Slow Cooker Hawaiian Shredded Chicken is the perfect blend of sweet and savory. It’s a recipe that’s great for leftovers and can be served warm or cold.
Flavorful, light and simple.
Happy first day of Spring! You might be wondering why the heck we’re kicking off Spring with a slow cooker recipe. Seems odd, huh? But this Slow Cooker Hawaiian Shredded Chicken recipe is perfect for any season.
My favorite way to dish-up this slightly sweet and savory, tender shredded chicken is wrapped tightly in a crisp Swiss chard leaf with shredded carrots, red cabbage, green onions, cilantro, sliced almonds and avocado. I then use additional coconut aminos for dipping which adds another punch of delicious flavor. Seriously, so good! You could also serve the chicken on a bed of greens, over cauliflower rice, and stuffed in a perfectly ripe avocado half.
That’s right, Slow Cooker recipes can be enjoyed all year long!
If you’ve been following our blog for some time now, you may have gathered that we’re quite fans of slow cooker (and Instant Pot) recipes AND we’ve gathered that you like them too! Our most popular recipes on the blog to this date just so happen to be slow cooker recipes such as our Buffalo Chicken, Chicken Chile Verde, and White Chicken Chili. Slow Cooker recipes can really be enjoyed all year long. In the winter they’re great for making hearty meals like roast & potatoes and soups & stews and in the warmer months they’re perfect for using in place of the oven because they don’t give off as much heat. No one wants to heat the house up on a scorcher of a day.
I like to make this Slow Cooker Hawaiian Shredded Chicken recipe in the warmer months and then serve it in a lettuce or chard wrap with whatever veggies are in-season. Since today is the first day of Spring (wahoo!), I thought this was a perfect recipe to share!
Shred, wrap and eat!
After the chicken has cooked in the slow cooker for about 4-5 hours and is quite tender, you’ll want to remove the chicken, place it on a plate and shred with two forks. Once the chicken is shredded, return to the slow cooker and place on warm or low until ready to serve.
Wrap it up OR serve however you wish.
Now it’s time to assemble. Do your thing! Wrap it in a crisp chard or lettuce leaf, serve it on a salad, serve it over cauliflower rice or stuff it in an avocado half. Whatever sounds good to you.
You can store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days and enjoy warm or cold – perfect for lunchtime salads. You may also freeze the leftovers which will make for a fast-and-easy, delicious meal down the road. When you’re ready to enjoy, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw overnight in the fridge. In the morning, place the chicken in the slow cooker and cook on low until heated through.
Slow Cooker Hawaiian Shredded Chicken is Whole30 compliant as long as you use unsweetened canned pineapple – be sure to read the ingredients.
Don’t put those slow cookers away! We have many more slow cooker recipes to add to the blog throughout the Spring and Summer.
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
- ½ lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ½ small onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, slightly drained
- ⅓ cup coconut aminos
- 1 lime, juiced
- ½ tsp. ground ginger
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- For the wrap: Swiss chard leaves (or leaf lettuce), avocado slices, shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, green onions, sliced almonds, fresh cilantro, etc.
- Place chicken, onions and garlic in a slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, combine pineapple, coconut aminos, lime juice, ground ginger, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir to mix, and then add to slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with two forks.
- Return chicken to slow cooker, stir to mix all ingredients, and set temperature to warm (or low) until ready to serve.
- Assemble Swiss chard wraps with desired ingredients.
- Select 'Saute' function. Add 1 Tbsp. fat of choice (we like ghee or coconut oil). When fat is melted, add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes until onions start to soften.
- Add remaining ingredients (chicken through black pepper). Press 'Cancel' button and lock lid in place. Flip vent valve to 'Sealing' position.
- Select 'Poultry' setting (15 minutes; add 2-3 minutes if breasts are thick) When cooking time is up, manually release pressure and carefully remove the lid. Shred chicken with two forks and serve as desired.
Give this Slow Cooker Hawaiian Shredded Chicken a try and comment below what you think and also let us know if you slow cook your way through Spring and Summer?
Pin now to enjoy later.
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Do you have a post discussing coconut aminos? If not, are you willing to share more about them and why we might want to include them in the diet? Or a suggestion for possible substitution? Thanks!
Hi Heidi, we do not have a post discussing coconut aminos at this time. My guess is that a quick Dr. google search will help you discover loads of information on coconut aminos 🙂 We like coconut aminos because it’s soy-free, Whole30-friendly, very clean and much much lower in sodium when compared to soy sauce or tamari sauce. We use coconut aminos in several of our recipes. Hope this helps!
Hello! I am sensitive to pineapple so can you suggest a substitution? Could I use mandarin oranges? Thank you for posting so many fabulous recipes and helpful information.
Hi Melanie,
We haven’t tested the recipe with mandarin oranges though they seem like they’d be a fine substitute. You’re really just looking for something to add a little sweetness and acidity (which helps tenderize the meat). If you try it with oranges we’d LOVE to hear how it turns out.
Good morning,
I substituted the Mandarin oranges for the pineapple and thought that it still needed a touch of sweetness (after cooking) so I added 2 tablespoons of raw honey. I didn’t have swiss chard so I used a coconut wrap and added spinach and avocado and it was just perfect. I am counting the hours until lunch…
Once again, thank you for creating and sharing such fabulous recipes and for helping me have a little more fun in the kitchen!
Hey Melanie,
Thanks for the feedback! I’m so happy to hear you found a dish you loved that meets your dietary restriction and that you’re eating well and enjoying your time in the kitchen. Guess our job is done here! 😉
Tried this tonight! It was excellent. Very filling! Thanks
Hi Vivian,
So glad you loved it – it is a very satisfying meal and so simple to make. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and share your experience.
I am really excited to try this! I am having trouble finding coconut aminos. Can this recipe be made without them?
Hi Heather,
You really do need them to add that salty/umami flavor however, if you can find them locally and you tolerate soy, then you could replace them with gluten-free tamari sauce (using about 1/2 of the amount called for in the recipe + a few extra tablespoons of juice from the canned pineapple to get that salty/umami taste).
Hello! I plan on making this tonight but also was unable to find coconut aminos. If I substitute with soy sauce how much should I use? Thank you!
Hi Katie,
Sorry for the late reply. I believe I made a suggestion in a previous comment about subbing soy sauce or tamari for the coconut aminos – hopefully you caught that. Otherwise, I find that if you’re using soy or tamari (wheat-free soy sauce) that you’ll want to use roughly HALF of the amount of coconut aminos called for in the recipe to account for the saltiness of the soy or tamari.
So in this recipe, you’d want to use roughly 3 1/2 Tbsp. soy or tamari sauce + a little extra juice from the canned pineapple to make up for the natural sweetness of the coconut aminos.
This was so delicious! Another winner from you guys!
SO great to hear! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
I made this tonight and it’s going on our dinner rotation! So delicious and easy to customize!
That’s great! It’s a favorite at our house too. We often use it to make ‘stir-fry bowls’ with cauliflower rice (rice for the kids) then top it with stir-fried veggies, nuts or seeds then a drizzle of our Teriyaki Sauce (which you can find the recipe for here: https://therealfoodrds.com/one-pan-teriyaki-chicken-veggie-bake/)