Honey Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki Skillet

Honey Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki Skillet is a 30 minute skillet meal that’s family friendly!  It’s quicker to throw together than it is to pick up take-out, and it’s even more delicious!

It’s Mystery Dish time again!  Mystery Dish is a monthly challenge where a group of bloggers is given a list of ingredients to make a dish, using at least 3 of the ingredients.  This month our lovely host is Kristi at Inspiration Kitchen.  I knew the ingredients were going to be good, because Kristi knows her stuff.  Thanks for hosting, Kristi! 🙂

The list was SO good in fact, that I changed my mind as to what I was going to make about 3 times.  Below is the list we were given:

1. Apricots
2. Asparagus
3. Vidalia Onions
4. Fennel/Tarragon
5. Chicken
6. Puff Pastry
7. Coconut
8. Cashews
9. Chocolate
10. Pineapple

I’ve been eating asparagus bunch after bunch lately, and I’m shocked that I didn’t end up using that.  I was going to do something sweet, then it came time to meal plan and I decided on making a honey pineapple chicken teriyaki dish that I hadn’t quite gotten right yet.  I thought that would be perfect to use here because that would use up 2 of my ingredients.

As for the third ingredient, I’m using green onions, but they’re hardly Vidalia onions.  I decided to use the cashews as the crunch factor when serving my dish, because the crunch factor is where it’s at for me.

If I were on the show Chopped on the Food Network, I know I would be dinged for using one of the primary ingredients as a “garnish”.  Since there’s no panel of superstar chefs here, I knew it would fly. 🙂

You could say this dish is a teriyaki/sweet and sour hybrid.  The sauce is straight up teriyaki sweetened completely with honey and fresh pineapple juice, but the addition of the pineapple chunks and peppers give it that sweet and sour feel.  My kids always order sweet and sour chicken when we do take-out, so this was a huge hit with them.  And it was a huge hit with me because it’s healthier since it’s not fried.  I’ll take this version any day of the week. 🙂

The pineapples around here aren’t the best yet, so I paid a bit more to buy fresh, precut pineapple spears and cut them into chunks.  While I recommend using fresh pineapple here, you can always use canned pineapple chunks and use the juice for that in your teriyaki sauce.

To make this a 30 minute meal, get your rice, quinoa, or quick cooking brown rice on first, then prep your ingredients.  This meal only takes 15 minutes to cook, then you’re in business.

This Honey Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki Skillet will be making lots of appearances during the week.  It’s fresh, it’s easy, and it hits all the marks.  Tender chunks of chicken smothered in a mildly sweet, tangy teriyaki sauce with pineapple and red peppers?  Yes and yes.   You don’t need takeout with this recipe.  No sir-ee. 🙂

Don’t forget to check out the other delicious Mystery Dish links!

Chicken Alfredo Bacon Pastry Pockets by Simply Gloria

Pineapple Cake by I Dig Pinterest

Pineapple Scones by The Pajamma Chef

Ricotta Asparagus Tart by Yummy Healthy Easy

Tropical Chicken Tacos by Inspiration Kitchen

Honey Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki Skillet

Yield: 4-6 servings

Total Time: 30 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Honey Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki Skillet is a 30 minute skillet meal that’s family friendly!  It’s quicker to throw together than it is to pick up take-out, and it’s even more delicious!

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce (if gluten intolerant, use one that’s gluten free)
1/4 cup water
6 tablespoons honey*
2 tablespoons pineapple juice, reserved from fresh, or use 2 tablespoons more honey
1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons mirin*
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water

For the chicken:

2-4 tablespoons canola oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ cubes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
salt and pepper, to taste
1 red bell pepper, cored, and cut into 1″ pieces
1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
Scallions and chopped cashews, for serving

Directions:

Prepare the sauce:

Whisk together the soy sauce, water, honey, pineapple juice, rice wine vinegar, mirin, and grated ginger. Set aside with the cornstarch slurry.

Prepare the chicken:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and toss with the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a zip top bag.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the chicken in a single layer in the skillet to brown. Turn over when it releases easily from the pan, about 1-2 minutes, and continue to cook another 2 minutes on the other side. If the pan seems dry, add another 1-2 tablespoons of oil, then add the red bell pepper, and sauté 2-3 minutes more.
Add the pineapple to the pan. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the teriyaki sauce, and pour it into the skillet, and stir until it coats the chicken mixture. Continue to cook until the sauce thickens, about 3-4 minutes more. Remove from heat.
Serve over rice or quinoa with the chopped scallions and cashews, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

To make this a 30 minute meal, get your rice, quinoa, or quick cooking brown rice on first, then prep your ingredients.
*6 tablespoons of honey will give you a mildly sweet, tangy sauce. If you prefer your teriyaki sweeter, taste the sauce and add 1-2 more tablespoons of honey.
I used pre-cut pineapple wedges here, and simply used the pineapple juice in the bottom of the container to add to my sauce. You can substitute with 1-2 tablespoons more honey instead.
*Mirin is a Japanese rice wine which adds a nice depth of flavor here, but it may not always be gluten free. If you’re gluten intolerant, it may be substituted with sake or dry sherry.

Recipe source:  Flavor the Moments

// All images and text ©Flavor the Moments.