Description
This Slow Cooker Shredded Hawaiian Chicken recipe offers a sweet and savory blend of flavors with tender shredded chicken slow-cooked to perfection. Featuring juicy pineapple, zesty lime, and aromatic spices, it's a versatile dish perfect for lettuce wraps, tacos, salads, or bowls.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
- ½ lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ½ small yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, slightly drained
- ⅓ cup coconut aminos
- Juice of 1 lime (2 to 2 ½ tablespoons)
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For Serving (Optional)
- Swiss chard leaves
- Avocado slices
- Shredded carrots
- Shredded purple cabbage
- Green onions
- Sliced almonds
- Fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Prepare Ingredients: In the slow cooker, place the chicken breasts and thighs, diced onions, and minced garlic.
- Mix Sauce: In a small bowl, combine the mostly drained crushed pineapple, coconut aminos, lime juice, ground ginger, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and black pepper. Stir the sauce mixture well.
- Add Sauce to Slow Cooker: Pour the prepared sauce over the ingredients in the slow cooker, ensuring everything is evenly covered.
- Cook Chicken: Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6 hours, or on high for 3 hours, until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.
- Shred Chicken: Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and place it on a plate or cutting board. Using two forks, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Combine Shredded Chicken with Sauce: Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker, stirring it into the cooking juices to absorb the flavors. Keep warm until ready to serve.
- Serve: Assemble with Swiss chard leaves and desired toppings like avocado slices, shredded carrots, purple cabbage, green onions, sliced almonds, and fresh cilantro to make lettuce wraps, or serve as tacos, over salads, or in bowls.
Notes
- You can use either a slow cooker or an Instant Pot for this recipe to achieve tender and flavorful shredded chicken.
- The dish is highly versatile—serve it as lettuce wraps, tacos, salad topping, or in bowls.
- Leftovers store well and can be enjoyed hot or cold.
- For a spicier kick, increase the red pepper flakes to ½ teaspoon or more according to preference.
- If coconut aminos are unavailable, low-sodium soy sauce or tamari can be used as a substitute, keeping in mind dietary restrictions.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of the shredded chicken
- Calories: 170 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 574 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
