Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

I love any meal that can be cleaned up by washing one dish. In this case, you can line your sheet pan with aluminum foil and maybe avoid washing dishes altogether! Our beautiful Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner recipe is a one-pan meal that is fast and convenient but also tastes amazing. The sweetness makes it a family favorite.

The top half of the image shows the ingredients in a freezer bag and the ingredients spread out on a sheet pan. The bottom half of the image has the finished dish served on a plate over rice. In the middle, the text says, "freezer to sheet pan Hawaiian chicken."

How can dinner get any easier than throwing everything on a sheet pan and tossing it in the oven? It really can’t. This is one of the easiest weeknight dinners possible, and it all starts with a freezer bag prep day. Take a weekend to fix up a bunch of the meals in our Freezer Meals 101 Club.

Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs. chicken, raw, cubed
  • 1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 1 orange pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 purple onion, in large chunks
  • 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup thick teriyaki sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. pineapple juice

Ingredients for the Day of Cooking

  • 1 can pineapple chunks, drained
  • optional: sesame seeds for garnishing

Assembly Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients into a large resealable freezer bag.
  2. Squish to combine.
  3. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.
Ingredients are in a gallon sized freezer bag: Chicken, carrots, peppers, onions, garlic, and sauce.

Cooking Instructions

  1. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
  2. Spread bag contents onto a baking sheet.
  3. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.
  4. Add pineapple and bake for 10-20 minutes until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
  5. Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.
A collage image has the finished dish on a plate over rice, close-up and taking up over half of the image. On the right, smaller images include one of the ingredients in the bag, one of the ingredients on a sheet pan, and one of the ingredients after they are cooked, but not plated.

What is the best way to mince a garlic clove?

Chopping up garlic with a sharp knife is tedious at best and makes your hands stinky. If you are going to try to mince it with a knife, I recommend microwaving for about ten seconds, so that you can easily squeeze the clove out of its skin. However, I love using a garlic press. You can put the garlic clove into the press, skin and all, and when you squeeze it shut, you get only perfectly minced garlic through the tiny holes. Your hands don’t stink, and you don’t have to risk cutting off the ends of your fingers trying to mince something tiny into even tinier pieces.

Can I use fresh pineapple?

Yes. Dice up your fresh pineapple into bite-sized chunks and use them as described in the recipe. They may need less cooking time, but extra cooking time won’t hurt them.

Do I have to use red (purple) onion?

Red onion has a specific flavor and holds up well to baking. However, any onion will work for this recipe. Sweet onions might be mushier than you like.

Can I use frozen vegetables for a sheet pan dinner?

Frozen veggies will not work nearly as well as raw vegetables freshly chopped. Frozen veggies tend to cook more quickly and turn to mush before the chicken is baked. If you have to use frozen veggies, use a bag labeled “roasting” or “roasted” so that you get the larger size pieces.

Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner Recipe Ideas

The color of the peppers doesn’t matter, you can use green or yellow just as easily as red and orange. The flavor will vary slightly, but it will work. For a more mellow, sweet flavor red pepper is the best choice.

An Instant Read Thermometer is the easiest way to tell if chicken is fully cooked. Inserted into the thickest piece, it should read 165ºF.

Buy toasted sesame seeds if you can. Raw sesame seeds will not have as much flavor. Another option is to toast them in a skillet before adding them to your dish.

Try to keep all of the vegetables the same size and all of the chicken pieces the same size so that everything gets finished at the same time.

For the chicken, you can use boneless skinless breasts, thighs, or tenders. Thigh meat will be the most juicy, flavorful, and tender of the three but may also be the most expensive.

Other raw veggies that would be great in the Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan dinner include broccoli, asparagus (cut in one-inch pieces), Brussels sprouts (cut in half), or green beans (cut in one-inch pieces). Depending on the vegetables, you may want to add them with the pineapple to avoid overcooking.

The finished dish of Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner is served over rice on a blue plate with a tweed tablecloth underneat.

How do I store Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

Leftovers should be refrigerated in an airtight container and will keep for two or three days. Reheat the leftovers in the microwave for a quick and easy lunch. If you have a lot of leftovers, you can return them to a sheet pan in the oven for reheating instead.

Leftover Hawaiian Chicken can also be frozen. One handy way to do this is to put a serving of the dish on the bottom of a single-serve container and then spread cooked white rice over the top. As you microwave the meal, the rice will be steamed by the content of the dish and turn out perfect without getting mushy from any extra liquid in the bottom of the container.

What to Serve with Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

Serve this gorgeous chicken over rice, and you won’t need anything else to make it a meal! Brown rice, white rice, jasmine or basmati rice, or even quinoa will work as a base for this chicken recipe. If you want to, you could add a bagged salad with sesame dressing or Hawaiian sweet rolls.

Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
27 mins
Total Time
42 mins
 
Servings: 6
Calories: 261 kcal
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Freezer Bag
  • 1 1/2 lbs chicken, raw, cubed
  • 1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 1 orange pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 purple onion, in large chunks
  • 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 1 clove clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup thick teriyaki sauce
  • 2 tbsp pineapple juice
Ingredients for the Day of Cooking
  • 1 can pineapple chunks, drained
  • sesame seeds optional. for garnish
Instructions
Assembly Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into a large resealable freezer bag.

  2. Squish to combine.

  3. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking Instructions
  1. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

  2. Spread bag contents onto a baking sheet.

  3. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.

  4. Add pineapple and bake for 10-20 minutes until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

  5. Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.