Huli Huli Chicken Recipe (2024)

Home » Recipes » Main Course » Huli Huli Chicken Recipe

Published: Jul 17, 2023 by Stefanie · This post may contain affiliate links.

Huli Huli Chicken is also known as Hawaiian bbq chicken that is full of seriously amazing flavor and is slathered in a teriyaki-like sauce. It's the perfect combination of sweet and tangy.

Jump to Recipe

Thishuli huli chicken recipeissweet,tangy,smokey, andfull of flavor. It’s anice spinon plain grilled chicken, isgreat for cookouts, and can beused with any cut of chicken!

If you love teriyaki sauce, this chicken dish will become your new favorite! The savory sauce tastes very similar to teriyaki but much more tropical from the pineapple juice. We’ve madeInstant Pot teriyaki chickenandteriyaki steak bites, but the first time we made huli chicken, we fell in love.

We love serving this Hawaiian chicken recipe with Amish macaroni salad, Amish potato salad, and instant pot corn on the cob. Since this is a favorite during warmer weather and it gets hot grilling, we like to keep apeach white wine slushieorstrawberry mojitonearby to cool down with. If you need to keep it simple on a weeknight, serve with white rice and fresh vegetables.

Jump to:

🍗 Ingredients:
Substitutions and Variations
🔪 Instructions:
Fun Fact
Recipe FAQs
More Reader Favorites
Huli Huli Chicken Recipe

🍗 Ingredients:

boneless skinless chicken thighs –if using bone-in, increase the grilling time.Chicken thighs are my favorite poultry to put on the grill. They stay tender, moist, and juicy because of their slightly higher fat content. You can use any cut of chicken, though. A whole chicken, spatchco*cked, could even be used.
light brown sugar– pack when measuring
ketchup
lightsoysauce– regular soy sauce has more sodium.
canned pineapple juice– do not use fresh pineapple juice, it will break down the chicken and make it mushy.
ginger paste– can also use minced fresh ginger, I love using the paste because it incorporates easily and there’s no prep involved.
garlic paste– or use store bought minced garlic or fresh cloves. Again, I love using the paste for easy incorporation and no prep.
apple cider vinegar– some like to use rice vinegar instead. This really gives a kick of tang to the sauce, don’t skip.
Spices: cumin, coarse black pepper, paprika (smoked or sweet)
Pineapple rings– you’ll need one can of slices, or a whole fresh pineapple.
green onionsfor garnish

For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Optional Garnish:

Garnish Hawaiian chicken thighs with diced green onions and extra sauce.

Substitutions and Variations

Cut of chicken– you can use chicken breasts for this recipe (or any other cut), but dark meat does have more flavor. If you go with bone-in pieces or larger pieces you may need to increase the cooking time.
Oven baked– preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Add the marinaded chicken to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Brush with reserved marinade and broil for a couple minutes to thicken the sauce.
Spicy– add red pepper flakes and/or cayenne pepper to the marinade.
Skewers– use diced chicken breast and skewer on onions, pineapple, and peppers.
Shrimp – use this sauce on grilled shrimp skewers.

🔪 Instructions:

PREP: Rinse and dry the chicken thighs.

Step 1: Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a gallon Ziploc bag or place in a bowl. Mix well.

Step 2: Reserve ½ cup of huli huli sauce and set aside, this will be for serving.Add the chicken to marinade so it’s covered and submerged.

Step 3: Marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight in a covered bowl or sealed bag.Heat the grill to 400 degrees F (medium-high heat).Brush the grates with vegetable oil.

Step 4: Place the chicken pieces on the grill. Cook for 10 minutes without moving or flipping the chicken. Then flip and cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Toss the chicken marinade that is remaining.

Fun Fact

The Hawaiian huli huli chicken recipe started in 1955 by Ernest Morgado. It was a family recipe that he decided to feed to a big group of locals, and boy was it a huge hit!–Hawaiian Food Online

Recipe FAQs

How to store grilled huli huli chicken?

Keep leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. If you used fresh chicken, it can be frozen for 1 month. If the chicken was frozen previously, do not refreeze.

Is Huli Huli the same as teriyaki?

It is very similar. However, the term “huli” means turn, so it’s really referring to the cooking method versus the sauce that is used.

Why is it called huli-huli chicken?

Huli is the Hawaiian word for turn. Traditionally authentic huli huli chicken is turned constantly while cooking. In Hawaii, you may even see it on a rotisserie.

Huli Huli Chicken Recipe

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Huli Huli Chicken is also known as Hawaiian bbq chicken that is full of seriously amazing flavor and is slathered in a teriyaki-like sauce. It's the perfect combination of sweet and tangy.

Ingredients

▢ 4-5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
▢ ½ cup packed light brown sugar
▢ ½ cup ketchup
▢ ½ cup light soy sauce
▢ ½ cup pineapple juice canned
▢ 1 tablespoon ginger paste or minced ginger
▢ 1 tablespoon garlic paste or minced garlic
▢ 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
▢ ½ teaspoon cumin
▢ ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
▢ ½ teaspoon paprika smoked or sweet
▢ Pineapple rings – 1 pineapple or 1 can of slices drained
▢ ½ cup sliced green onions for garnish

Instructions

Rinse chicken leg quarters and pat dry.
In a large bowl or gallon size ziploc bag, combine all ingredients except for the chicken. Mix well.
Remove ½ cup of the sauce mixture and set aside for serving the chicken.
To the remaining sauce, add the chicken thighs, mixing well so that all of the chicken is submerged in the marinade.
Cover or seal and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Heat grill to medium high heat (400°F).
Lightly brush the grates with oil.
Place the chicken on the heated grill. Cook about about 10 minutes without turning or moving. Flip and continue cooking until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F (about 10 minutes more). Discard the marinade that the chicken was in.
When the chicken is about halfway done cooking, add the pineapple rings to the grill and cook until golden on each side.
Remove everything from the grill.
Brush the reserved marinade over the chicken. You can place the chicken under the broiler for just a few minutes to thicken the sauce or you can heat the reserved sauce in a small saucepan on the stovetop to thicken it slightly and then brush that over the chicken.

Notes

Storage:

Store leftover huli chicken, covered, in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.

Freeze for 1 month, unless you used chicken that was previously frozen. In that case, it’s not safe to refreeze.

Notes:

Adjust the seasonings as needed before brushing it over the finished chicken. We like to add a little more sugar for a sweeter BBQ flavor.

This chicken has tons of flavor. It’s sweet, smokey, tangy all wrapped into one.

Clean under the grates before grilling. Also, allow the excess marinade to drip off in the dish. If too much gets in the grill, it will cause it to flame up and possibly burn the chicken.

You can use any cut of chicken for this recipe, just increase the cooking time for larger pieces or those with the bone-in.

Nutrition

Make this recipe?

Share it with me on Instagram @girlinspired1 and follow on Pinterest for more!