Best Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken
47 Comments Jul 29, 2024
Updated May 07, 2025
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This Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken has a sweet and tangy sauce, along with onion and green bell pepper! It’s great over brown rice and with steamed green vegetables.
I enjoy easy recipes like this that require little work. After I get home, I put on a pot of rice and can have dinner served right away. Crockpot Hawaiian chicken will be one of your favorite healthy dinners!
When I think of Hawaiian recipes, I think of pineapple, green pepper, and a sweet sauce, this chicken recipe checks all of those boxes. You may also like my Hawaiian Baked Beans, or my Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken Sliders.
Key Ingredients
This recipe is easy to make and pretty much from scratch. Find the full recipe in the recipe card below the images.
- Chicken breasts – Boneless skinless chicken breasts are great for this recipe. They stay moist in all the sauce. Another option is chicken tenderloins.
- Bell pepper – Green bell pepper is a staple in Hawaiian recipes.
- Pineapple – Crushed pineapple will sweeten and flavor the sauce; drain pineapple chunks. You can add the pineapple juice to the dish, though the sauce will be on the runny side.
- Bacon – Cooked and crumbled bacon adds a slightly smokey flavor to the recipe.
- Sauce ingredients – For the sauce, you will need barbecue sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and pepper.
Variations
Here are my favorite ways to change up this meal:
- You can add other vegetables such as sweet yellow onion, thickly sliced carrots, green beans, and even water chestnuts.
- To make spicy, add one sliced jalapeno to make spicy Hawaiian chicken. Or you can add a couple of pinches of cayenne pepper.
- You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe with no issues. You may need to degrease the sauce before serving by laying paper towels over it to soak up the grease. You can also use pork chops and still shred them before serving.
How to Make Hawaiian Chicken in the Crockpot
Step One – Add the chicken breasts to the slow cooker.
Step Two – Sprinkle over the pepper and garlic powder. Add the bell pepper, crushed pineapple, barbecue sauce, cooked bacon, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix everything.
Step Three – Cook on low for 6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time. The chicken will marinate as it slowly cooks.
Step Four – If desired, shred the chicken, or serve the chicken breasts whole or halved.
How to serve
My family loves this meal, over the years, here is how we have served it:
- On Rice – Serve the chicken over rice along with the Hawaiian sauce. For a healthy option, serve with brown rice, or you can make white rice or even coconut rice. Great with a green side dish such as steamed broccoli and topped your dish with sliced green onions and sriracha hot sauce.
- With Mashed Potaotes – You may not think of serving this chicken with slow cooker mashed potatoes, but it is good! The salty mashed potatoes go great with the sweet and tangy chicken.
- As a Sandwich – Serve the shredded crockpot bbq Hawaiian chicken on hamburger buns with macaroni salad.
Recipe FAQs
If you want to make this even healthier, leave out the bacon. The sauce still has plenty of flavor without it.
Yes, you can overnight if desired, though it is not necessary. The slow cooking time will help all the flavors marinate together.
This recipe stores and reheats very well. Place in airtight containers and refrigerate for four days or freezer for up to three months. Thaw in fridge before reheating.
Featured Comment
“SO STINKING GOOD! We enjoyed this meal so much! It was not overly sweet and the smokiness from the barbecue was just right!”
– Stephanie
Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken Recipe
How to Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, (can use chicken tenderloins or boneless skinless chicken thighs)
- 5 slices bacon,, sliced and cooked
- 1 green bell pepper,, diced
- 1 cup barbecue sauce, (I use Sweet Baby Rays)
- 2 tsp. soy sauce
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 20 oz. can crushed pineapple,, drained very well
Instructions
- Add the chicken breast to the slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and stir the toppings on top of the chicken to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- If desired shred the chicken. Serve over white or brown rice, or hamburger buns. Enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
- If you want to make this even healthier, leave out the bacon. The sauce still has plenty of flavor without it.
- This recipe stores and reheats very well. Place in airtight containers and refrigerate for four days or freezer for up to three months. Thaw in fridge before reheating.
- You can add other vegetables such as sweet yellow onion, thickly sliced carrots, green beans, and even water chestnuts.
- Yes, add one sliced jalapeno to make spicy Hawaiian chicken. Or you can add a couple of pinches of cayenne pepper.
- You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe with no issues. You may need to degrease the sauce before serving by laying paper towels over it to soak up the grease. You can also use pork chops and still shred them before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More Crockpot Meals
For sweet and savory flavor, try Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Crockpot Honey Mustard Chicken, or Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken—all easy, crowd-pleasing dinners.
Chicken Adobo Recipe and Crockpot Kalua Pig bring bold, slow-cooked flavor with minimal ingredients, perfect for island-inspired meals.
Add a tropical twist with Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken, or go classic with Slow Cooker Pepper Steak simmered with bell peppers and savory sauce.
Try my Crockpot Fiesta Chicken if you want a hands-off meal for taco night!
I am making this tomorrow as I dont have enough time for today.Wouldnt it be easier to mix all the ingredients together in a bowl then pouring over chicken.Why throw in the ingredients then try and mix up with chicken breasts in the way?
Because it saves having to clean another bowl, you can certainly use another bowl.
Can I make this as a freezer meal? Everything goes in one freezer bag to freeze and then cook at a later date?
Yes, this recipe is a perfect one for freezing.
Thank you Sarah!
Should I cook the bacon then add it to the freezer bag or cook it on the day and add it to the crockpot?
I am so excited! I cannot wait to try this delicious looking recipe!
Thank you again
Either way will work fine!
Can you cook this on low for 8-9 hours instead of 6?
SO STINKING GOOD! We enjoyed this meal so much! It was not overly sweet and the smokiness from the barbecue was just right!
Saved! Looks and sounds amazing!! You’re awesome!
Can you use apple sauce instead of crushed pineapple?
That would work fine!
This was so good! Very forgiving too. In the interest of using what I had, I just threw in real bacon bits (from the bag) and left out the bell pepper since I didn’t have one on hand. I withheld some of the crushed pineapple just in case it was too overpowering. I thought I could always add more, but I ended up putting the meat over tortilla chips, topping with the extra pineapple, some melted cheddar cheese, and dolloping some sour cream on top for Hawaiian bbq nachos. DELISH! Ate some more of the meat today just plain. Was craving it! It’s absolutely delicious any way you have it! Thanks for another great, easy, dump and go recipe!
I made this the other night and it turned out delicious, my household loved it. I used 1.65lbs of chicken, and I diced up two green bell peppers because I love bell pepper and it wasn’t too much at all. In addition to the crushed pineapple the recipe calls for I threw in an 8 oz can of pineapple chunks and it was great. It was a little liquidy right when it was done but I took the crockpot lid off and kept it on warm for about 30 minutes and it thickened up to a perfect consistency so I will do that again in the future instead of serving right away. Put it over white rice. Sons and husband loved it and all took it for lunch the next day. I’ll make again for sure!
What do I do with the leftover drained pineapple juice? Add it later?
Discard it, or use in another recipe.