Huli Huli Chicken
A traditional Hawaiian chicken recipe with brown sugar, ginger and soy sauce, this Huli Huli Chicken is an easy and delicious grilling recipe.
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons ketchup
- 6 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger root
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, ginger and garlic.
- Place the chicken thighs in a shallow dish large enough that they can be laid in a single layer. (You can also place them in a ziplock bag.)
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the marinade, and add the rest to the dish with the chicken thighs. Turn to coat the chicken in the sauce.
- Cover the dish and refrigerate for 8 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to make the chicken, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Preheat a grill to medium heat.
- Grill the chicken until it reaches 170ºF, about 12-16 minutes, turning a few times during the cook time. Baste the chicken with the reserved marinade during the last 5 minutes of cook time.
If you love Hawaiian chicken, also try my Shoyu Chicken recipe!
MY LATEST RECIPES
This Hawaiian Huli Huli chicken has become increasingly popular at our house! If you’re looking to find the BEST marinated chicken recipe, this is it.
I’m always looking for ways to make chicken more exciting, when I found this Hawaiian chicken recipe I knew that it would become a huge hit in our family. We are big fans of a local Hawaiian restaurant here in Utah that serves Huli Huli chicken, and this recipe is a perfect copy-cat.
One thing I love about chicken is how well it stores, so most of the time I find myself making a double or even triple batch of whatever chicken recipe I’m using. This grilled Huli Huli chicken definitely falls into the triple batch category!
This is a recipe that you will need to plan ahead for, since it calls for the chicken to marinate for at least 8 hours before cooking. I prefer to let it marinate overnight, it’s much tastier this way.
- Brown Sugar: I use light brown sugar.
- Soy Sauce: I always like to use low sodium soy sauce so that it is not overly salty.
- Ketchup: This might seem like a weird ingredient, but it really brings in the flavor that you want fo this chicken recipe.
- Chicken Broth: I also suggest low sodium for the chicken broth.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar is my favorite here, but you could also use rice vinegar. Just make sure it is unseasoned.
- Fresh Ginger: You won’t get the same flavor if you substitute ground ginger, so I definitely suggest using fresh!
- Fresh Garlic: Again, I suggest fresh garlic over granulated garlic.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: For the best results, chicken thighs are best. If you don’t want to use chicken thighs, you could use chicken breasts or chicken drumsticks.
How to Make Huli Huli Chicken
- Grill the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 170ºF, about 12-16 minutes, turning a few times during the cook time. Baste the chicken with the reserved marinade during the last 5 minutes of cook time.
