This Slow Cooker Huli Huli Chicken is the ultimate set it and forget it recipe. The flavour is so intense that it's hard to believe how easy this is to make. This will become your family's favourite chicken recipe!
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There are just some recipes out there that rock your world at dinnertime. Huli Huli chicken is one of those recipes. Whether you grill it, bake it, or cook it in the slow cooker, it will impress your family and friends every single time.
We love Hawaiian food in our household. My husband and I visited Hawaii for our honeymoon many, many moons ago. We fell in love with the culture, as well as the cuisine. The food in Hawaii was nothing short of spectacular.
Between luaus and visiting small local joints, we ate like kings and queens while we were there. So many dishes made a huge impact on me while we visited. I fell in love with Mahi Mahi. I also discovered Kalua Pork. It's so freaking amazing.
Among all the delicious food we consumed while in Hawaii I have to say the Huli Huli Chicken really stood out. The flavour was out of this world. The chicken was so tender it melted in your mouth. I couldn't eat enough of it.
Every now and then I like to whip up some Huli Huli Chicken at home to remind myself how much I loved Hawaii. We want to go back to visit next year and bring the kids. My daughter's name is Hawaiian and I've always wanted her to see the place her name came from.
I'm looking forward to showing my daughter all the amazing things Hawaii has to offer. We have big plans to go scuba diving, snorkelling, and hiking. We also plan to do the helicopter rides through Kauai, and skydiving as well. I'm hoping we can also find time to try surfing. Horseback riding is also on the agenda.
This recipe is inspired by my gal pal Aly of Cooking in Stilettos. Aly is one of my besties in the food blogging world, and beyond it. She is my rock when life gets hard. Aly keeps me on even ground, and gives me the reality check I need on occasion. I adore her, and I'd be lost without her in my life.
Aly loves Polynesian food as much as I do. So I used her Huli Huli Chicken as a jump off point for this recipe. I knew I wanted the flavour of Huli Huli chicken, but I wanted to cook it in my slow cooker. I'm a sucker for set-it-and-forget-it recipes. I'm busy most days so I want cooking to be easy.
I took Aly's recipe and changed a couple of minor things, mostly the cooking method. I think it turned out amazing and I'm so happy with the flavour of this one. It's great on it's on, or piled high on slider buns. This recipe also kicks ass on pizza. Pile it on top of pizza and drizzle BBQ sauce over top.
For this recipe I used pre-grilled chicken. I wanted the flavour of grilled chicken because I think that's important when making Huli Huli Chicken. So I picked up some pre-grilled chicken breasts in the frozen food section of my grocery store. It's not a deal breaker if you don't use grilled chicken. That's your call.
I can highly advise using pineapple in your recipe though. Those tiny pieces of pineapple make this recipe pop. You'll flip your lid when you taste this. No joke. Lids will be flipping left and right. All over town. It's that good.
Get in your kitchen and pull out that crockpot you have hanging around in the cupboard. Give it a good clean, then slap all the ingredients for this recipe inside it. Turn the dial on, walk away, watch some Netflix, then bam! Dinner!
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Slow Cooker Huli Huli Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 package of pre-cooked grilled chicken breasts 20 oz/1.25 lb/566 g
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup Italian dressing
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 to 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 can crushed pineapple 398 ml/14 fl oz
- ½ cup water
- Optional if making sandwiches with the meat:
- 1 cup reserved juices from slow cooker
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Instructions
- Place all your ingredients in the slow cooker and turn it on the low setting. Cook for about 6 to 8 hours, depending on how tender you want your chicken.
- Remove meat from slow cooker.
- Serve solo or on sandwich or slider buns.
- If you want to take this up a notch and have an extra 5 minutes I highly recommend finishing this in a skillet to thicken it slightly for sandwiches. Follow instructions below:
- Transfer the meat to a bowl and drain off excess liquid, reserving ½ to 1 cup of liquid.
- Pour about ¼ of the liquid in a small jar and add corn starch to it to make a slurry. Shake the jar until combined.
- Pour remaining liquid into skillet and heat over medium-high heat for about a minute. Shake jar of slurry again, and add that to the skillet. Cook until thickened then add meat. Stir until well coated.
- Pile it on sandwich or slider buns.
- Serve with a big old Huli Huli Chicken loving smile!
Notes
Other great Hawaiian Recipes from around the web:
- Slow Cooker Kalua Pork from Try Anything Once
- Kalua Pork Sliders with Spicy Pineapple Relish from Cooking in Stilettos
- Leonard's Bakery's Hawaii Malasadas from Saveur
- Pani Poppo from A Treats Affair
- Hawaiian Poi from Polynesian Cultural Center
Eat it straight up or on a bun. Whatever works for you!
Craving more Slow Cooker Recipes? Check these out!
Slow Cooker Pulled BBQ Chicken
Take some time to peruse my recipe index. You can find lots of slow cooker recipes, plus tons of main course recipes as well.
Be sure to follow me on Pinterest. I'm always pinning great recipes, and fun DIY ideas. You should also follow me Instagram. I share all my latest and greatest recipes there.
Toodles! xx
Johanna
Hi! This looks amazing. Just wondering what kind of italian dressing you used?
Kim Beaulieu
Hi Johanna. Sorry, I've been off work for some time due to some health issues. Finally back to work and trying to catch up. I apologize for leaving you hanging for so long.
Anyhow, I personally love Kraft but any brand will do.
byuu
This looks soooo yummy!and delicious! Great post 🙂 x
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks so much!
Eydie Rosler
We fell in love with Huli Huli Chicken after trying it in Maui last year and I've been looking for a way to make it at home in the crock pot. I made this on Sunday and it is absolutely delicious! My husband loved it!
Thank You!
Kim Beaulieu
Hi Eydie. I love Huli Huli chicken too. It's best grilled but this is fun and easy alternative. I'm thrilled you liked it.
We had it for the first time in Oahu about 25 years ago. I'm actually going to Kauai with my daughter in March and I'm really looking forward to eating lots of Huli Huli chicken!!
Kelly
Delicious! The only change I made was I added about 1/4t of ground ginger and a tablespoon of Sambal Oelek (chili sauce) for a little heat.
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks so much Kelly. I'm so glad you liked it. I love the additions you used. Sounds yummy!