Pineapple Chicken and Rice Dinner Recipe. Tender chicken cooked in a sweet pineapple honey Dijon sauce and served over rice.
It is time for dinner! It is always great to have a chicken dinner recipe on hand. Especially a simple one with common ingredients. I typically serve this chicken recipe over rice and that is it! No other sides are needed. If I do add a side it is steamed broccoli or a vegetable medley.
Cornstarch is used to thicken the sauce
In the recipe, it instructs you to mix together the cornstarch and some pineapple juice and set aside. While it is set aside it will start to thicken. Before you pour it in the pan give it another stir to loosen it up.
Rice
When it comes to rice I use jasmine rice. I just like it better. When I cook my rice I add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pot. I just throw it in the water. I think it makes the rice better. Make rice perfect every time with an Instant Pot. I love my Instant Pot and use it at least twice a week.
To Plate
Make a bed of rice and lay the chicken on top. Spoon extra sauce over the chicken. Top with a pineapple slice or two.
For reference, the images are of how I present this recipe.
A sharp knife makes all the difference. Get yourself a knife sharpener if you don’t already have one!
Sharp Knife = Nice Clean Slices of chicken.
(Nothing is cooked in the casserole dish. It is just for presentation on the table)
How to serve to kids
For the kiddos, I cut up the child-size portion of chicken and a slice of pineapple into bite-size pieces. In a bowl, I add rice, chicken, pineapple, and sauce and stir it all up. The kids really love the sweet flavor.
Make it into a Pineapple Chicken Rice Bowl
- Just like the bowl I make for the kids.
- Add rice to a bowl.
- Chop chicken and pineapple into bite-size pieces.
- Top the rice with chicken and pineapple and sauce.
You can buy Pineapple Chunks instead of slices.
See this Pineapple Rice Bowl for an example.
Perfect for Meal Planning
If you do weekly meal planning add this pineapple chicken recipe into your meal rotation.
Ingredient Swaps
- Swap out chicken breasts for chicken thighs. The cook time will be shorter for chicken thighs. Always temp your chicken to make sure it is cooked through.
- Swap out pineapple slices for pineapple chunks.
Recipe for Pineapple Chicken and Rice
Pineapple Chicken and Rice
Pineapple Chicken with Rice Dinner Recipe. Tender chicken cooked in a sweet pineapple honey Dijon sauce and served over rice.
Ingredients
- 1 and a half pounds boneless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 can 20 oz. sliced pineapple save the juice for the sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 4 servings of cooked rice.
Instructions
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Season chicken with thyme, salt, and pepper.
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Over medium heat brown the chicken in the vegetable oil.
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Drain pineapple slices and reserve the juice.
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Combine cornstarch and 2 oz. of the pineapple juice and set aside.
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In a separate bowl combine remaining juice with mustard, honey, and garlic.
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Add dijon mixture to the pan, reduce heat and cover.
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Allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
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Remove chicken from the pan.
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Stir the cornstarch mixture and add to the pan and bring to a boil.
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Stir for 2 minutes.
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Reduce heat and return chicken to the pan. Flip chicken in the pan to get it nice and coated with the sauce.
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Add pineapple slices to the pan (on top of the chicken and around the chicken) cover for 2-3 minutes to allow pineapple to heat through.
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Serve over rice.
Love this recipe? Try my Grilled Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich.
This turned out really nice! Thanks for a great recipe that we plan to make again. My husband said it was good and my 6 year old and 3 year old ate it without complaining once. Lol! Must’ve been that yummy pineapple to make it a special meal.
I will definitely be cooking this again. Easy to make and delicious.
Used cauliflower rice instead
My husband and I made this tonight, and it’s great! Definitely adding it to the meal rotation. Tasty, easy to make, inexpensive. Love it!! Thank you! : )
Anything I can use instead of the mustard and still get a similar flavor? Have some picky people I cook for and the very mention of mustard anywhere near food and I’m stuck with leftovers I don’t know what to do with while they go eat out.
Recipe sounds great for my tastes, however.
Thank you.
Loved this!!!!!
Tillie don’t tell them about the mustard & they’ll never know!
I made this tonight, it came out super flavorful and delicious! Will definitely be a do-over!
😀
When you say brown the chicken, how long are we talking? It’s it until it’s cooked through bc I see it goes back in for 15 minutes.
Will not make this again! The chicken was boring, the sauce was nice over the rice. Very dissatisfied with this recipe.
Made this last night and it turned out great. I only had a 15oz can of pineapple but I added a little extra water to the cornstarch sauce and it was better. Next time I’ll definitely add in more straight pineapple juice and maybe ground mustard seed just to bump it up a bit. But overall it had a good flavor and my husband loved it! Will definitely be making again! Thanks so much for this recipe. 🙂
Thank you Anna!
This was delicious! I made this tonight, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and I had very limited ingredients. I used yellow mustard instead of Dijon and dark corn syrup instead of honey. I also only had chunked pineapple instead of slices. Regardless, I loved it! My husband isn’t thrilled with the pineapple, but I think I’ll make this again and serve his before I add the actual pineapple in for mine.
Thanks Tabitha! Stay well!
What temperature do you cook everything at?
Hi!
Made this tonight. It was very good. Definitely being added to my repertoire!
What is the calories for this? I need to add the content into my diet spp.
It had a nice base but it was overall too sweet and bland. We added a great deal of soy sauce to the meal after it was plated and it was enjoyable. Probably won’t make again.
Could you make this in the oven?
Fabulous recipe! Everyone enjoyed it. Will Add the recipe to my collection of favorites!
Family loves this recipe. Served an Asian salad with it, and it was perfect! Thank you for sharing it!
Weird you dont have the calories posted, too…
Even with the seasoning I still think the chicken turned out a little dry.
I followed the recipe exactly as stated and it came out amazing! My husband said it was the best chicken I’ve ever made him and that it’s his new favorite. I will definitely be making this again.
Is there any way to make this in the oven as opposed to in a pan? If so, what would the instruction be?
My husband, 11 yr old and 5 yr old disliked this dish and asked me not to make it again. I thought it was ok.
This was a huge hit. We will be making this more often. My question is how well would this freeze?