Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Crockpot Pineapple Chicken
Pineapple pieces and a tangy sweet sauce give tender chicken a bright, fruity flavor. Garlic adds a savory note beneath the brown sugar sweetness, and the sauce is especially good spooned over the chicken so each bite gets a little.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 180 min
- Total
- 185 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 8 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Chicken
- Cuisine
- American
- Cooking method
- Slow cooker
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: over 60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Use the pineapple juice in the sauce
Drain the chunks, but don't lose the juice. It gets whisked into the sauce with the brown sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, garlic, salt, and pepper before everything goes over the chicken.
2. Check the thickest part of the chicken
The cook time has a range, so go by temperature rather than the clock alone. The chicken is ready when the thickest part reaches 165 degrees F.
3. Taste before you serve
The last step is worth doing. Once the chicken is cooked, taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning and sweetness as you like before it hits the table.
Get to know the ingredients
Chicken breasts
The recipe uses boneless skinless chicken breasts, laid into a 2.5-4 quart slow cooker before the sauce goes in.
Pineapple chunks with juice
Use a can that includes juice, since the juice becomes the liquid for the sauce. The chunks are added on top of the chicken after the sauce is poured in.
Cornstarch
Whisk the cornstarch into the pineapple juice mixture before it goes into the slow cooker. That helps it disperse into the sauce instead of landing in clumps.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 5 steps completeMake room for Crockpot Pineapple Chicken
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
The last little job
Before serving, give the sauce a proper taste. Add more seasoning or sweetness if you want it.
A little more help as you go
Keep the pineapple separate at first
The juice goes into the sauce, while the pineapple chunks sit on top of the chicken. That small separation keeps the whisking easy and puts the fruit where you'll see it when serving.
Slow cooker size matters here
A 2.5-4 quart slow cooker is the size called for. The chicken goes in first, then the sauce, then the pineapple.
A few questions you might have
Do I drain the pineapple chunks completely?
Drain the juice into something you can whisk in, because it's part of the sauce. The chunks aren't discarded. They go on top of the chicken after the sauce is poured in.
Can I use white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar?
Yes. The recipe lists apple cider vinegar with white vinegar as the substitute, using the same amount.
Why is cornstarch mixed in before cooking?
It gets whisked into the pineapple juice mixture before the sauce goes over the chicken, so it can blend into the liquid evenly as the chicken cooks.
How do I know when the chicken is done?
Check the thickest part of the chicken. It's done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
What should I adjust at the end?
Taste the sauce first, then adjust the seasonings and sweetness as desired. The recipe specifically leaves that final balance to your taste before serving.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: thereciperebel.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
