Aloha Pineapple Chicken Rice Casserole
This Aloha Pineapple Chicken and Rice Casserole is a sweet and savory dinner with tender chicken, pineapple, red bell pepper, and rice baked together in one dish. The pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, and garlic create a flavorful sauce that soaks right into the rice as it cooks.
There’s no need to cook the rice or chicken first. Add everything to the casserole dish, cover, and let the oven do the cooking.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins work well. Cut the chicken into small, evenly sized pieces so they cook at the same rate.
- Instant white rice: Use uncooked instant white rice for this recipe. Other types of rice require different amounts of liquid and cooking times.
- Pineapple tidbits: Use pineapple packed in juice and don’t drain the can. The pineapple juice is an important part of the liquid in the casserole.
- Red bell pepper: Adds color and a little sweetness.
- Red onion: Diced red onion cooks right along with the rice and chicken.
- Brown sugar: Gives the sauce its sweet flavor.
- Low-sodium soy sauce: Adds the savory side of the sweet and salty sauce. Using low-sodium soy sauce helps keep the salt level in check.
- Chicken broth: Provides additional liquid for cooking the rice.
- Garlic: Adds flavor to the pineapple and soy sauce mixture.
- Cilantro and bacon: Optional toppings for serving.
Yes, and plenty of readers prefer it that way. Regular long grain white rice, jasmine and basmati all work here, but they drink more liquid and take longer than instant rice does. Add a little extra chicken broth and keep the dish covered longer before you pull the foil, then check that the rice is tender before the final uncovered bake.
Instant rice is already cooked and dried, so it goes soft quickly once it hits all that pineapple juice. The fix is switching to regular long grain or jasmine rice rather than shortening the bake, because the chicken still needs the full time in the oven. Readers who made that one swap got exactly the texture they were after.
Almost always because the last uncovered bake got skipped or cut short. That step is where the sauce reduces and the rice finishes drinking it up, and the standing time afterward does the same thing. If yours still looks wet, give it a few more minutes uncovered and let it rest longer before you serve.
- Use instant white rice. This recipe was developed using instant rice. Regular white rice, brown rice, and other varieties cook differently and may need changes to both the liquid and baking time.
- Don’t drain the pineapple. Add the tidbits along with all of the juice from the can.
- Cover the casserole tightly. The foil holds in the steam that helps cook the rice. If your baking dish doesn’t seal well with one piece of foil, use a second piece.
- Cut the chicken into similar-sized pieces. Smaller, evenly cut pieces will cook more consistently throughout the casserole.
- Check the rice before the final uncovered baking time. If it’s still very firm after the covered portion of the baking time, cover the dish again and give it a little longer before finishing uncovered.
- Let the casserole rest for 5 minutes. This gives the rice a chance to absorb any remaining sauce before serving.
Aloha Pineapple Chicken Rice Casserole
- 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 its juices and chicken. Pour it all into the prepared baking dish and spread it into an even layer. 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
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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. Pour it all into the prepared baking dish and spread it into an even layer. 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.
Notes
What to Serve With It
- Steamed broccoli, which is our favorite alongside this one.
- A simple green salad with a light vinaigrette
- Egg rolls, the way one reader serves it at her house
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
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Originally Posted: July 2018
Updated: August 2026
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My 9-year-old asked for a third serving! I was nervous about the sweetness and moisture after reading reviews. However, I made it exactly as written, and it was phenomenal. Make sure you follow the baking instructions exactly. It’s a keeper!
So happy ya’ll loved the recipe!
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
This was an easy and delicious dish. I made some extra rice on the side because I feed a big crew. I didn’t have any soy sauce so I added salt and water and a little worsteshire sauce. I did add the bacon and everyone loved it.
This was absolutely amazing! I’m making more tomorrow at my son’s request. It’s quick, simple and delicious!
I have a question. I am trying to understand the instructions. They note that we should add the wet ingredients (soy sauce, etc.) to a bowl. They then say to add the other ingredients, such as the rice and chicken. I’m assuming all of this mixes together and then is transferred to the baking dish, and all of it baked for 50 minutes. Is that correct?
Yep!
I want to make this so bad but we don’t eat sugar. Could I omit the brown sugar all together?
I have only made the recipe as written, so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out Courtney