Hawaiian Grilled Chicken
Although this Hawaiian Grilled Chicken recipe has been floating all over the web, this is where it first originated! Similar to Huli-Huli Chicken but with it’s own distinct flavor. You must serve this chicken over coconut rice and grilled pineapple.
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HAWAIIAN GRILLED CHICKEN
Back in college our friend Jeff was famous for his Hawaiian grilled chicken that was inspired from some tips from his Hawaiian buddy.
One weekend Jeff threw a big Kirkland (Costco’s brand) BBQ serving only foods with the Kirkland brand. That’s when I tasted this chicken and fell in love.
It’s honestly one of my favorite grilled chicken dishes to serve a crowd. And grilling season is here!
Don’t be a chicken thigh hater. I used to be but really the chicken does not soak up the marinade unless you use thighs. I like to marinate this overnight if I have the time so the flavors really get absorbed.
OTHER HAWAIIAN RECIPES:
- Hawaiian Cheese Ball
- Banana Coconut Upside Down Cake
- Hawaiian Baked Beans
- Pina Colada Poke Cake
- Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes
- Guava Cake
Hawaiian Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce, (See Note; the soy sauce and water just needs to be a 1:1 ratio)
- 1 cup water
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 bunch of green onions, , chopped (reserve the other half for garnish)
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, (not essential but add it if you have it)
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can of coconut milk
Instructions
- Trim chicken thighs of any visible fat. Mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, onions, garlic, sesame oil, and coconut milk in a large bowl. Marinade chicken for at least 8 hours or overnight to make sure the flavor gets infused.
- Grill chicken at a low heat so that the marinade does not burn for 5-7 minutes per side or until done. If you do not have a grill you can use a indoor grill pan.
- Serve over a platter of coconut rice and garnish with green onions and a drizzle of additional soy sauce.
- *Coconut rice can be made by just replacing half of the water in your rice recipe with coconut milk. A trick my SIL told me! So good with just the right amount of coconut flavor.
Notes
This was delicious! My whole family (ages 4+) enjoyed it! It made a ton of marinade that I had trouble just throwing away, so I added a little cornstarch and leftover marinade to a skillet, and made a sauce from it that we put over the chicken and rice. Also, I had traded the brown sugar for monkfruit and a bit of molasses. Thanks for a new great recipe!
Ooh nice!
Yummy!
Thank you!
Has anyone tried this who can’t do soy?
Using Coconut aminos?
Same amounts?
Thank you.
I use coconut aminos and it tatses great.
Yes coconut aminos work
I made this along with the coconut milk rice and porticillo salad. My husband has never loved me more. 😆 He asked me to add it to the dinner mix. My kids loved the chicken and rice but were less interested in the salad. No surprise.
Definitely a winner.
Heading to the store to get stuff for your taquitos. Going to try to freeze some for summer. 🤞
Thanks for sharing.
it would be nice if I could email a recipe now and then. would you include this in your site?
thank you!
Of course. I will add it.
I don’t have a grill so need to make these in the oven. What’s the best tempature for that and how long do I cook the thighs? Btw, I use skinless, boneless thighs.
I would do 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes
As someone who was born and raised in Hawaii, I have to say Jeff’s comment about using Aloha Shoyu is spot on. It’s milder and sweeter than Kikkoman and makes the BEST marinades.
Thanks for the recipe — I will be trying it this week for sure!
Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for writing this! I’ve been grilling all year and looking forward to it again this weekend! Excited to try pulled pork for my next family reunion.
AWesome!
Love this!! We found this years ago, and this has been our “go to” recipe for BBQ, camping, weeknight…you name it. Every single time we make this for a group, we are always asked for the ingredients, and I lead them here! This is, hands down, one of our favorite recipes. So good!!
Yay!! Thank you!
My husband and I have enjoyed this recipe for just about ten years now! We make several times in the summer and almost every time we have guests for a bbq. I always make sure I have ingredients for this in my pantry. Please don’t ever take this recipe down! Love it!!!!
AW that makes me sooooo happy!
OMG!!! I lived in Hawaii for a couple of years, and this is PERFECT!!! So tasty!! I only had 2 lbs of chicken thighs, so I halved the marinade. I served it with mac salad and spicy roasted sweet potatoes. This will be in our dinner rotation now. Thank you!
Awesome to hear!
This has made it into my cookbook as it is one of my families favorite meal. We make it with coconut rice and Hawaiian macaroni salad. It makes a quick easy meal to make when family shows up unexpected.
It’s a keeper!
For those of you that are having trouble with the marinade sticking to the chicken, try this. Place marinated chicken in the freezer for 12-13 min then go directly to the hot grill. End of problem. This is especially helpful if you have slipped a few pounded out breasts to the mix. As others suggested, I also substituted pineapple juice for the water. Now the recipe has a little Huli Huli touch.
This was amazing. And the rice was so good too. Definitely gonna be in regular rotation this summer!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you!
will pineapple be a good extra here? i really like pineapple with chicken and caribean inspired dishes.
Ooh yes. Especially grilled pineapple is fantastic.
This is first time I’ve visited your site and it’s wonderful! I thought, since you’re a busy wife and mom I’d give you a little tip that I’ve used with many marinated recipes. I make the marinade & soak the meat for as long as the recipe calls for. Then, I take the meat out of the marinade, shake it off a little and put it in a freezer bag or vacuum seal it and pop it in the freezer. If freezing several pieces of meat in one bag, I first lay them out on a cookie sheet and stick them in the freezer. Once frozen, you can put them all in one big baggie or vacuum freeze together. It helps during busy times. Thanks for all your great recipes! Annie
Thanks for the tip! I appreciate it. Love that idea for busy nights!
What if I want to do legs… Will it still work??
I haven’t tried it with legs but I don’t see why not?
These sounds AMAZING!
I made this for my husband tonight and he absolutely loved it. He said it tasted just like the chicken from the Hawaiian restaurant near our home. Score!
Hello, if I was to bake the thighs should I discard the marinade or bake with all the marinade?
Thanks!
I think technically you should discard the marinade according to food safety laws. I’m not an expert though.