Grilled Pineapple Chicken

This Grilled Pineapple Chicken is sweet, tender, and perfect for dinner. With a quick and flavorful marinade using canned pineapple juice, it's a healthy gluten free and paleo meal that cooks up quickly. Great for warm weather eating!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword #chickenthighs, #grilling, #paleo, whole30

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Marinating Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings

Calories 282kcal

Author Taryn Solie

Equipment

Ingredients

1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs about 4-5 thighs, thawed
¼ c coconut aminos
3 tbsp pineapple juice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp oil avocado or olive, divided
½ heaping tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
2 large cloves of garlic
½ tsp ground ginger
15 oz canned pineapple rings
green onion for topping, if desired

Instructions

Open up the canned pineapple and pour out 3 tablespoons of pineapple juice into a large bowl. Set the rest of the can aside, then measure out the oil, coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar, ground ginger, and kosher salt with measuring spoons and place them into the bowl. Peel the skin off the garlic cloves and use a garlic press to squeeze the pressed garlic into the bowl with the rest of the marinade. Stir the marinade together with a small whisk or other utensil.
Remove the chicken thighs from their packaging and, if desired, cut off any large clumps of fat with a sharp knife. Place the chicken thighs in the bowl and mix them up with the marinade until they're well covered Place in the fridge for 45 minutes, covering the bowl with plastic wrap. Be sure and wash your hands afterward!
After the 45 minutes are up, take the chicken out of the fridge and let rest on the counter to come up in temperature for 15 minutes. Fire up your outdoor grill to about 350 degrees F - medium heat - and prep the pineapple. Remove the rings from the can, placing them in a medium bowl or other dish. Dry them off with paper towels and pour 1 tablespoon of oil over them, using your fingers to fully cover the rings.
Once the grill is at temperature place the pineapple on the grill first with a pair of tongs, then place the chicken thighs on the grill. Close the lid and cook for 3 minutes, then open the lid and flip the pineapple slices over. Close the lid and cook for another 2 minutes.
Open the lid again and remove the pineapple from the grill onto a platter. Flip the chicken thighs and close the lid again, cooking for another 4 minutes. Once the 4 minutes are up, open the lid and check the temperature of each chicken thigh with a meat thermometer. Remove them from the grill once they hit an internal temperature of 160-165 degrees F. Keep in mind smaller chicken thighs will be done sooner than larger ones!
Sprinkle chopped green onions onto the grilled chicken and serve together with the pineapple rings.

Video

Notes

Don't try to make this with frozen chicken thighs - your thighs need to be fully defrosted otherwise they won't cook evenly on the grill.
You always want to preheat your grill. Turn it on 5 or so minutes before you're ready to put your meat and fruit on so it can come up to temperature.
In order to tell whether your meat is done you absolutely should check the internal temperature of the chicken. If you need tips on how to do that, check out this post I wrote about how to use a meat thermometer for grilling. If you don't have a digital meat thermometer, we've used a Thermapen for years and love it - click here to check it out. (affiliate link)
If you don't have green onions you can also top this with chopped cilantro or parsley, some pineapple salsa, or a dollop of bbq sauce.

Nutrition