Huli Huli Chicken
Huli Huli Chicken is a Hawaiian favorite! These marinated grilled chicken thighs are crazy delicious and perfect for all your summer cookouts!
Why We Love Yummy Huli Huli Chicken
- Grilled chicken is always a hit at our house. Huli Huli Chicken is next level with its yummy marinade and caramelized bits from the grill.
- This is not a complicated recipe. Pop the chicken into the marinade, forget about it in the fridge for a while, and then grill. Done. Super easy friends!
- I like to make extra chicken thighs when I make Huli Huli chicken. The leftovers are great on chicken sandwiches, salads, in burritos, and so much more!
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken
CHICKEN: We’re using boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. They’re full of flavor and are great on the grill (or grill pan). You could use chicken breasts if you prefer but get the thin-cut ones. You don’t want to marinade burning before the chicken is done cooking.
MARINADE: To make the marinade, you will need pineapple juice, chicken broth, soy sauce, fresh ginger, green onion, garlic, brown sugar, ketchup, and mustard powder.
How to Make Huli Huli Chicken
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1 Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, and the pop them into a gallon-size food ziptop bag. Then whisk together the marinade ingredients until they’re well combined.
STEP 2 Pour 3/4 of the marinade into the bag with the chicken. Seal it up and pop that bad boy into the fridge for 3 to 4 hours, or overnight. Cover the bowl with the rest of the marinade and put it in the fridge too.
STEP 3 When you’re ready to cook, heat your grill to medium and oil the grates. Take the chicken out of the marinade and place them on the hot grill. Cook the chicken for 4 minutes per side. Then brush the chicken thighs with the reserved marinade. Continue to cook, flip, and brush the chicken with marinade until it’s cooked through. (About 15-16 minutes of total cooking time.)
STEP 4 Transfer the huli huli chicken to a platter and sprinkle with sliced green onion for garnish before serving warm.
Tips & Tricks
- The chicken thighs can sit in the huli huli marinade for up to 24 hours, which makes huli huli chicken a great recipe for tailgating and camping too!
- The trick to this chicken is to keep turning and basting it. The marinade will caramelize and char a little giving this chicken amazing flavor.
- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to serve a large crowd. Dressing up the serving platter with some sliced pineapple too! You can leave it raw or grill it alongside the chicken.
Huli Huli Chicken Recipe FAQ
What is huli huli chicken sauce made of?
First thing first…is huli huli the same as teriyaki? Sort of, but not really. Huli huli means “turn, turn”. The chicken is turned constantly as it’s cooked which is why it’s called huli huli chicken.
Flavor-wise this is essentially a Hawaiian-style teriyaki chicken. The sauce is a combination of sweet and savory flavors using brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and pineapple juice along with a few other additions.
How long to marinate huli huli chicken
You want to let the chicken marinate for at least 3 hours to let all those yummy flavors get into the chicken thighs. You can leave the chicken in the marinade overnight if needed (around 8 hours), and it is safe to keep it in the bag for up to 24 hours.
I usually prep the chicken in the morning and let it sit in the fridge all day. Then dinner is a breeze that night.
What to serve with huli huli chicken
We gravitate toward having cooked white rice and Hawaiian macaroni salad with this chicken. It’s how Ono serves up their meals and that place is SO good! They’re a perfect pairing for Huli-Huli Chicken.
Other great options are potato salad, grilled pineapple, coleslaw, Hawaiian ambrosia salad, and grilled corn on the cob. You could even make some homemade Hawaiian sweet rolls and make little sliders out of any leftover chicken. Yum!
Other Recipes You May Like
- Flank Steak with Corn Salsa
- Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Avocado Peach Salsa
- Smoked Sausage and Potato Poil Packets
- Seasoned Chicken Tacos
- Crock Pot Chicken Thighs and Potatoes
Huli Huli Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup canned pineapple juice
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons chicken broth
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger peeled and minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard powder
- Green onions thinly sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Then place them in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the pineapple juice, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, chicken broth, garlic, ginger, and mustard powder until combined.
- Pour 3/4 of the sauce into the bag with the chicken. Cover and reserve the remaining sauce in the fridge. Close the Ziploc bag (be sure to remove excess air), smush the marinade onto the chicken, and then refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the grill to medium heat. Once hot, oil the grates.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the hot grill. Cook for 4 minutes per side. Once both sides have been grilled, start basting the chicken with the reserved marinade. Continue to turn the chicken every 1-2 minutes, basting with each turn, until the chicken is no longer pink and the internal temperature is 165 degrees F (about 15-16 minutes total).
- Remove the chicken to a serving platter. Sprinkle sliced green onions over top and serve warm. We like to serve this chicken with cooked white rice and macaroni salad.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.