Air Fryer Hawaiian Chicken Recipe
With a sweet and salty glaze and tender meat, this Hawaiian chicken recipe is a quick and easy dinner idea. On top of the flavorful combination of pineapple and soy sauce, your entire family will love the delicious crispy crust on the outside of the chicken thighs thanks to your air fryer. With the help of this handy appliance, you can whip up a simple weeknight dinner with just a few minutes of prep work.
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What Do I Need to Make Hawaiian Chicken?
Featuring classic Hawaiian flavors, this delicious dinner is perfect for a quick weeknight meal. That's because you need just a few simple ingredients to prepare it. To make your own Huli Huli chicken at home, you'll need:
- Chicken thighs (or chicken breasts if preferred)
- Brown sugar
- Soy sauce
- Ketchup
- Crushed Pineapple
- Ground ginger
- Minced garlic
- Chili flakes (or red pepper flakes)
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How Do I Make Hawaiian Chicken?
While classic Hawaiian chicken is typically grilled, there's no need to fire up your grill to cook this delicious dinner. With the help of your air fryer, you can prepare a sweet and spicy main dish to serve your family for dinner tonight. To make Hawaiian chicken in your air fryer, just follow these two simple steps:
Step One: Prepare the Marinade
Before cooking your chicken in the air fryer, make sure to give the meat plenty of time to marinate. Start by mixing together the brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, pineapple, ginger, garlic, and chili flakes in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk the sauce ingredients together until well-combined. Reserve ½ cup of the marinade for later. Then, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken, making sure to thoroughly coat each piece. Cover and refrigerate the chicken and allow it to marinate in the sauce for at least three hours or up to overnight.
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Step Two: Cook the Chicken Thighs
When you're ready to cook your chicken, place the marinated thighs in the basket of your air fryer. Cook the thighs at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 22 to 24 minutes. Halfway through the cook time, remove the basket from the air fryer and flip the chicken for even cooking. Continue cooking the chicken in batches until all the thighs have been cooked. Warm the reserved marinade in a small sauce pan or in the microwave and drizzle over chicken before serving. Serve warm and enjoy!
Pro Tip: Cooking times and temperatures vary between make & model of air fryer. The best practice for cooking meat in the air fryer is to use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature to make sure the meat is done. For chicken, the FDA recommendation is that it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hawaiian Chicken Tips & Tricks
Using your air fryer to cook these chicken thighs is a quick and easy way to prepare Huli Huli chicken for your family. And with these tips and tricks, you can whip up a delicious dinner in no time!
- Check the internal temperature of your chicken. While 18 minutes is a good cook time for most chicken thighs, the size of your thighs and the type of air fryer you have may cause the cook time to vary slightly. That's why it's important that you check the internal temperature of your chicken thighs after the cook time is up. Chicken must reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees to be safe to eat.
- Substitute chicken breasts. Another great option for cooking Hawaiian chicken in your air fryer is to use chicken breasts in place of chicken thighs. Since chicken breasts are often larger than chicken thighs, they may take longer to cook in the air fryer. When cooking chicken breasts in the air fryer, it's a good idea to either increase the cook time or filet the chicken breasts.
- Make extra sauce and freeze it. Since the ingredients in this Hawaiian chicken marinade freeze well, you can easily double the recipe and freeze half the sauce to use in the future. When you're ready to make this chicken dish again, just transfer the marinade to the fridge to thaw.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator. If you have leftover chicken thighs when dinner is over, transfer the remaining chicken to an airtight container. When stored in the refrigerator, your chicken will stay good for up to four days.
Can You Cook Frozen Chicken Thighs in the Air Fryer?
While you may be tempted to cook your frozen chicken thighs in the air fryer, it's not a good idea to attempt to cook any meat directly from the freezer in this appliance. Since the air fryer helps speed up the cook time of most dishes, cooking frozen meat could result in undercooked chicken thighs that aren't safe to eat.
Instead of trying to cook your chicken thighs directly from the freezer, it's best to give them time to thaw before cooking them in the air fryer. The night before you plan to cook your chicken thighs, remove them from the freezer and transfer them to the refrigerator to thaw. You can even place the frozen thighs directly in the marinade to allow them to thaw and marinate at the same time!
What Sides Go With Hawaiian Chicken?
This sweet and spicy chicken pairs well with a variety of side dishes! You can serve your chicken thighs over rice for a more traditional dinner or lower the carb count with riced cauliflower. You could also add some pasta to the chicken in place of rice. Roasted or steamed vegetables, like zucchini or broccoli, also pair well with this simple dish. Or add some sweetness to your meal with the help of pineapple chunks.
Air Fryer Hawaiian Chicken Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ½ cup crushed pineapple
- 3 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes or red pepper flakes (if desired for heat)
- pineapple slices to serve on side, optional
- sesame seeds for garnish, optional
- green onions for garnish, optional
Instructions
Prepare the marinade:
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, pineapple with juices, ginger, garlic and chili flakes until well-combined. *Reserve ½ cup of marinade
- Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken making sure to thoroughly coat each piece. Cover and refrigerate. Allow chicken to marinate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Cook the chicken thighs:
- Place the marinated chicken thighs in the basket of your air fryer. Cook the thighs at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 22 to 24 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, remove the basket from the air fryer and flip the chicken for even cooking.Pro Tip: Cooking times and temperatures vary between make & model of air fryer. The best practice for cooking meat in the air fryer is to use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature to make sure the meat is done. For chicken, the FDA recommendation is that it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Continue cooking the chicken in batches until all the thighs have been cooked.
- Warm the reserved marinade in a small sauce pan or in the microwave and drizzle over chicken before serving.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
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