When I'm in a creative slump, I always go to my friends and family for recipe inspiration. What does my cousin Ashley tell me to make every time? Hawaiian Chicken.
Every. Single. Time.
Even though she's been telling me to make Hawaiian Chicken for over a year now (seriously), I kept putting it off because... well... I have no idea why. Now that I've made it, I can see no justification for waiting this long. Pineapple juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, vinegar, sriracha, and honey barbecue sauce all flavor the chicken in this super saucy recipe, and you'll find yourself loving every last bit of it, just like I did. I mean, YUM. There is no better word to describe it.
Sorry for doubting you, Ash.
Anyway, when I originally threw this together in the crock pot (or slow cooker, or whatever you like to call it), I thought I was going to scoop it onto some buns and make little sliders (which would be DE-LISH, obviously). I got everything together, chopped up and mixed up the Pineapple Slaw, and then it hit me. Tacos. Gosh, I love tacos. Once I got the idea, I couldn't get rid of it, so the tasty pulled chicken and crunchy slaw wound up nestled between flour tortillas with a sprinkle of sharp cheddar. Are you drooling? I'm drooling.
But really there is so much you could do with this chicken if you have leftovers after making your Crock Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Tacos with Pineapple Slaw. Put it on salads. Eat it on sandwiches. Top a pizza with it (and bacon and some pineapple chunks). Serve it over pineapple stir-fried rice. If you have more great ideas, let me know, because I'm looking for excuses to make this again ASAP.
Oh, and since we're talking about getting creative with this recipe, feel free to use some pork shoulder in place of the chicken for Crock Pot Hawaiian BBQ Pulled Pork. In fact, I just might have to do that next...
Give this recipe a go and you'll see for yourself why I'm dying to make it again.
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Crock Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Tacos with Pineapple Slaw
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
For the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken:
- 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened pineapple juice
- ½ cup honey BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ)
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1-2 tablespoons sriracha
- 12 flour tortillas
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
For the Pineapple Slaw:
- ½ small purple cabbage, sliced thin
- ¼ medium green cabbage, sliced thin
- ¼ fresh pineapple, cored and diced
- ½ small red onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Spray a crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.
- Combine the pineapple juice, soy sauce, BBQ sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and sriracha in a large bowl and whisk until well combined.
- Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker and cover with the pineapple juice mixture.
- Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
- Combine all of the slaw ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- When the chicken is fully cooked, shred with 2 forks in the sauce and toss. Let it absorb the sauce for another 30 minutes and then serve with the slaw on the flour tortillas and with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese!
Millie l Add A Little says
That chicken looks so tender and delicious! Anything slow cooked is a favourite of mine! Also, that slaw looks so amazing!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
Jenna says
Oh man, these tacos look so good! Book marked for later!
Morgan says
Thanks, Jenna! Hope you enjoy them!
Michelle says
Do you know how many calories are in each serving?
Morgan says
I do not, but I'd recommend plugging the recipe in using your specific brands of the ingredients at http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php?ns=1 ! I find it's a pretty reliable and easy to use method of calorie calculation.
'Stephanie says
So we made these for dinner, but I had to take a few liberties with the slaw based on what ingredients I had on-hand. Cabbage was replaced with cucumber and beansprouts, red onion replaced with green onion. The result- an AMAZING asian-hawaiian BBQ fusion. Thank so much, this is a keeper recipe that is already in the cookbook.
Morgan says
I'm so glad to hear that you liked them! Your substitutions sound AWESOME =)
HomeSweetJones (@HomeSweetJones) says
Oh my gosh! These look so absolutely perfect. They're on the menu for next week.
Julia says
I just made these, and they are soooo good!! We loved the sweetness of the pineapple in the slaw, the slaw is good enough to eat on its own. I added a cilantro crema, made with sour cream, cilantro, scallions, Serrano chile, and salt and pepper. I think I'll add cucumber to the slaw next time. Thanks so much for the recipe, it will be added to a regular rotation for us!
Morgan says
The cilantro crema sounds great, Julia! Thanks for commenting and letting me know you enjoyed it!
Sarah says
I made this for my house warming party this past weekend - it was amazing! Thank you for the great recipe!
Andrea says
I made this recipe for dinner tonight, and it is fantastic! I am 9 months pregnant, and have been wanting easy-to-make dinners, and this is the best one I've found so far. Definitely adding this recipe to my monthly menu rotation. Thanks for sharing!
Tandra says
Do you use rice vinegar or apple cider or have you used both? If so, which do you prefer or can you even tell the difference? Thanks so much!
Morgan says
I've used both and I don't have a preference. Both are good =)
Tandra says
One more question, do you think you could use the pre-packaged slaw mix to save on time? If so, how much would you use of it (cups?) in comparison to chopping up the two cabbages if you purchased them separately?
Jillian says
I don't eat meat that often, but I make an exception for this. It is absolutely amazing. Extremely easy to prepare and soooo delicious. Definitely one of our favorite recipes at home. Thanks so much for sharing!
Sai Priya says
This looks amazing..Chicken & pineapple can never go wrong together.
Terry Hanley says
I made this swapping out the chicken for a Boston Pork Butt..... OUTSTANDING !
LOVE the slaw with it. Thanks for a GREAT recipe Morgan 🙂
Rita says
Made this last night (just the chicken as I was lazy) and Wow! I have tried lots of slow cooker chicken recipes but this is my absolute favorite. I might have to make the slaw to go with it next time. Love your recipes, Morgan!
Dianne says
Dinner tonight, can't wait! I cooked it overnight, woke DH with the lovely aromas. I snuck a bit this morning as I was shredding the chicken, The family is going to love this! Thanks for an awesome recipe. I will definitely make it again 🙂
Alex says
Thanks for the recipe! Please take a look at the printable version the site creates, which is not printer-friendly for me.
Amy says
Can I cook this on high to speed up the time?
Diane says
Making this AGAIN -- right now!!! My family loves this. When we don't do the tortillas, we have used the chicken, with or without the slaw, over Soba or rice noodles in a bowl for a nice way to mix it up for lunches.
So easy and so tasty---Thank you for a great recipe!
Cari says
Made this on the stovetop due to time constraints. Husband's coworker came over for dinner and we made them as street tacos. They were a hit!! I think they both ate about 4 or 5.
Tomorrow we will eat the leftover hawaiian chicken over pineapple fried rice 🙂
Brittney S. says
This was soooo good. There were no leftovers! Definitely a keeper.
Katie says
If I wanted to use bagged coleslaw mix about how many cups would you suggest be used? Sounds delicious!
Morgan says
About 4 cups of shredded cabbage would put you at a similar scale to this recipe, but feel free to adjust for your serving size or to taste!
Teal says
I made this yesterday for the first time, and it was great! My whole family liked it (all adults) which was a bit surprising, since we have a couple picky eaters. I think we will have sandwiches tonight with the leftovers. The combination of ingredients seems unusual, but pair together wonderfully! The only thing I would do differently next time is add the diced pineapple to the slaw after mixing the other ingredients together so the pineapple doesn’t take on a purple tint from the cabbage. A huge thumbs up from me!