Crock Pot Huli Huli Chicken (Print version)

Tender chicken glazed in sweet pineapple-soy sauce, slow-cooked to perfection. A Hawaiian favorite ready in hours.

# What you'll need:

→ Chicken

01 - 2 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

→ Marinade & Sauce

02 - 1 cup pineapple juice
03 - ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
04 - ⅓ cup ketchup
05 - ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
06 - 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
07 - 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
08 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
09 - 1 tablespoon sesame oil
10 - ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
11 - 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional, for thickening)
12 - 2 tablespoons water (optional, for slurry)

→ Garnish & Serving

13 - 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
14 - 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
15 - Fresh pineapple slices (optional)
16 - Steamed rice (optional)

# Method:

01 - Whisk together pineapple juice, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and black pepper in a medium bowl until fully combined.
02 - Place chicken thighs in the crock pot and pour the marinade over the meat, ensuring all pieces are evenly coated.
03 - Cover and cook on low heat for 4 to 6 hours until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
04 - Transfer cooked chicken to a serving platter. Mix cornstarch with water in a small bowl to form a slurry. Stir the slurry into the remaining sauce in the crock pot, cover, and cook on high for 10 to 15 minutes until thickened. Return chicken to the pot and coat with the reduced sauce.
05 - Plate the chicken over steamed rice. Sprinkle with green onions, sesame seeds, and fresh pineapple slices if desired.

# Expert advice:

01 -
  • The sauce does double duty as marinade and glaze, meaning less cleanup and more flavor in every bite
  • Chicken thighs stay impossibly tender after hours in the slow cooker, practically falling apart at the touch of a fork
  • That pineapple-soy-ginger combo creates an addictive sweet and smoky balance that keeps everyone coming back for seconds
02 -
  • Dumping everything in without whisking the sugar first leaves gritty spots in your final sauce
  • Using pineapple juice with added sugar makes the sauce cloyingly sweet, so look for 100% juice
  • The sauce will taste salty before cooking but mellows beautifully over hours in the slow cooker
03 -
  • Fresh ginger makes a noticeable difference over ground—it's worth the extra minute of grating
  • Toasting your sesame seeds in a dry pan for 2 minutes before garnishing unlocks their nutty potential

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