A super easy one-pot meal with a Hawaiian flair.
Ever notice how you can make anything taste Hawaiian by putting pineapple in it?
I’ve already used this trick a couple of times with chicken, once in a Crockpot Hawaiian BBQ and once in a foil packet dinner for the grill. And those are both good, but neither one is a true one-dish meal – something you can just pop on the table and serve, with no need for side dishes.
This Aloha Pineapple Chicken Rice Casserole fills that need. It’s got all the makings of a meal – chicken, rice, and veggies – in one casserole dish. And it’s all swimming in a tangy, salty-sweet pineapple sauce that gives it a real Hawaiian flavor.
Better still, it comes together in no time. You use instant white rice in the casserole, so you don’t need to cook it first – just throw it in the dish with the veggies, chicken, and sauce, and it cooks up right in the pot, soaking up the juices of the chicken and sauce as it softens. So instead of being just a lump of bland white starch on the side, the rice is every bit as flavorful as the meat and veggies.
Whipping up a batch of this Aloha Pineapple Chicken Rice Casserole is the fastest and easiest way to whisk yourself away to Hawaii for an evening.
Aloha Pineapple Chicken Rice Casserole
Printable recipe directions and ingredient list at bottom of post
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. I used an 11 x 7-inch dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and chicken broth.
- Add uncooked rice, onion, bell pepper, pineapple and it’s juices and chicken. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Bake for 50 minutes. Once cooking is done, uncover and stir ingredients.
- Return the dish to the oven, uncovered, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Top with diced bacon and cilantro.
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Aloha Pineapple Chicken Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1-2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups uncooked instant white rice
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 20 ounce can pineapple tidbits in juice, NOT drained
- 1 lb. thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins, diced into bite-sized pieces
- Optional garnish: chopped cilantro and diced cooked bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. I used an 11 x 7-inch dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and chicken broth.
- Add uncooked rice, onion, bell pepper, pineapple and it's juices and chicken. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Bake for 50 minutes. Once cooking is done, uncover and stir ingredients.
- Return the dish to the oven, uncovered, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender.
- Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Top with diced bacon and cilantro.
Nutrition Information:
Crystal says
Looks awesome! Pinning this one for later!
Amanda Ramsey says
Looks delicious! Can I use a brown rice/quinoa blend?
Linda P says
Could you make this in the crock pot? If so, would you do the same, esp. the rice? Time and temp?
Danielle says
Sounds delicious! Definitely pinning and trying this one. Thank you!
Pam Evans says
How can this be made with non instant brown rice?
Corey says
Pam, I have only made this recipe as written, so I cannot say for sure. If you do try the brown rice, please let us know how it turns out!
Lizet Flores de Bowen says
Such a delicious meal! love the little bits of pineapples, cilantro, and the crunch of the bacon. Wow! Defetnely making this again. Thaks for the great recipe!
Abbey says
I had normal rice and cooked mine 10 minutes longer than directed uncovered and it turned out fine.
Asha Lloyd says
This was delicious! Passed the recipe along to my sister in law who made it the same night too and loved it. Thank you!
Marlys Wojahn says
I had a question on what kind of minced garlic are you using? I use dry minced garlic in a jar, what would be the equivalent be?
Corey says
I used fresh garlic minced. You can substitute 1/2 teaspoon garlic flakes for every clove.
PennyCandy says
You can find minced garlic in its juice in the produce dept at the grocery. It keeps forever, and it’s better than powders, I think.
Marlys Wojahn says
I use dry minced in a jar. What kind do you use & what would be the correct equivalent?
Jessica Newberry says
I made this and cooked as directed but my rice was crunchy. Any suggestions? I have a bunch left and would like to do something with it. Thanks
PennyCandy says
Did anybody else have the idea that your dish was too ‘wet’? I haven’t eaten our yet, but it’s resting now, and I can see the soy sauce-ish liquid in the bottom. I’m not a huge fan of soy sauce, so I might cut it by a little next time.
Kim Barcelos says
Great recipe but a bit too sweet. I will definitely make it again but only use half a can of pineapple. Thanks for sharing
Jami Sue Brandt says
This is a keeper! My hubby & I loved it a lot!!
Tasha Muterspaugh says
Can this be cooked in the instapot??
Corey says
I have not tried that yet, but if you do, please let us know how it goes.
Patti T. says
Made this. My husband and I loved it. Will definitely make this again. Thanks for the recipe.
Corey says
So happy you guys love it Patti!
Natalie says
The flavors in this recipe are great! My rice did not cook when following the recipe, I will use cooked rice next time.
Michelle C. says
It was a little too sweet for us. Thinking I will try it again in the future but only use half the amout of brown sugar and half the pineapple juice since it was a little too wet.
Rachel says
I’m not sure what went wrong but there was so much liquid left after 50 min of cooking. Tasty though!
Tamara Newell says
Hi just wondering- Does this freeze well?
Linda says
Can I use regular rice instead of instant?
Amber says
I made this tonight with pre-cooked rice (since that’s what I already had in the cabinet). I followed some of the suggestions below and cut the pineapple and brown sugar in half. I also reduced the soy sauce in half. I probably should have cut back on the chicken broth as there was a bit too much liquid but otherwise tasted great!
Bill Richards says
I made this with good quality brown rice but in a large deep covered frying pan. Otherwise followed the recipe but there was insufficient liquid to fully cook the rice. However two glasses of white wine worked wonders – both for the dish and me – bringing out some sublime flavours!
Joyce Horning says
I’ve never made a meal that I (my husband and I both) were sorry to see it gone after eating it for 3 days straight! It was that good! The only changes I made was I did use instant brown rice instead of white and not quite an entire half cup of brown sugar. Sooooooo good!
Brandy Siegel says
I will definitely be remaking this. I cut the brown sugar in half but will probably cut back more next time and I used chicken thighs because that’s what my family prefers. I also used regular Jasmine rice and cooked it for 12 minutes on high pressure in the Instapot. Next time I’ll probably do 13 minutes because the rice was just a tad underdone.
Polly says
Loved this recipe. After reading the other comments, I made a couple minor adjustments. I halved the amount of brown sugar (and used a brown sugar Splenda blend). I also drained the pineapple to keep the moisture & sugar down. It turned out perfect for our tastes. Will definitely make it again.
Judy says
Can I use Minute Rice in this recipe?
Barbara says
My picky family LOVED it! I was in a hurry so I pre cooked the rice. I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup soy sauce. It was delicious!