Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken
This gluten-free Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken recipe is so flavorful, and takes only 40 minutes to make. Serve it with steamed rice or sautéed cauliflower rice. Everyone in the family will love this easy winner chicken dinner.
This Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken dish is one of those recipes you need when you’re too busy to plan anything fancy for dinner, but you really want something flavorful and satisfying.
The 40 minutes necessary for this recipe includes prep time, time to pressure, cooking time, and 10 minutes of natural release. I promise this is one of the easiest of all of the Instant Pot recipes out there.
This recipe tastes a lot like Chicken Teriyaki, but with the addition of sweet pineapple chunks. It is sooooo yummy.
Why You Need This Recipe
- This delicious Pineapple Chicken recipe uses homemade sauce that is simple yet so flavorful. You’ll never buy bottled teriyaki sauce after you see how easy it is to make your own. It’s healthier, too, because you have control over the ingredients.
- Most bottled teriyaki-type sauces are filled with preservatives and refined sugars (see my related post on the best gluten-free sauces). I used just a tablespoon of coconut sugar and that was just the perfect amount for this Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken.
- The combination of tamari or coconut aminos, pineapple, and coconut sugar makes for a sticky, yummy sauce.
Key Ingredients
Boneless skinless chicken breasts cook up tender in the Instant Pot. If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option though, you can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Onion and bell pepper have a natural sweetness to them and pair well with pineapple. Both are rich in antioxidants and essential vitamins.
Pineapple chunks add a natural sweetness to this dish and pairs well with the savory flavors of the soy sauce and garlic.
Soy sauce adds a salty element made from fermented soybeans. It’s a key element in many Asian inspired recipes and tastes delicious. Make sure to buy Tamari soy sauce or coconut aminos if you are gluten intolerant.
Brown sugar sweetens up the sauce but you can also use coconut sugar or honey if you’d rather. For a whole30 version leave it out.
Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredients and measurements.
Recipe Steps
Step One
Saute your chicken, onion, and garlic in the stainless steel insert of the Instant Pot. Add the broth, aminos, coconut sugar, and pineapple chunks. Leave out the coconut sugar for Whole30.
Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredients and measurements.
Step Two
Lock on the lid and set the cook time to 8 minutes at high pressure.
Step Three
Once the cooking time is complete, let the pressure come down for 10 minutes, then release the rest of the pressure using the quick release.
Step Four
Stir in the arrowroot and simmer for a few minutes to thicken the sauce.
Serve hot with cooked white rice, brown rice, or sautéed cauliflower rice, plus a side of steamed veggies. You can also top this Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken with sliced green onions.
Honestly, making a 40-minute meal using chicken in the Instant Pot is one of my favorite tricks for getting healthy food on the table day after day.
An additional benefit is that using a pressure cooking to cook chicken means that it rarely gets dried out (because the moisture is trapped inside the pot).
Recipe Tips & Substitutions
- The nutrition data attached to the recipe card does not include rice or cauliflower rice for serving.
- The total cooking time includes approximately 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure. The total time also includes 10 minutes of natural pressure release.
- Use fresh chicken breasts or thighs as frozen ones will release quite a bit of liquid and thin out the sauce too much.
Recommended Items
- 6-quart Instant Pot
- Low-sodium chicken broth
- Organic coconut sugar (leave out for Whole30)
- Arrowroot powder to thicken the sauce
- Coconut aminos
Recipe FAQs
Yes, if you leave out the coconut sugar. Don’t worry, the sauce will still be sweet from the pineapple. And, be sure to serve this chicken dish with sautéed cauliflower rice to keep it Whole30.
Yes, but you need to be careful to read the labels. My favorite brand is this Primal Kitchen Organic No Soy Teriyaki Sauce Marinade.
More Healthy Chicken Recipes You Might Like
- Low-Carb Chicken Cacciatore
- Instant Pot Chicken & Sweet Potato dinner
- Instant Pot Chicken Soup with Rice
- Instant Pot Chicken Soup with Potatoes
Plus, don’t miss my round-up of my other gluten-free and dairy-free Instant Pot Chicken Recipes.
Don’t Miss These Instant Pot Resources!
Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken
This gluten-free Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken recipe is so flavorful, and takes only 40 minutes to make. Serve it with steamed rice or sautéed cauliflower rice. Everyone in the family will love this easy winner chicken dinner.
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil (I used avocado oil)
- 1.25 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 red or green bell pepper, cored and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 20–ounce can pineapple chunks (with the juice)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos (use tamari or coconut aminos for gluten-free)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (use coconut sugar for a lower glycemic version)
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onions (optional, for serving)
- 2 cups cooked rice or cauliflower rice (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- Press the Sauté button on your Instant Pot and pour in the cooking oil. Let the oil heat up for about two minutes.
- Then, add the chicken, onion, bell pepper, and garlic into the pot and sauté for about 3 minutes, stirring so the chicken starts to change color on all sides.
- Cancel the Sauté function and add the pineapple chunks and the pineapple juice, soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos), and brown sugar. Stir to combine.
- Lock on the lid, select the Pressure Cook function, and adjust to high pressure for 8 minutes. Make sure the steam valve is set in the “Sealing”.
- When the cooking time is up, let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes and then quick-release the remaining pressure.
- Remove the lid and press the Sauté button and add the arrowroot starch to the pot. Use a whisk to make sure the starch dissolves into the liquid. Let the liquid simmer for about 2 minutes so it can start to thicken.
- Cancel the Sauté button and stir in the rice vinegar.
- Serve hot.
- Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Equipment
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Notes
- The nutrition data does not include rice or cauliflower rice for serving.
- The total cooking time includes approximately 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure. The total time also includes 10 minutes of natural pressure release.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Main dish
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 253
- Sugar: 9.7 g
- Sodium: 489 mg
- Fat: 6.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.1 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 28.4 g
- Cholesterol: 82.7 mg
Keywords: instant pot hawaiian chicken, homemade gluten-free teriyaki sauce
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About the Author: Carrie Forrest is the author of the best-selling Instant Pot-authorized cookbook, The Healthy Meal Prep Instant Pot Cookbook. She has a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in nutrition and receives over 10 million annual visitors to her site. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.
This recipe was tasty but definitely took longer for me to cook than the instructions. Cutting all veggies, the meat and garlic took a long time to do. My family loved it so I didn’t mind doing that, dinner was just late. Now for my substitution… I had a fresh pineapple not a can of one so I used a half of the real pineapple (so good that way, I’m happy I didn’t have any canned!)… I digress… So that meant I needed extra liquid so I added a cup of organic chicken stock and for the sweetness, I doubled the brown sugar. For a little kick I added some grated ginger root. Lastly, I was out of arrowroot so just used corn starch that I had whisked together with some water and a measuring cup so that it wouldn’t clump.. this came out great my family loved it I will definitely make it again thank you so much for the recipe!
★★★★
So glad you enjoyed, Vanessa! Thanks for sharing your experience and substitutions.
In Step One, you wrote to add tamari. There is no mention of it in the recipe. Would you, please, clarify if tamari is needed? Thank you
Hi Lori, apologies, there is no tamari, only coconut aminos (unless you substitute the tamari for the aminos).
Yum! This looks so amazing! I love my instant pot and I’ve had really good success using avocado oil in my instant pot! Love that this recipe calls for Avocado Oil!!
I just made this last night and it came out perfect! I love my new instant pot and finding delicious recipes.