Pineapple-Marinated Chicken Breasts Recipe (2024)

Step 1 is hard to parse. Rewritten below by me (a professional writer of technical instructions): Step 1a: Marinade baseIn a large bowl, stir together the brown sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, garlic powder, ground cayenne and black pepper. Step 1b: Salsa Transfer 1 tablespoon of the marinade base to a medium bowl and add the diced pineapple, red onion and cilantro. Toss until well mixed and set aside.

I don't like pineapple, can I leave this out of the recipe? Will it taste the same? (Ha! Just kidding! I love commenters who change or delete most of the ingredients and complain it didn't turn out right.)

The large bowl with the GRATED pineapple is the marinade. The medium bowl with 1 Tbsp, DICED pineapple, red onion, and cilantro is the salsa.

The first part of the second bowl is the second part of the first bowl which is party to the second pineapple omitting the second party of the party of the first pineapple in the second part of the first bowl. You're welcome.

Do NOT use canned pineapple--the bromelaine becomes denatured when cooked and doesn't have the same tenderizing effect. I used fresh precut pineapple because no one else in my house will eat pineapple. Less work, did the job.

Kate-- I agree with another cook here that a good idea would be to prepare the marinade, but don't add the grated pineapple, and let the breasts marinate for several hours, and then add the pineapple for the last 15 minutes.

This chicken was delicious, but boy, that recipe was unclear, and because of that, the comments were like the black/white, gold/blue dress!

Excellent. Made exactly as written with the exception of adding some lime juice and a finely diced jalapeno to the salsa. My pineapple was a little on the tart side which worked really well. Delivers exactly what it says it will, flavorful, tender, juicy chicken. I opted to grill these as kebabs which was a good choice. I think I will be adding grated fresh pineapple to a lot of chicken breast marinades as a secret weapon!

The salsa has ! CUP of diced pineapple, not 1 Tbsp, according to the recipe.

Peter - I’m reading it to mean: The marinade is the first half of Step 1, plus the grated pineapple & juice listed in Step 2. The second half of Step 1, where you transfer 1 T of liquid and toss with diced pineapple chunks, onions, and cilantro — that’s the “pineapple salsa” referred to in Step 4.

How does one grate a pineapple?

Step 1a: Marinade base In a large bowl, stir together the brown sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, garlic powder, ground cayenne and black pepper. Step 1b: Salsa Transfer 1 tablespoon of the marinade base to a medium bowl and add the diced pineapple, red onion and cilantro. Toss until well mixed and set aside.The salsa has 1 CUP of diced pineapple, not 1 Tbsp, according to the recipe.

I decided to deconstruct the recipe and use chicken pieces. I made the marinade (doubled)minus the grated pineapple and marinated the chicken pieces so they would absorb that yummy flavor. Also added fresh garlic. I will add the grated pineapple in the last 15 minutes of marinating. I’ll bake the chicken in the oven and think we’ll have some delicious sauce from the marinade and pineapple. I’ll add to the post after we’ve eaten and let you know how it was.

No, the salsa is the diced pineapple with red onion and cilantro and 1 tablespoon of the liquid you made in step one. The marinade is all the rest of that liquid and the grated pineapple.

Can this be made with canned pineapple?

Made this tonight largely as written, family loved it. My lone deviation? Minced pineapple for the marinade instead of grating. Tried grating, no joy. Next time, will use larger pieces of pineapple to mince. The little chunks of pineapple weren't bad, but I think it would have been better if the pineapple just disappeared into the marinade. I will cut the pineapple pieces for the salsa a little smaller next time, and add a closer to 1/2 tsp cayenne to the marinade.

grating pineapple sure makes a mess, any suggestions?

Love this recipe and the pineapple salsa is a gem- I often make the salsa by itself to accompany other dishes! To get roughly the right amount, I just use a half teaspoon measure instead of a tablespoon; the liquid ingredients are all listed in tablespoons which makes for a relatively hassle-free conversion

I whipped this up for dinner one night. Served over rice and added some chopped asparagus to get a vegetable. It was great. You could really taste the soy sauce for such a small portion of it and the diced pineapple left sitting in the salsa bowl formed a bit of juice/sauce that was soaked up nicely by the rice.I used a shallot because I had one on hand and aside from onion breath I’d make again.

The salsa in this is a real treat, so I always make extra!

I have made this many times now and it is a family favorite! Here is what I do:Double the dressing/marinade and marinate the chicken breast WITHOUT pineapple for as long as possible and then add the juice over 15 minutes before cooking.Add a chopped, de-seeded cucumber or two to the salsa (hence the need for more dressing). Serve over short grain rice. If you want more veg, a quick stir fry of bokchoi in the pan at the end works nicely. Perfect! Thank you, Eric Kim!

It is very important to follow the directions about the time to marinate the chicken in the pineapple juice. If you marinate too long, the chicken goes stringy and mushy. It was perfect as is and I served with fried rice and a vegetable stir fry.

does anyone know what is meant by shredding pineapple and how does one shred pineapple ?

first time making this. As I suspected the chicken does not brown unless you blot all the marinade off the chicken, too wet and you get steaming instead of browning.

I made the marinade ahead and let the chicken marinate for a few hours. I added the grated pineapple for the last 15 minutes. I didn’t have cilantro but stir fried some fresh green beans in the same pan after chicken was done and removed. Everything came out quite tasty. Will make again.

This was good but not amazing—I might cook again but would watch out carefully for overcooking the chicken (I fear I lost the tenderness it should have been special for!).

Another Eric Kim winner! Used chicken thighs (husband prefers) and marinated for 15 only (could've used maybe 5 min. more) and Bristol Farms' pre-cut, fresh pineapple to make it even easier. Used 1/4 tsp. cayenne, but next time will use 1/2 tsp. Didn't have sticky sushi rice so served w/ baked brown rice. Thought my non-stick skillet was a goner - even after making sure excess marinade dripped back into the bowl, not into the skillet - but all came off just fine. Will absolutely make again!

I will never make this meal again; it wasn't at all the outcome described. It's impossible to brown the meat as, even if you drain the chicken before putting it in the pan, the liquid still quickly accumulates and it simply doesn't brown. I even drained the pan once and it didn't make a difference; there's just too much liquid. Also, I marinated the breast meat for exactly 15 minutes and there's no way the meat texture was like that of dark meat. If you want dark meat texture, use dark meat.

Ahead of time I cut the pineapple, cut chicken into pieces. Marinated the chicken for 15 minutes right before cooking on the stove. Cooked in 2 batches. We both enjoyed. I might double the salsa next time. Served with rice and a tossed salad. Good!!

Freeze the pineapple before shredding?