Easy Healthy Dinner: Baked Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken
Simply pour this homemade teriyaki sauce over chicken and bake!
Hey hey hey! Another Monday morning to relish.
Sarcasm, of course. I’m back from an adventurous vacation in the Pacific Northwest. Mondays after vacation. I’ll have a tall coffee with a side of post vacay blues.
I’ll tell you more about the trip this week in sally’s photography, so stay tuned for that! PS: if you want easy access to my photography, go to the tab at the top of this page. See? You can easily switch between this food/baking feed and the photography feed.
Before leaving for vacation, I made today’s recipe for dinner one night. Something on the healthier side, which is what dinner usually looks like around here. Lean meats, veggies, tasty sauces. Like so. And it’s been so exciting sharing everyday dinner recipes with you! The feedback I’ve been getting about sprinkling (ha!) healthier meals into my posts has been inspiring. So, stay tuned for a few more healthy meals this month.
Um, it’s already August?!?!?! I don’t want to talk about it.
Today’s healthier meal is a two step process. (1) make the flavorful teriyaki sauce. (2) pour over chicken and bake. That’s it. I threw some pineapple into the mix because it’s Kevin’s favorite fruit and I love a little sweet with my savory. Alongside our chicken, I served broccoli. Which soaked up all the extra teriyaki sauce. Mmm x1,000.
Let’s start discussing the sauce. Very simple stuff here. I’m not a fan of store-bought teriyaki sauce because it is usually filled with excess sodium and sugar. Making it at home allows me (and you!) to control the ingredients and, more importantly, the final taste. Brown sugar and honey sweeten the sauce. Not much of either, just enough to balance the soy sauce and bring a sweet profile to the sauce as a whole. For flavor, we’ll use cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, and a little pepper for spice. The honey, ginger, and garlic are my favorites in this sauce.
Can I say something? This is the best teriyaki sauce I’ve ever had! I gave myself a little pat on the back after tasting it. Hooray. Try it over stir-fry!
The sauce will cook and thicken over the stovetop before pouring over chicken.
I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can use bone-in chicken thighs, drumsticks, wings or any cut of chicken you like best.
Now the hardest part of it all. Ha! I kid, I kid.
Set it in the oven and forget about it for 30 minutes. During that time, whip up some brown rice, quinoa, broccoli, or any grain/veggie you want alongside. Preferably something to soak up all that incredible teriyaki sauce. Did I mention I love this sauce?
A little sprinkle of green onion, a dash of sesame seeds, and BOOM! This is dinner tonight. Monday’s suddenly looking a little more exciting!
Follow me on Instagram and tag #sallysbakingaddiction so I can see all the SBA recipes you make! ♥
Baked Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken
Simply pour this homemade teriyaki sauce over chicken and bake!
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon room temperature water
- 1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (42g) honey
- 1/2 cup (120ml) soy sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) cider vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 1 cup fresh or canned pineapple chunks
- optional: chopped green onion and sesame seeds for garnish
Directions:
- Whisk cornstarch and water together in a small bowl. It will be a milky liquid. This is for thickening the sauce. Combine the cornstarch mixture, brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper together in a small saucepan over low heat. Allow to simmer while whisking occasionally. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and set aside for at least 10 minutes, allowing it to cool and thicken.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Arrange chicken and pineapple slices in a bake pan (any size works-- I used a 10-inch casserole dish. Use a 9-inch square pan, an 11x7 pan, an 8-inch square pan, etc). Pour sauce on top, then turn the chicken over to make sure every inch is coated in the sauce. Use a basting/pastry brush if needed.
- Bake uncovered for 30-32 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through. This is optional: at the 25 minute mark, remove from the oven and carefully slice the chicken into chunks, then return to the oven. The smaller the chicken pieces, the more teriyaki they'll soak up. You can also cut up the chicken when it is raw prior to cooking.
- Sprinkle green onion and sesame seeds on top and serve the chicken and pineapple with sauce from the pan poured on top. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Make ahead tip: The teriyaki sauce, prepared in step 1, can be made 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator. You can even prepare the dish through step 3, cover the pan with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Then bake as directed.
Recipe Notes:
For a more rounded out meal, serve with broccoli, brown rice, quinoa, baked sweet potatoes or anything to soak up the teriyaki sauce.
Using SparkRecipes calculator-- including all the extra teriyaki sauce you'll pour over the chicken when serving, this dish comes out to about 260 calories, 34 grams of protein, and 2g fat per serving. This is based on using four 6 ounce chicken breasts.
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You’ll also love my crispy chicken salad. This salad is made with baked (!!) crispy chicken, homemade mixed berry dressing, almonds, creamy blue cheese, and more.
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