount of steam pressure. Maybe an extra 1/4-1/2 cup.
Do you think this would go well with your coconut rice?
They would be awesome together! :)
Could i possibly throw in some frozen broccoli into the slow cooker with the chicken or will that offset the taste? Maybe cook a little longer for the added ingredient?
If you do add frozen broccoli, I would add it at the VERY end and only let it heat through. If you add it in the beginning it will cook down to mush and probably give everything a slightly sulfurous flavor. Add it at the end with the pineapple so it stays bright green and maintains its texture. :)
This was delicious. My only issue was my canned pineapple. It was a cheap brand, and made the sauce watery and less flavorful. I even pureed the pineapple juice and chunks for better flavor, but it didn’t help. Thankfully I had fresh pineapple slices in the freezer and it saved the flavor. I added red and green bell pepper slices and diced onion because we love that kind of stuff. All the other ingredients and instructions were spot on perfect, and easy to follow. Husband loved it served over white rice. Thanks for a great recipe!
This is delicious!I i will prepare this evening for my partner.Thank you very much
Absolutely delicious!! I used 6 small skinless thighs and shredded after cooking. After reading comments I only put in 2 tbsp dark soy sauce and i used ginger that I had in a squeezy tube. I will definitely make again and have already shared the recipe from the site. I served with a small amount of rice and steamed greens. Top marks!!
I need to double this, or maybe double plus another half. Should I double the sauce as well? Thanks so much for your wonderful website–it’s been a blessing to me.
Yes, I would increase all the ingredients in equal proportions. :)
Made this for my mom’s birthday today (July 20th) for four of us and the sauce came out too weak.
I used lower sodium soy sauce though and the only thighs I could get were smaller and were more quantity than 5 thighs.
But I will probably try this recipe again. It was pretty easy to prepare.
Ah yes, a low sodium soy sauce will definitely change the outcome quite a bit.
This turned out so great! I made some changes however :P
I used real pineapple, and blended some pineapple chunks and water to make the 3/4 cups. I also added a bit more sugar as canned pineapple is usually canned in juice or syrup, plus, my pineapple wasn’t SUPER ripe and was a bit tart.
I then added cucumber and red pepper to the pineapple at the last step. Turned out AMAZING!
Holy wow. I was worried, between the pineapple juice and brown sugar, this would turn out too sweet. Nope! It is savory and yum with just a hint of sweetness from the pineapple pieces. Green onions added a nice bright element. My thighs were shredding when I took them out, so I went ahead and shredded the whole batch. I ended up enjoying it this way, because every little shred got coated in the delicious thick sauce. This is Chinese takeout at a fraction of the price.
Thank you for the tip Rachel! I picked up a whole pineapple forgetting that the juice from the can was part of the recipe. (& was sitting here wondering what the heck to do…) You saved me! Looking forward to making this recipe today. :) Cheers, AG
Not sure why but this seemed too salty, perhaps too much soy. What can I do to reduce the salt? Otherwise it was great and I made it in my instant pot.
Yes, if it’s too salty for you, you can try reducing the soy sauce. I would start with just 3 Tbsp instead of 1/4 cup.
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe! i love it
This was everything I was hoping it would be. It was perfect.
This was delicious. The perfect flavor combo. The whole family plus a guest family loved it and served themselves at leadt twice. I was able to double it in my crockpot with no problem. Served with rice and veggies. Thanks for another keeper
So good! The whole group of picky eaters at our house cleaned their plates and asked for seconds! And I loved the super easy prep! Thanks so much, this will get added to the rotation!
Made this a few days ago and loved how easy and good it was! Thanks for another winner, Beth! I served it with roasted broccoli and brown rice. Also, if anyone likes brown rice when they get it at the Chinese restaurant but hates it when cooked at home, I highly recommend medium grain brown rice that you get at an international market or online. I get Nishiki. I soak it first (30 minutes minimum, but it’s better if you can do a little longer) and then cook it- SO much better than the brown rice at the grocery store.
I’m so excited to try your brown rice tip, I run into that all the time!
Had it tonight, super easy & DELICIOUS!!!
What about cooking it without a slow cooker OR instant pot? I’m a minimalist when it comes to kitchen equipment.
Has anyone tried this with white meat?
Just made it with two large boneless chicken breasts and it turned out delicious! I shredded the meat afterwards and let it cook for an additional 20 minutes.
please provide
nutritional info. thank you!
This recipe really sounds delicious. I intend to make it soon. I’m wondering how it would work with some pork tenderloin. It might be an interesting alternative to chicken just to try a variation. Thanks for posting this!
I bet that would be awesome!
Planning to make this tonight once I get to the store after work. This looks delish. THANKS!
This recipe is FANTASTIC, Beth. :D My partner and I have been waiting to make this since 8 hours after you posted the recipe and we got the notification. My partner adores pineapple in savoury food; I often dislike it. When I saw this recipe, though, I immediately got excited: I’ve learned to trust in your flavour combinations, and this recipe seemed like the perfect balance for Generally Pineapple Apathetic me (He was overjoyed when I showed it to him — my first time ever coming with pineapple!)
And this. recipe. DELIVERED. Just utterly scrumptious in every way. The pineapple flavohr wasn’t too overpowering: it was subtle and delicate enough for me while still being pineapple-packed enough for my boo. The fact that it’s a slow cooker recipe is even better — we put it on while we were over at a friend’s house and came home to a delightful treat of a dinner. And the recipe is so simple!!! So impressed at what you can do with so few ingredients. The scallions were also a pleasant surprise — what a worthwhile contrast!
We served this with broccoli and red pepper cooked in a wok with about 1/3 of the pineapple bits and a bit of soy sauce, over white ice. We made a few small alterations to suit our tastes: we doubled the garlic and ginger because we love them, used brown sugar Truvia rather than brown sugar to cut the calories a bit, added 1/2 a tablespoon more corn starch because we like a thicker sauce, and swapped out pineapple chunks for pineapple tidbits because they were a stunning $3CAD cheaper than the chunks at my local grocery store.
OUTSTANDING recipe, Beth. Adding this to our rotation for sure!
Thank you, Emily! I’m so glad you both enjoyed it. :)
Can this be made with fresh pineapple? Thanks!
If you can still get 3/4 cup pineapple juice out of the fresh pineapple, then yes. You definitely need the juice for the sauce. :)
Can you substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts for the thighs? Thanks.
Yes, I mention that in the beginning of the post. You can make this Slow Cooker Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken with breasts instead, but I will warn you that they will turn out a little more dry and not nearly as succulent as these dark meat thighs.
Will the chicken cook properly and will this turn out properly if I double the recipe. We have a family of 5 and often the kids have guests. Looks great!
Thanks!
Laura
Yes, that should be fine.
Could this be adapted to instant pot? How long would you recommend cooking it?
I’m sure there’s a way to do it, but unfortunately I’m not well versed at converting recipes from slow cooker to IP.
I just made it with infant pot and it only took 20 mins (poultry settingl. I put it on saute and stirred after adding the cornstarch. Then combined everything back in.
This works perfectly in the Instant Pot exactly as written (I considered adding more water but I’m glad I didn’t bother). I did the manual high pressure setting for 10 minutes and a 5 minute natural release. Then I removed the chicken and used the saute setting to thicken the sauce.
Thank you so much! I’m going to try it!
This a perfect recipe to reduce ad prepare in my tiny crock pot while traveling in our motor home.
I love it when you post a recipe and I have everything already! I think I’ll have to save it for one of those insanely hot day they’re calling for when I just can’t cook (and don’t want another salad). This is where the rice stash in the freezer comes in handy too!
Can’t wait to give this a try this week! Thanks for sharing another great recipe!
My mouth is watering right now!!! :-)