These grilled Hawaiian Chicken Tacos are unbelievably delicious! Tender chicken is marinated in a teriyaki pineapple blend and grilled to perfection. The tacos are made by topping the chicken with the most flavorful sweet and spicy slaw. These are not your average tacos!
This post is sponsored by Kikkoman. The recipe and all opinions are cooked up right here at Easy Family Recipes.
Hawaiian Chicken Tacos – The EASY Way!
These aren’t your average tacos. They are LOADED with flavor and bring a new amazingly delicious Hawaiian twist to the classic taco.
With perfectly tender grilled chicken, and a quick sweet and spicy pineapple slaw, these tacos come together in no time and are the perfect grilling recipe for summer!
The key to this recipe is in the marinade!
The marinade is super easy, made with just 4 ingredients, but packs in so much flavor. Kikkoman® Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce is used as a base because its blend of traditionally brewed soy sauce, wine, sugar and spices give it a wonderfully rich flavor without having to use a long list of ingredients!
What to Serve with Hawaiian Chicken Tacos
This dish has the sweet and savory combo that makes it so irresistible, its Asian overtones will pair well with many of your favorite Asian side dishes, but you can do more traditional taco sides as well. There are both classic options and some healthy options to keep it light.
Side Dish Ideas
- Rice- I like jasmine with these tacos
- Black beans
- Chips and salsa
- Side salad with ginger dressing
- Spring rolls
- Garlic green beans
You can choose one or add a few sides to make a wholesome, well rounded dinner.
Recipe Notes
This Hawaiian Chicken Taco recipe is as simple as promised! Just a few everyday ingredients and a few basic steps for a family friendly meal.
In this section I am going to go through a few tips and tricks I use when making this recipe to get the absolute best and most delicious results.
Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the FULL recipe card.
Ingredients
For the chicken marinade:
- Chicken breast
- Kikkoman® Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce
- Pineapple juice
- Brown sugar
- Kikkoman® Sesame oil
The marinade is simple but really makes all of the difference in this recipe. We love Kikkoman and use it frequently in many recipes on the site. I love that it is not only easy to find at any local market, but you know it is always a delicious and trusted way to add flavor. It makes Asian food easy to make at home!
For the slaw:
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Pineapple
- Cilantro
- Mayonnaise
- Kikkoman® Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- Corn tortillas
The slaw has a short list of ingredients but comes together FAST! You can also get creative and add in extra veggies or just use what you have on hand to make it easy and delicious for YOUR family!
Recipe Tips
- Make the most of your time! By making the marinade first, and then preparing the slaw (and additional sides) while it marinates, you can get the benefit of packing the chicken with extra flavor while getting everything else ready.
- Adjust the heat. This dish has 1 tbsp of Kikkoman® Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce which will give you a medium heat level. You can adjust the quantity up or down to taste to make the slaw more or less spicy.
- Reduce the sauce. The remainder of the marinade is reduced on the stovetop to give you a delicious glaze to toss the chicken in. Simmering for 5-8 minutes should be enough to get it to the right consistency. It will continue to thicken as it cools. You will want the sauce to be thick enough to coat a spoon. If you get it to thick, you can whisk in 1-2 tsp of water to thin it back out.
- Extra flavor. For a little bit of extra flavor, you can lightly heat and toast the tortillas in a frying pan over medium heat before assembling tacos.
Recipe Short Cuts
If you need to make this recipe, but are extra short on time, here are a few ideas that can help make this recipe even faster!
- Marinate ahead of time– You can marinate the chicken for up to 24 hours in advance, so that it is ready to go when you are ready to cook.
- Use precut veggies– To make the prep for the slaw even faster, you can use precut veggies, or even prepackaged coleslaw mix.
- Precook the meat– The meat can even be cooked in advance. You can grill the meat, then reheat and mix with the glaze when ready to serve.
Freezer Meal Instructions
If you would like to make this as a freezer meal, the meat and marinade can be prepared this way. The sweet and spicy pineapple coleslaw will need to be prepared fresh.
- Prepare marinade and divide in half.
- Place the chicken and half of the marinade in a freezer friendly container. Place the other half of the marinade in a separate freezer friendly container.
- Freeze.
- When ready to make the dish, thaw in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.
- Continue with recipe as directed.
Hawaiian Chicken Taco Leftovers
If you have leftovers after making Hawaiian Chicken Tacos, then make sure to pack them up! They save and reheat well, and can make the start of another delicious dish.
To save leftovers, package each component of the tacos separately, the meat, the slaw and the tortillas. Place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days
Leftover Recipes
Here are a few ways to repurpose those leftovers and give them a delicious makeover!
- Hawaiian Chicken Rice Bowl– Serve the chicken and slaw over jasmine rice.
- Hawaiian Chicken Lettuce Wraps– Use butter lettuce leaves to wrap up the chicken and cabbage.
- Hawaiian Chicken Subs– Toast sub rolls, then pile on the Hawaiian Chicken and top with slaw. You can add shredded lettuce and tomato if desired.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, I really hope you will take a moment to grab a few more easy recipes for another busy night!
You can check out all of my EASY Dinner recipes here, or see a few of our readers favorite recipes below.
- Freezer-Friendly Sesame Lime Chicken
- Greek Chicken Wraps
- Easy Butter Chicken
- Caprese Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner
- Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs
Hawaiian Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 12 corn tortillas
- Cilantro, for garnish
For the chicken:
- 2 lbs chicken breast
- 1 cup Kikkoman® Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce
- 6 oz pineapple juice, (1 can)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp Kikkoman® Sesame Oil
For the slaw:
- 2 cups cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup carrots, shredded
- 1 cup pineapple, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp Kikkoman® Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
- 2 tbsp lime juice
Instructions
- Combine the teriyaki sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar and sesame oil in a medium bowl and whisk until all the sugar is dissolved. Divide the marinade in half and place the chicken in one half and chill for 30 minutes.
- While the chicken is marinating, make the slaw by combining the cabbage, carrots, pineapple, cilantro, mayonnaise, sriracha, and lime juice together and tossing until evenly coated.
- Next, take the remaining half of the marinade and place it in a sauce pan over medium high heat until it comes to a simmer, continue to simmer for 5-8 minutes or until it is reduced by about half and thickened, then remove from the heat.
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and grill over medium heat for 4-6 minutes per side. Once done, let rest for 5 minutes, then chop into small bite-sized pieces. Toss the chopped chicken with the thickened marinade.
- Assemble tacos by warming the tortillas in a hot skillet then filling it with a generous scoop of chicken, a spoonful of pineapple slaw and garnish with a sprinkle of cilantro.
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