Slow Cooker Chicken with Pineapple Juice

Our super tender slow cooker chicken with pineapple juice and bell peppers recipe is so easy to make. Takes just 10 minutes to prep in the morning with boneless skinless thighs and is delicious served on top of a bed of rice for dinner.

We love crockpot recipes! It not only makes the house smell amazing but it is a great way to allow everyone to eat when they get home (and not just get full on snacks). Once done just set to “keep warm” and then everyone can enjoy a plate full when they return from a busy day.

This is a bit like our Instant Pot Hawaiian chicken that we made years ago and was a great hit. Many times I prefer to prep in the morning though and let the meat cook low and slow all day so I decided to share this method too.

You can see what is needed below. The sauce is sweet and savory, a bit of an Asian flavor to it I guess and simple to throw together. I have made this with 1 and 1.5 pounds of thighs which are my favorite because dark meat is so very tender and flavorful from the get go.

Ingredient Notes

You are going to want to start with the main protein, chicken thighs. In order to get the sauce to soak into the meat the most it is best to choose boneless skinless chicken thighs in Crockpot. You could use bone-in though if you would rather and the cook time won’t change.

Can you use chicken breasts?

Yes you could but the timing would change unless they were boneless and small in size. Any thicker and you would need to add another hour or two. White meat will shred nicely in this time as well, I just feel they don’t offer as much flavor.

I added a bell pepper chopped up into large bite size pieces for added texture and flavor. Any color will work but red and/or orange are a bit sweeter and work best.

Pineapple Chicken Sauce

You will start this off with the pineapple juice out of the can. SO remember to drain it into a bowl when you add the fruit initially.

To sweeten it up a bit more you want some light brown sugar. No need to pack it down, just scoop it up and whisk into your juice.

And to provide a savory element you will want soy sauce in there too. This gives the sauce a nice, bit salty, flavor you will want. Garlic and ginger add to the Asian yum.

A bit of cornstarch is added in order to thicken it up a bit but isn’t necessary. If you need a gluten free option you could use arrowroot flour instead.

And to round it out you will want some ketchup to thicken and add sweet and salty as well as a pinch of salt and pepper.

How Long to Cook Chicken with Pineapple Juice, Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar in Slow Cooker

If you follow our suggestions using boneless skinless meat then it will only takes you about 4 hours, depending on how thick they are. Know that this doesn’t take very long, I wouldn’t let it go longer than 6 hours or the meat will begin to get stringy.

Can you double this?

You could. If you have a larger crowd, or a bunch of really hungry boys who eat you out of house and home, you could use 2 – 2.5 pounds of thighs instead. With that said you would need to double the sauce ingredients as well. It wouldn’t take much more than an additional 30 minutes – 1 hour either.

We have made a similar meal in the oven with other meats too so after you fall in love with this one you should make our pork chops and pineapple meal next!