FIRECRACKER PINEAPPLE CHICKEN
This spicy and sweet but also healthy recipe for firecracker pineapple chicken will have your taste buds tingling. Forget takeout! This is a paleo, whole30, and gluten free dish that everybody will enjoy!!
This is a dinner that the entire family will love. Firecracker pineapple chicken is sure to be a hit and become a regular meal for your dinner menu rotation.
This is the kind of chicken recipe that’s so good it magically vanishes from the fridge. You think you have meal prepped for the week for your husband and yourself and find that you are going to need more than 4 servings the next day when it’s all gone.
You have to love the fact that it is clean, healthy eating the tastes so good the whole family wants seconds.
Let’s just think of all the delicious recipes we’ve enjoyed.
Just to mention a few, there has been paleo orange chicken, whole30 bacon cauliflower fried rice, and whole30 mango chicken with coconut cauliflower rice. Yes, yes, I am a huge fan of “Whole30” recipes.
If you like takeout like I do but not the way your tummy feels after you eat it then this firecracker pineapple chicken is for you. You avoid the way you feel after a binge on takeout and still enjoy a delicious, whole30 dinner that’s paleo balanced and gluten free.
The recipe uses pineapple juice to make a sweet and sticky sauce that clings to the morsels of chicken. The chicken will be crispy, crunchy, golden-brown on the outside yet tender on the inside. The coconut aminos and spicy Frank’s hot sauce are what makes the chicken ligth up your taste buds like a firecracker as it melts in your mouth.
You will have that tasty, yummy takeout experience without the unhealthy ingredients and after effects of actually eating takeout from the that corner spot that is anything but paleo and whole30.
A couple of things NOT TO DO when making this recipe.
First, do NOT back the chicken versus cooking it in sizzling, heart healthy avocado oil. Baking will not give you the crispy, crunchy, golden brown, and delicious melt in your mouth texture and flavor that is firecracker pineapple chicken. Trust me. It’s just not the same if you bake the chicken.
Another note, is NOT to substitute olive oil for the avocado oil. Olive oil tends to burn when you turn up the heat that gives you the golden-brown, crispy, and crunchy exterior for the chicken. It will totally destroy your chicken and make you wish you had not used olive oil.
This a great dish for family and friends. It does well at pot lucks and parties. This sweet and spicy firecracker pineapple chicken is sure to be hit and will have everyone asking for your recipe.
Firecracker Pineapple Chicken Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 2 People
Calories 417 kcal
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1 1/2Tbsp Avocado oil
- 1 1/2tsp Fresh ginger, minced
- 3/4Cup Pineapple juice
- 1Tbsp Franks red hot sauce
- 1/2Tbsp Coconut aminos (or soy sauce if not paleo)
- 1tsp Tapioca starch
For the chicken:
- 3Tbsp Tapioca starch
- Salt and pepper
- 8Oz Chicken breast, cubed
- 2Tbsp Avocado oil
- 1/4Cup Pineapple tidbits, drained
- Cooked white rice, or cauliflower rice,for serving
- Sliced green onion,for garnish
- Sesame seeds,for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium frying pan heat the avocado oil (for the sauce) on medium heat. Add in the ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Turn up the heat to medium high and add in the pineapple juice, hot sauce and coconut aminos. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling whisk 2 tsp of the sauce with the 1 tsp of tapioca starch in a small bowl until smooth. While whisking, pour in the tapioca starch mixture until well mixed.
- Boil, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and starts to reduce, about 2-3 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium/low and cook an additional 1 minute, until the sauce begins to become shiny. Transfer to a medium bowl and cover to thicken and keep warm while you make the chicken. *
- Place the tapioca starch and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Add in the cubed chicken and shake until evenly coated.
- Heat 1 Tbsp of the avocado oil on medium high heat in a large frying pan. Add in half of the chicken paces and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook until the other side id golden brown. Then, transfer to a paper towel lined plate and lightly press out any excess oil. Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken.
- Add the cooked chicken into the sauce, along with the pineapple tidbits and toss to evenly coat.
- Serve over cauliflower rice (or rice,) and garnish with green onion and sesame seeds.
- DEVOUR!
Recipe Notes
*If you double this, you need to more than double the cooking time, you’ll boil it for 7-8 minutes and cook it on low for 2-4 minutes.
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Courtesy of: https://www.foodfaithfitness.com/firecracker-pineapple-chicken/