Hawaiian Chicken and Veggie Teriyaki Bowl
These Hawaiian chicken and veggie teriyaki bowls are loaded with so many delicious ingredients and fresh flavors. Easily customizable to your liking!
Please meet one of the best things I’ve eaten this year. This is the summer meal of my dreams! I could eat it every day for the rest of forever and still be wishing for more. IT IS SO AMAZING!

Hawaiian Chicken Marinade
I took two of my favorite recipes (this one and this one) and merged them to get the perfect marinade for this flavorful chicken.
Marinade ingredients:
- soy sauce (I always use low-sodium)
- pineapple juice
- brown sugar
- unseasoned rice vinegar
- garlic
- ginger
This marinade packs a punch of incredible flavor! Let the chicken marinate for at least one hour but preferably longer (up to 24 hours).
What Type of Chicken to Use
This recipe works great with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chicken breasts or chicken tenders.
The cooking time will vary based on the type of chicken used, so keep a close eye on that. Cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F at the thickest part.
I use a pellet grill and preheat to 375 degrees F. for this recipe, but other cooking methods can be used as well:
- air fryer
- oven broiler (line a sheet pan with foil and grease with cooking spray)
- indoor grill pan
Grilled Pineapple and Veggies
The real star of this recipe is the grilled pineapple. 😍 It might be the most delicious stuff on the planet.
Pineapple is incredibly delicious on its own, but when it is grilled, the natural sugars caramelize making it extra sweet, extra juicy, and extra yummy.
Bell peppers and zucchini are also grilled for this recipe, and lest they be forgotten in the shadows of the almighty pineapple, let it be known that they are lovely in their own right.
Cut the pineapple, zucchini and bell peppers in spears or thick strips for easier cooking (especially on the grill!).
The pineapple and veggies are brushed with reserved teriyaki marinade while grilling/cooking for an extra boost of flavor.
How to Assemble Hawaiian Chicken Teriyaki Bowls
To assemble the bowls, first spoon in a bit of hot, cooked rice.
Brown or white rice can be used here – for a delicious variation, try cilantro lime rice or coconut rice.
After the rice, add:
- grilled teriyaki chicken
- grilled zucchini and bell peppers
- pineapple
- other add-ins like: red onion*, avocados, fresh lime wedges, extra teriyaki sauce, toasted sesame seeds, etc.
If using red onions, they can be cut into rounds and grilled with the other veggies, thinly sliced and served raw or easily pickled (details in the recipe notes!).
An Easily Customizable Meal
Like, how is this meal even legal??
It is gorgeous, yes. But more importantly, it is unbelievably and astoundingly delicious.
The beauty of these Hawaiian chicken and veggie Teriyaki bowls is how easy they are to customize to your taste preferences or what you have on hand.
This recipe could easily be made with extra veggies (mushrooms, asparagus, eggplant, yellow squash) or without the chicken, and the rice could also get nixed for a lower carb meal. The secret is in the flavorful marinade.
Everything about this meal speaks to my soul. I can’t wait for you to make it – and to make it your own!
It is a fantastic meal to serve when you need a build-your-own style meal for a crowd…or just for a family with varied taste preferences/picky eaters.
We do a lot of build-your-own meals for dinner, because it allows everyone to customize their own plate and avoids drama and speculation, like “how many veggies did you hide in this casserole, mom, and will I be able to pick them out?” 👀
I do hope even the pickiest eaters will give the grilled veggies and pineapple a chance, though. Even my hesitant-veggie kids agree that every part of this is delicious when smothered in extra teriyaki sauce. Enjoy!!
One Year Ago: Greek Pasta Salad
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Six Years Ago: Falafel Meatballs with Easy Tzatziki Sauce
Seven Years Ago: Grilled Sesame Herb Chicken
Eight Years Ago: Balsamic Beef {or Chicken} Kebabs
Nine Years Ago: Sweet Corn Salad with Radishes, Jalapeno and Lime
Ten Years Ago: Amazing Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting
Hawaiian Chicken and Veggie Teriyaki Bowls
Ingredients
Chicken + Marinade:
- 1 ½ to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, tenders or thighs
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- ½ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger (see note)
- 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh garlic (see note)
Veggies + Rice:
- 1 small pineapple, peeled and cut into wedges or thick spears
- 2 to 3 medium zucchini, cut into spears
- 2 medium bell peppers, any color, cored and cut into thick strips
- 3 cups hot, cooked rice (see note)
- Other: diced avocados, fresh or pickled onions, toasted sesame seeds, fresh lime wedges, extra teriyaki sauce.
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a shallow dish. Combine all the marinade ingredients and whisk until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Pour half of the marinade into a container to use later; cover and refrigerate. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken. Toss to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat an outdoor grill, indoor grill pan, air fryer, or oven broiler to medium or medium-high heat. I use a pellet grill and preheat to 375 degrees F.
- Cook the chicken until cooked through, flipping once and brushing with reserved marinade the last 1-2 minutes of cooking (discard the marinade used for the chicken). Exact cooking times will vary based on the thickness/type of chicken used; an instant-read thermometer should read 165 degrees F when inserted at the thickest part of the chicken. Remove the chicken, tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes while cooking the veggies.
- Add the pineapple, zucchini, and bell peppers to the grill (can also use a grill pan or any of the aforementioned cooking methods in step #2). Brush with reserved marinade. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flip, brush with marinade, and continue cooking until crisp-tender, another 3-5 minutes. Remove to a pan.
- If desired, pour the remaining marinade (that was used for brushing the chicken, pineapple and veggies) into a small saucepan and simmer for a couple of minutes until reduced slightly.
- To serve, slice the chicken into strips. Chop the pineapple, bell peppers and zucchin into bite-size pieces.
- Add a scoop of rice to a serving plate or bowl followed by chicken slices, pineapple, bell peppers, zucchini, and any other add-ins like diced avocados, red onion slices, fresh lime wedges.
- Drizzle with remaining teriyaki marinade/sauce and toasted sesame seeds, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Hi Mel, I haven’t tried this recipe yet but I was reading through it and it sounds delish!! I think i will try it very soon. For those who want low carb, I suggest using riced cauliflower. It’s a great sub. I use it even when I make cabbage rolls! Make your own riced cauliflower in food processor. Tbanks for recipe!!
Tried this for dinner this week, and not only was it easy, but it was sooo good!! Thanks Mel!
On repeat in our dinner rotation!
This is THE BOMB.COM! I grew up on hamburger helper. Now I never buy it because of the MSG and my daughter is gluten free to boot. Oh how I have missed the hamburger helper comfort food coma! With this recipe no more will I be longing for it when I can just whip it up and tastes even better than the bad stuff!
Scrumptious! All of my kids devoured this and told me how much they loved it.
Is the nutritional information including the rice?
Yes
Loved this. I actually crave it now! The mix of fruit/veggies with the chicken is soooooo good.
Absolutely delicious!
So good! Loved it!
This was SO good!
Made these tonight and they were PHENOM!!! The flavors were amazing and went so well together. I didn’t have low sodium soy sauce, and yeah, prob need to use that as it was very salty. The chicken was super tender, grilled pineapple was the bomb and veggies were perfect. Def a 5 star recipe and a keeper. Even the pickiest eater here ate seconds! Thanks for revisiting this keeper!!!
These bowls were delicious! The teriyaki sauce was very flavorful, making for tender chicken and yummy veggies. I will definitely add this to our meal rotation.
I’ve made this with chicken, and it was delicious. I also made it with flank steak and it was out of this world!! My kids were fighting over the last pieces of meat. Great recipe!
A fun, easy dinner that everyone loved. Plus, I learned I LOVE pickled red onions. Where have those been all my life?!?
I fed this recipe to the missionaries this week. It was a huge hit with my family and my husband too! Thanks so much for all your work and all your great recipes. We love them so much. I used your recipes all the time.
Thank you so much, Katie!
Mel, these were so so good! Even as leftovers so now I make extras on purpose. We tried it with the Japanese BBQ sauce from Costco and it made it even better! The teriyaki sauce was so good as well though! But if you can find the Japanese BBQ sauce I highly recommend it!
We had this for dinner tonight and everyone loved it! I served it over brown rice, which was good, but I need to make it with coconut rice sometime. I put a little cornstarch in the marinade that I had reserved for serving time and thickened it on the stove top. The simmering made the vinegar flavor stand out way too much – so don’t do what I did… As written, this recipe is a keeper!
Oh this sounds and looks delicious! I’m putting this on my must make list! Have a great day!
Mmmm best meal of the summer!!
Delicious! Thanks for a yummy summer recipe!
Thanks, Becky!
This was so delicious!!! I cooked it all in my electric skillet. I have never made one bad recipe from this website. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you so much, Teri!
So darn good!! Great flavor! We served with yum yum sauce.
Sounds delicious, Susan! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Amazing!!! Tweaked this a bit for a camping family reunion last week where my parents brought their blackstone ( which we used for nearly every meal and we ate like kings!). I cubed boneless skinless chicken thighs and marinated with your recipe. Cooked those on the blackstone with the marinade juices for a few minutes, then added cubed zucchini, yellow squash, red and orange bell peppers, broccoli and pineapple till it was all done to our taste. Served with rice and a drizzle of the marinade I had saved back and reduced a bit before adding the chicken. There were zero leftovers which was my biggest goal, and everyone loved it. Thanks for posting this in the nick of time!
Kim! Holy moly, what an amazing camping meal. I definitely don’t eat that good when we go camping!
This veggie teriyaki bowl sounds incredible! It would definitely make for a healthy and tasty lunch or dinner. The add-in options sound so good! Definitely a must try..
This is definitely the BEST dinner I’ve had in a LONG time! I’m never disappointed by a Mel recipe, but this one was extraordinary. My picky eaters still didn’t like it, but I’m glad since now I have lots of delicious leftovers!
I’m so happy you liked this one, Jen! I agree that this recipe is kind of next-level. I loved it so much, so it makes me happy when I know you guys love it, too!
sooo delicious. flavors perfectly mix together and especially loved the grilled peppers/chicken combo. it’s a family staple now!!
Absolutely yummy! Thanks!!
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the recipe, Maren! Means a lot to me!
Yummy! Everyone loved this dinner. I served it with coconut rice. This will be on rotation and served to company too. Thank you Mel!
It’s SO good with coconut rice!! Happy you guys loved it!
Delicious and easy!!
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, Catharine!
It turned out great! Love the flavors together.
Thanks, Ann!
We made these tonight and they were SO GOOD! Why haven’t I ever grilled pineapple before? Why haven’t I ever pickled onions? Who knows, but this will be on repeat! Thanks, Mel!!
Sorry- forgot to give this five stars!
I really think grilled pineapple and pickled onions might be the solution to most of life’s problems
Just finished eating this AMAZING meal!!! My family loved it! Also a great way to use up the zucchini from the garden! Thanks for another keeper Mel!!
Thanks so much for letting me know, Shelby!
looks amazing! Do you have a favorite way to grill the veggies and pineapple? Do you use a grilling basket or grilling bag? Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to add this to the menu!
I either use a grill basket or cut them in thick spears to grill directly on the grate.
Thank you for another great recipe! I made this marinade this afternoon and it is DELICIOUS—my whole family loved it over rice. I didn’t have all the other tasty toppings on hand to make the bowls exactly the way you suggested but I can’t wait to try that beautiful combo soon.
Just to clarify, I used the marinade for chicken thighs, which we ate with rice (not just the marinade with rice like it sounds in my comment ha ha ha).
Haha, I knew what you meant! Glad you liked it – thanks, Lisa!
Oh boy, this sounds like another fantastic summer recipe!! Thanks Mel!
This type of recipe is perfect for our “build your own” family- however we have some pineapple sensitivity so I will try substituting orange juice unless you have a better suggestion?
Sure! I think maybe a combo of orange and lemon juice would work great. Or all orange juice! I think it’s pretty adaptable to another type of citrus.
So excited to try this! Do you have a tractor favorite brand of teriyaki sauce? We love Mo’ Bettah’s teriyaki sauce but are not too far away from one and I’ve struggled to find another brand we like.
Hi Tara! I like the thicker teriyaki sauces (vs the thin ones that resemble the consistency of soy sauce – the brands I’ve tried of those ones tend to have a sour/less sweet taste). I like Kikkoman and Soy Vay brands!
Wow! This sounds AMAZING!! I can’t wait to try it! Thank you, Mel!