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The perfect dinner for a busy night, this crock pot Hawaiian Chicken only takes minutes to put together and then just let it cook away in the slow cooker!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
There was a local Hawaiian restaurant in Portland that served a dish called Shoyu Chicken, shoyu is Japanese for soy sauce. This menu item was always the first thing to sell out every day so I decided I needed to learn to make it at home. It couldn’t be easier and it’s just as delicious!
Also called Hawaiian Chicken, this dish is cooked in the slow cooker in a mixture soy sauce, chicken broth, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, honey and onion.
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken Thighs. Skinless and boneless
- Soy Sauce
- Brown Sugar
- Chicken Broth
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Honey
- Onion. Diced white or yellow onion
- Cornstarch
- Green Onions, for garnish
- Fresh pineapple chunks, for garnish
How to Make Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken
- Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs.
- Place chicken in a 6 quart slow cooker.
- In a bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, broth, garlic, ginger, honey and onion.
- Pour over chicken and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until chicken is tender and pulls apart with a fork.
- Remove chicken from crockpot and shred. I like to leave mine in medium size pieces.
- Remove 1/2 cup of liquid from remaining liquid and add in cornstarch.
- Pour cornstarch mixture back into the slow cooker, add the shredded chicken back in and stir.
- Cook on low for another 30 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken a bit (it won’t get real thicken)
Tip # Strain the remaining liquid through a fine mesh strainer and use it as a sauce over the chicken and rice.
How to serve:
- Serve over one of your favorite salads.
- Serve over rice with a garnish of green onion and a side of fresh pineapple.
- Make a slider or sandwich with it using Hawaiian rolls, add some pineapple in too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs?
You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead but they do have a tendency to dry out quicker than chicken thighs so don’t overcook them. Most slow cooker chicken recipes cook the chicken for too long and you end up with tough or rubbery chicken, it only needs about four hours on low.
How long will leftover crock pot Hawaiian Chicken last?
Stored in an airtight container in the fridge it will last 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave. It can also be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months.
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Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken
Ingredients
- 6-8 chicken thighs skinless, boneless
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 4 tsp garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp ginger minced
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 cups fresh pineapple
- green onions for garnish
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from chicken.
- Place chicken in crock pot.
- In a bowl combine soy sauce, brown sugar, broth, garlic, ginger, honey and onion.
- Pour mixture over chicken in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily with a fork.
- Remove chicken from slow cooker, place on a baking sheet and shred into medium size pieces.
- Remove 1/2 cup of liquid from crock pot and add in cornstarch. Stir to dissolve.
- Add cornstarch mixture back into crock pot along with shredded chicken and stir.
- Cook another 30 minutes to allow sauce to absorb into chicken and thicken a bit.
- Serve with rice, chopped green onion and fresh pineapple.
Tips & Notes:
-
- Serve over one of your favorite salads.
-
- Make a slider or sandwich with it using Hawaiian rolls, add some pineapple in too.
- You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead but they do have a tendency to dry out quicker than chicken thighs so don’t overcook them. Most slow cooker chicken recipes cook the chicken for too long and you end up with tough or rubbery chicken, it only needs about four hours on low.
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Michelle R says
This is definitely a staple in our house. I used canned pineapples and addded the pineapple juice from the can to the sauce. I also added red and green bell pepper 1 hour before done and I topped the pineapples with some ground clove. I have never left a review on a recipe before but felt like I needed to. My husband absolutely loves this and cannot keep himself from eating the sauce straight out of the crockpot!!!!
Eileen says
Love the ingredients , is there anyway not to use so much sugar
Health reasons
Thank you
Leigh Anne Wilkes says
Just put less brown sugar in, it will be less sweet but I’m sure still delicious