These Chipotle Pineapple Chicken Bowls are loaded with smoky, sweet chicken, rice and alll of your favorite bowl toppings! They’re full of flavor, unique and delicious!
This recipe was originally published in April 2020 – I’ve since updated the photos and added additional content. Enjoy!
Summer is rapidly coming to an end and I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t want to miss out on any of the fresh flavors! Thus, these ultra flavorful, fresh and vibrant Chipotle Pineapple Chicken Bowls were born!
Fun fact about me, I didn’t like pineapple until about 4 years ago. Growing up, all we ever had at my house were canned pineapples, never fresh.
Even at school during lunch, you always got the plastic cups full of chopped pineapple with the insanely sweet syrup inside.
Lo and behold, my sister-in-law chopped up a fresh pineapple one day. We were the only two at her house at the time and I just decided to try a piece. HELLO FLAVOR.
I was immediately obsessed and we literally ate the entire pineapple just the two of us that day. Pretty sure our mouths were burning but it was worth it!
So I’ve been wanting to develop a pineapple chicken recipe for a while now…and here we are!
Why You’re Going to Love These Bowls:
- They are INSANELY flavorful.
- These bowls contain the perfect combination of sweet, spicy and smoky. The pineapple is amazingly sweet and the smoky heat of the chipotle peppers really balances it out.
- A big component as to why these chicken bowls are so flavorful is due to the fact that the chicken is marinated for at least 2 hours ahead of time! This allows the chicken to seriously soak up allll of the flavor.
- I also love the zippy acidic component of the lime – SO good!
- Oh and the toppings – you can’t miss out on the creamy avocado chunks, the fresh cilantro and if you wanted, you could even add some red onion or spicy jalapeno in there for crunch!
Ingredients You Need:
- Chicken breast
- Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- Chicken broth
- Juice of a Lime
- Salt and Pepper
- Spices like: garlic powder, smoked paprika
- Rice (I used jasmine, feel free to use whatever you have!)
- Toppings of your choice (avocado, jalapeno, cilantro etc.)
Quick Tutorial on How to Make Chipotle Pineapple Chicken Bowls:
- Marinate chicken breasts in chipotle/pineapple mixture (see full measurements in the recipe below)
- Sear chicken breasts for 1 minute on each side in a hot pan with avocado oil and then move to a preheated oven to finish.
- Once the chicken is done, shred it. Taste and add additional salt if needed.
- Add rice to a bowl, followed by the chicken, fresh pineapple and garnish.
- Enjoy!
Best Tips for Making these Bowls:
I discussed the marinade above, but I do highly recommend that you marinate the chicken beforehand! If you can’t do it for 2 hours, at least do it for 15-30 minutes! It really helps elevate the flavor and let it soak into the chicken itself.
When you sear the chicken breasts after they have been marinating and then you finish the chicken in the oven..it’s life changing!
The juices from the pineapple, chipotle sauce….it coats the chicken and you’ll be lucky if you don’t just eat the chicken straight from the pan!
Pro tip: Don’t forget to sear your chicken in an oven-safe pan – because you will be finishing it in the oven!
The chicken becomes insanely juicy, melt in your mouth and so flavorful!
Substitutions for these bowls:
You can use the chicken in any way that you want! Yes, that means you can load it into a grain bowl like this one. Or hey, you want tacos? Make tacos! Or maybe you want to stuff it into a burrito or enchiladas…it’s insanely versatile!
Feel free to use any grains that you want in this bowl. No jasmine rice? Use brown! Or quinoa, couscous..whatever you have in your pantry!
I will tread very lightly and say that you technically *can* use canned pineapple…but if you’re able to get your hands on fresh pineapple, I would highly recommend using that!
In regards to toppings, use whatever you have! You can use avocado, cilantro, jalapeno, salsa, corn…whatever you have!
These Chipotle Pineapple Chicken Bowls are an amazing and delicious weeknight meal! Hope you guys enjoy! XO!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few more chicken recipes you might like:
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Chipotle Pineapple Chicken Bowls
These Chipotle Pineapple Chicken Bowls are loaded with smoky, sweet chicken, jasmine rice and alll of your favorite bowl toppings! They’re full of flavor, unique and delicious!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- serve with jasmine rice, sliced avocado, fresh pineapple and cilantro
Chicken Marinade
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 4 tsp adobo sauce (in the chipotles in adobo sauce can)
- 1/4 cup fresh diced pineapple
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
Marinating Chicken
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Place the chicken in a large tupperware container or ziploc bag. Add in the lime juice, adobo sauce (from the can of chipotle in adobo sauce), fresh diced pineapple, salt, garlic powder and smoked paprika. Using a spoon, make sure the chicken breasts are evenly covered on both sides. Let it marinate for 2 hours (or at least 20 minutes!)
Cooking the chicken
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Add 1 tbsp of avocado oil in an oven safe skillet and put it on medium heat (I used my cast iron skillet). When the skillet is hot, add in the marinated chicken (with the pineapple, sauce and everything). Cook for one minute on each side (you just want to sear the breasts).
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Turn the skillet to low heat and add in the chicken broth. Stir everything in and cook for 3-4 minutes
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Add the pan to the pre-heated oven and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Once done, remove the chicken, shred it, and then place. back in the pan and toss the chicken with all of the delicious juices. Taste and add more salt if needed.
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Assemble bowls with rice, sliced avocado, fresh pineapple (if desired) and an extra squeeze of lime (or chipotle pepper)! Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Cook your rice according to the package instructions. Leave time to make sure that your rice is done around the same time that the chicken is 🙂
Haylie!! These look AMAZING. I’m totally making them soon. I am a huge fan of pineapple in my savory dishes! I could eat this every day for lunch!! XO
Thank you so so much, Katherine! You’re so kind – I love pineapple in savory dishes too!! 🙂
Can you do this in the instant pot?
Hi Jesse – thanks for the comment! I’ve personally never tried it in my Instant Pot but I’d say it could be done 🙂 We all know the IP is a miracle worker! LOL! What I would do would be to add the marinated chicken (with the chunks of pineapple and everything) to the instant pot, add in the chicken broth and then cook on high pressure for 10-12 minutes. Release the steam valve, shred it, adjust seasoning if necessary! Let me know if that works for you!! Best – Haylie