Best Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken recipe! This easy Instant Pot dinner recipe turns chicken into a delicious dinner in no time!
I love how easy this Instant Pot Hawaiian chicken recipe is! Not only does the chicken cook all in the inner pot, but you can cook the rice at the same time by using the pot-in-pot method.
Plus, the chicken tastes great! The sauce is a little sweet, a little savory, and a little tangy, and it goes perfectly with the pineapple, veggies, and chicken.
Check out the step-by-step photos and tips to customize the recipe below!
How to make Hawaiian chicken in the Instant Pot
Press SAUTE. When hot, add oil to the inner pot.
Add chicken to the pot, and cook until partially cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook for 1 minute.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds.
Add pineapple juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar and Sriracha. Toss to coat chicken in sauce.
Place a tall trivet (be sure the legs are at least 3” tall) in the inner pot over the chicken mixture. Add the rice to an Instant Pot-safe bowl and stir to combine.
Place on the tall trivet. Close and lock lid.
Cook. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl whisk together 3 tablespoon of cornstarch + 3 tablespoon of the hot liquid inside your pot. Pour this mixture in.
Stir in bell pepper. Cook, stirring the entire time, for about 1 minute, or until sauce is thick and bubbling.
Stir in pineapple tidbits. The sauce will continue to thicken as it sits.
Tips
- Pineapple juice: I just use the pineapple juice from the can of pineapple tidbits.
- Soy sauce: I like to use lite (reduced-sodium) soy sauce to make the sauce a little less salty. You can use regular soy sauce if you prefer.
- Brown sugar: Feel free to use a little more (½ cup) or a little less (¼ cup) sugar according to your tastes.
- Sriracha: The Sriracha just gives the sauce more flavor but doesn’t add any heat. If you’d like it to be spicier, feel free to use more.
- Bell pepper: You can add a second diced bell pepper for a little more veg in the dish.
- Pineapple: Pineapple chunks also work well in this recipe.
How to freeze
To freeze
Whisk the pineapple juice, ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, and Sriracha together in a medium bowl. Pour the sauce mixture into a freezer-safe container.
Add the chicken breast pieces, onion, and bell pepper into separate freezer-safe containers. Seal and freeze until ready to use.
To use
Thaw in the refrigerator. Make the recipe as-written.
Storage
Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. The leftovers should keep for up to 4 days when properly stored.
Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts in 1/2-1" pieces
- 1 cup thick chopped white or yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup lite soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
- 1 red or green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 cup pineapple tidbits
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups long grain white rice rinsed
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Add chicken to the pot, and cook until partially cooked through, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the onion and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add pineapple juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, and Sriracha.
- Toss to coat chicken in sauce.
- Place a tall trivet (the legs should be 3” tall) in the inner pot over the chicken mixture.
- Add the rice to an Instant Pot-safe bowl and stir in water to combine.
- Place dish of rice on the tall trivet.
- Close and lock lid.
- Turn pressure release valve to SEALING.
- Press MANUAL HIGH pressure and adjust the time to 3 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
- Release any remaining pressure by turning the pressure release to VENTING.
- Carefully remove the cooked rice. The dish will be hot. Set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of the hot liquid from inside your pot.
- Pour in the cornstarch mixture.
- Press SAUTE.
- Stir in bell pepper.
- Cook, stirring the entire time, for about 1 minute, or until sauce has thickened and is bubbling.
- Stir in pineapple tidbits.
- The sauce will continue to thicken as it sits. So, if you'd like the sauce to be a little thicken, let it sit for a couple minutes before serving.
- Fluff rice with a fork, and serve chicken and sauce over rice.
Notes
- Pineapple juice: I just use the pineapple juice from the can of pineapple tidbits.
- Soy sauce: I like to use lite (reduced-sodium) soy sauce to make the sauce a little less salty. You can use regular soy sauce if you prefer.
- Brown sugar: Feel free to use a little more (1/2 cup) or a little less (1/4 cup) sugar according to your tastes.
- Sriracha: The Sriracha just gives the sauce more flavor but doesn’t add any heat. If you’d like it to be spicier, feel free to use more.
- Bell pepper: You can add a second diced bell pepper for a little more veg in the dish.
- Pineapple: Pineapple chunks also work well in this recipe.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.
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Did You Make This?
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I assume that you add the water to the rice but just checking 😀
Yes! Thank you for catching that!
Comes together really quickly. The ratio of ingredients is perfect.
It has a very mellow bite to it with the sriracha. This is going on
my rotation. I also think this would be amazing with shrimp.
Thank you
Thank you!