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Weeknight style Slow Cooker Braised Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken Tacos…with spicy Yum Yum Sauce and crunchy slaw. Because loaded tacos are just better. Shredded chicken in a sweet, spicy, and tangy Hawaiian style Hula sauce stuffed into warmed tortillas to make the best saucy tacos. All made in the slow cooker (along with instant pot and stove-top variations). Serve each taco with a creamy, spicy yum yum sauce, and a crunchy Asian inspired sesame slaw. This perfect weeknight dinner comes together in no time, and is so delicious too! Bonus, this saucy Hawaiian Hula chicken is equally great when eaten leftover with steamed rice the following day.
Switching things up today with your new favorite “fusion” style tacos. These surely are not traditional, and they’re definitely a little on the different side. But these tacos are fun and oh so delicious. The truth is, with all this “pantry cooking” I’ve found myself gravitating towards rice and pasta pretty much every single day. Don’t get me wrong, you know I live for a good pasta dish. And rice is something I’ll never ever tire of, but I needed to change it up.
Sometime last week I just got bored. This happens from time to time when I’m developing recipes. When the boredom hits, I know it’s time to really switch things up and share a recipe that’s a little more outside my current box. Enter these tacos. I’ve had the idea for a Hawaiian…ish style taco for some time now. I just couldn’t put the full recipe together in my head. I knew I wanted a saucy shredded chicken, and I knew I really wanted pineapple involved.
You all know I love a sweet and spicy combo more than anything, so I took my favorite flavors and put them into a Hawaiian inspired chicken taco. Not only are these super easy to make, but they’re delicious, and fun to enjoy any night of the week. Especially if you’re looking for a fun for dinner to distract you from all the craziness going on throughout your day.
This is that “magic” taco. It’s easy. It’s fun. And it’s oh so good.
To make these Hawaiian pineapple chicken tacos…
First, pick your cooking method. I used the slow cooker, but honestly cooking in the instant pot or on the stove are equally easy and delicious. It all comes down to how much time you have, and or what your preferred cooking method is. So take your pick.
Next, simply combine all of the ingredients. Chicken, lots of pineapple juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, honey, and then some pineapple chunks too. Toss everything together in the bowl of the slow cooker and cook until the chicken is falling apart. Simple. Simple.
This next step is key. Remove the chicken from the sauce, lightly shred it, then place it under the broiler. Cooking the chicken under the broiler allows the chicken to have a chance to caramelize and even become a bit crispy on the edges. It’s extra delicious with this sweet, spicy, and tangy sauce.
Yes…it’s an extra step, but I do think it’s worth it.
Finish these tacos up.
Just before the tacos are done cooking, mix up a quick “yum yum” sauce and crunchy Asian inspired slaw. For the yum yum sauce, just mix Gochujang sauce (Korean style chili paste) with your choice of yogurt, sour cream, or mayo. Personally, I like to use yogurt, but use what you and your family love most. Either way, this sauce is beyond good and slightly addicting. It’s my recommendation to double it.
For the slaw, I kept it very, very simple. Shredded cabbage, additional pineapple, and jalapeños. Then toss everything together with a couple of spoonfuls of the spicy, creamy “yum yum” sauce. And that’s it. It looks like a lot…and it kind of is…but it all ends up coming together effortlessly.
So, to assemble?
Just stuff the shredded saucy chicken inside warmed tortillas. Top with slaw, sauce, and then add one extra special ingredient, crunchy Asian chow mein noodles. Yes, crunchy noodles on your tacos. I told you these were different, but in the best way. You must trust me here and give this a try. The noodles add a nice crunch with every bite. We’re just layering on that texture and flavor here.
And a few notes…
Again, this is a very different taco, but trust me, these tacos are going to become part of your monthly line up. Or at least that’s my hope.
The chicken can slow cook all day, then everyone can build their own tacos for dinner. Easy, fun, and all-around good. Excited to have these tacos in my rotation.
Also, a meal prep tip for you all. You can easily make a big batch of this chicken on a Sunday or Monday night. Then just serve it up throughout the week. You can use the chicken in tacos, incorporate into salads for lunch, or my personal favorite…serve the shredded chicken over steamed rice. Can’t go wrong either way.
And finally, you can easily swap the chicken for a pork shoulder or butt, that would be delicious too.
Looking for other weeknight tacos? Try these:
Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch
Instant Pot Korean Bulgogi BBQ Tacos
Instant Pot BBQ Beer Pulled Chicken Tacos with Ranch Corn Slaw.
If you make these slow cooker braised Hawaiian pineapple chicken Tacos, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Slow Cooker Braised Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken Tacos
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 466 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, thighs, or a pork shoulder/butt
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons organic ketchup
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1-2 tablespoons sambal oelek
- 2 cups fresh pineapple chunks (or 1 can pineapple chunks)
- 3-4 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, or olive oil mayo
- juice from 1 lime
- 3 cups shredded cabbage
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
- warmed tortillas, crunchy Asian noodles and toasted sesame seeds, for serving
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- 1. In the bowl of your slow cooker, combine the chicken, pineapple juice, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, ketchup, garlic, ginger, sambal oelek, and 1 cup pineapple chunks. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. Once done cooking, switch the slow cooker to high. Cook, uncovered for 30 minutes, to thicken the sauce slightly. 2. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the chicken from the sauce to a baking sheet. Lightly shred, then transfer to the broiler. Broil for 1-2 minutes, until the chicken caramelizes. Watch closely!3. Stir the caramelized meat back into the sauce. 4. Meanwhile, make the yum yum sauce. Combine the Gochujang sauce with the yogurt and lime juice. Season with salt. This is the "yum yum" sauce. 5. To make the slaw, add the cabbage, remaining 1 cup pineapple chunks, cilantro, and jalapeño to a bowl with a few spoonfuls of the yum yum sauce and toss to combine. Season with salt.6. Stuff the chicken into the warmed tortillas. Top with slaw, additional sauce, then add the crunchy noodles and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Instant Pot
- 1. In the bowl of your instant pot, combine the chicken, pineapple juice, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, ketchup, garlic, ginger, sambal oelek, and 1 cup pineapple chunks. Cover and cook on high pressure/manual for 8 minutes. Once done cooking, use the natural or quick release function and release the steam.2. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the chicken from the sauce to a baking sheet. Lightly shred, then transfer to the broiler. Broil for 1-2 minutes, until the chicken caramelizes. Watch closely! 3. Switch the instant pot to sauté and cook 8-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Stir the caramelized meat into the sauce. 4. Follow the directions as directed above for steps 4-6.
Stove Top
- 1. In a large pot set over medium-high heat, combine the chicken, pineapple juice, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, ketchup, garlic, ginger, sambal oelek, and 1 cup pineapple chunks. Cover and simmer the chicken for 30-45 minutes. If the sauce gets too thick, add water to thin the sauce out. 2. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the chicken from the sauce to a baking sheet. Lightly shred, then transfer to the broiler. Broil for 1-2 minutes, until the chicken caramelizes. Watch closely! 3. Stir the caramelized meat back into the sauce. 4. Follow the directions as directed above for steps 4-6.
This post was originally published on March 25, 2020
These tacos were so easy to make and so insanely delicious!! They were a huge hit with my husband and I found myself looking forward to the leftovers all day on the second day. I didn’t have sambal oelek or gochujang so I subbed sriracha for both and it worked great. I will definitely be making these again soon. Thanks for all of the amazing recipes!
Thank you Erin! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! I hope you are staying well! xTieghan
Hello, planning on making this in my IP when my chicken breasts are thawed. Did you place them in the pressure cooker whole or cut them up and they only take 8 minutes?
Thank you!
Hi Shauna,
You are going to use the chicken breasts whole and then shred after cooking. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Was so excited about this recipe but it really didn’t turn out. I tried to use a pork butt and increased the pressure cooking time in accordance with the instant pot recipe booklet. There was so much liquid at the end that I had to sauté it for an hour to boil it off. Would not recommend trying this recipe with pork butt in the instant pot as I cooked it for a total of 2.5 hours. Might as well have slow cooked it.
Hi Elizabeth! I am sorry this did not turn out well for you! Are there any questions I can help you with? Please let me know! xTieghan
Just made this for dinner and YUM!! Only changes I made were: I substituted Sriracha for the gochujang, and didn’t add the Asian noodles (I didn’t have either of them at home). I served it over rice, and it’s the perfect balance of spicy and sweet! Will definitely be making this again! Thanks Tieghan!
Thank you so much J! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I will try this out some time this week! Can you recommend a substitute to honey?
Hi Molly,
You can use maple syrup in place of the honey. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These were sooooo good. My 5 year old put down multiple tocos (left out some of the spice for him) but these will be a staple at our house. Made it in the instant and it was so quick and easy!
Aw that is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much for trying this one, Christin! xTieghan
My gosh, these were unbelievable. We used mostly chicken thighs and 1 breast. I couldn’t find sambal oelek so used Thai chili paste (maybe that’s the same thing?). Also I didn’t realize until afterward that it called for ground ginger, not fresh – not sure what the difference would be but it was fine! We charred the flour tortillas in a dry pan on the stove and I will do that every time from now on! What a difference! Absolutely delicious, beautiful, my family raved about them, and asked me to make again for our friends! Thank you again, Tieghan!
Hi Mel! I am so glad this one turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
Another top notch recipe from HBH! My family loved it and agreed this is a new monthly staple.. yum! Thank you!
Thank you Whitney! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Another question: How did you achieve the lovely char on your tortillas?
Thanks again.
Hi Laura! I put my tortillas on the gas stove without a pan! I just lay them on top until they are a bit charred! I hope this helps! xTieghan
I am looking for the crunchy noodles, can only locate the traditional canned chow mein noodles, not my preference, yours look different. Please advise, cannot wait to try this delicious looking recipe!
Hi Laura,
I get mine from Whole Foods, but the chow mien noodles will still be great! Please let me know if you need anything else! xTieghan
Just finished eating these for dinner. The only thing i did differently was purée the pineapple chunks in the sauce while it was thickening. I made a pineapple salsa and used shredded romaine (quarantine life!) and they were soooo good!! Definitely a keeper!
Thank you so much Brad! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Made this last night and all I can say is WOW! I couldn’t find Gochujang paste so I used more Sambal Oelek , tasted great. My family also loved this. Your recipes are awesome and I love your photos as well, very inviting. Looking forward to making more meals and drinks from your website.
Thank you so much Kim! I hope you continue to enjoy all of the recipes you try! xTieghan
Really great recipe, thank you! I used the instant pot. My sauce was so runny. It took a very long time to thicken. I had to help it along with some corn starch. You were right, the crunchy noodles really made it!!! It’s all about texture! Haha. Also, the YUMYUM Sauce was addicting.
Thank you so much Becca! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Is there a substitute for the gochujang sauce?
Thanks
Hi Tessa,
You can use a spicy chili sauce like siracha!
Hi there,
Wondering how much go gochujang you put in the slow cooker with the chicken? Making these tonight. They sound delicious!
Best,
Deb
Hi Deb,
Sorry there was a typo, you are just going to use the Gochujang in the sauce. Hope you love the recipe!