Baked Huli Huli Chicken Recipe | Hawaii Travel with Kids (2024)

Are you looking for a super easy, but delicious baked Hawaiian chicken recipe? Try this Huli Huli Chicken recipe. It’s sure to delight your whole family! Scroll down for the full recipe!
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Baked Hawaiian Chicken: Huli Huli Chicken Recipe

This baked Hawaiian chicken smothered with homemade BBQ sauce is a dream come true! Super juicy on the inside and with a crunchy, crackly skin this is the most flavorful piece of chicken you’ll ever have. Best of all? You can grill it or bake it, both options are just as delicious.

Huli huli chicken is one of those things that really represent Hawaii and that’s honestly so delicious I just can’t believe it’s not any more popular everywhere else.

If you’ve never heard about it before, it’s chicken that’s marinated in Hawaiian BBQ sauce (which is just a mix between teriyaki sauce and traditional BBQ sauce) and then grilled turning it every so often so it’s evenly cooked and evenly crispy and delicious.

Actually, huli means turn in Hawaiian, so it’s turn turn chicken!

However, I’m not a huge fan of grilling, I honestly don’t feel that confident about my grilling skills just yet, so I’ve been looking for a way to make it using the oven and let me tell you it’s totally possible and just as delicious.

So, let’s take a look at my Hawaiian style oven baked chicken recipe!

Baked Huli Huli Chicken Recipe | Hawaii Travel with Kids (1)

How to Make Hawaiian BBQ Sauce

The most important about this recipe and the thing that makes it so flavorful and juicy and that makes the chicken skin so crispy is this huli huli sauce.

It’s also incredibly easy to make sauce and it goes amazing with any other thing you would normally use BBQ sauce for. I actually love to make a large batch and keep it refrigerated for around 3 weeks so you can have it on hand at all times.

Baked Huli Huli Chicken Recipe | Hawaii Travel with Kids (2)

To make it you need:

  • Ketchup
  • Soy sauce
  • Pineapple juice
  • Lemon juice
  • Garlic powder
  • Brown sugar
  • Ginger

You can also add some chili flakes if you like to make things a little bit more spicy.

Once you have all those ingredients on hand just simmer for a bit until reduced and thickened and you are all set. Your sauce it’s ready to make any meal better.

Baked Huli Huli Chicken Recipe | Hawaii Travel with Kids (3)

Baked Hawaiian Chicken Recipe: Huli Huli Chicken

Ingredients for your Huli Huli Chicken Recipe:

For the Hawaiian BBQ sauce:

  • ½ Cup ketchup
  • ½ Cup brown sugar
  • ⅓ Cup soy sauce
  • ⅓ Cup pineapple juice
  • 2 Tsps garlic powder
  • 1 Tsp ginger
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice

For the chicken:

  • 2 Pounds skin on chicken pieces
  • 4 Tbsp vegetable oil or sesame oil
Baked Huli Huli Chicken Recipe | Hawaii Travel with Kids (4)

How to Make Baked Huli Huli Chicken

In a small saucepan over medium heat mix all the sauce ingredients and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for around 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and it has thickened a bit. Remove from heat and let cool.

Place the chicken pieces into a bowl and cover with ½ the BBQ sauce. Massage and toss so everything is well coated and let it marinate for 30 minutes for up to 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Grease a baking pan with vegetable oil or sesame oil and transfer the chicken pieces to it.

Take to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the chicken, brush with more Hawaiian BBQ sauce and bake for 10 more minutes. Turn it once more and brush with more sauce and bake for 15 more minutes or until done.

Yield: 4 Servings

Baked Hawaiian Chicken Recipe - Huli Huli Chicken

Baked Huli Huli Chicken Recipe | Hawaii Travel with Kids (5)

This baked Hawaiian chicken smothered with homemade BBQ sauce is a dream come true! Super juicy on the inside and with a crunchy, crackly skin this is the most flavorful piece of chicken you’ll ever have. Best of all? You can grill it or bake it, both options are just as delicious.

Prep Time1 hour

Cook Time40 minutes

Total Time1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • For the Hawaiian BBQ sauce:
  • ½ Cup ketchup
  • ½ Cup brown sugar
  • ⅓ Cup soy sauce
  • ⅓ Cup pineapple juice
  • 2 Tsps garlic powder
  • 1 Tsp ginger
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • For the chicken:
  • 2 Pounds skin on chicken pieces
  • 4 Tbsp vegetable oil or sesame oil

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat mix all the sauce ingredients and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for around 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and it has thickened a bit. Remove from heat and let cool.
  2. Place the chicken pieces into a bowl and cover with ½ the BBQ sauce. Massage and toss so everything is well coated nad let it marinate for 30 minutes for up to 12 hours.
  3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  4. Grease a baking pan with vegetable oil or sesame oil and transfer the chicken pieces to it.
  5. Take to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the chicken, brush with more Hawaiian BBQ sauce and bake for 10 more minutes. Turn it once more and brush with more sauce and bake for 15 more minutes or until done.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 841Total Fat: 41gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 29gCholesterol: 286mgSodium: 2056mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 1gSugar: 40gProtein: 70g

I told you this Huli Huli Chicken recipe was super easy and tasty!

Huli Huli Chicken FAQs

What does “huli huli” mean?

The term “huli huli” means “to turn” in the Hawaiian language. Traditionally, huli huli chicken is turned on a spit over a fire or barbecue.

Where is huli huli chicken from?

Huli huli chicken originated in Hawaii. You’ll find it on many roadside stands, at Hawaiian festivals, and served in many local restaurants.

How do you pronounce Huli Huli Chicken?

It’s pronounced HOO-lee HOO-lee CHIK-en.

Hope you enjoyed this Baked Hawaiian BBQ Chicken recipe! Click here for more of our DELICIOUS Hawaiian recipes!
Baked Huli Huli Chicken Recipe | Hawaii Travel with Kids (2024)

FAQs

Is Huli Huli the same as teriyaki? ›

Huli huli sauce and teriyaki sauce have similar flavor profiles, with savory, sweet and salty notes. Also, both can be used as a marinade or a sticky glaze. However, teriyaki sauce is a Japanese sauce typically made with soy sauce, sugar, ginger and rice wine (usually sake or mirin).

What is huli huli chicken made of? ›

The Huli Huli Marinade

The main ingredients in the original marinade are soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, pineapple juice, ginger, and garlic.

What does "huli huli" mean in Hawaii? ›

Huli is the Hawaiian word for "turn." As the dish was originally made on a grill with a makeshift spit, onlookers shouted "huli" when the chickens were to be rotated, cooking and basting the other side. Morgado, through the Pacific Poultry Company, trademarked "huli-huli" in 1967.

Is Huli Huli chicken Portuguese? ›

This delightful dish is a harmonious blend of Hawaiian and Portuguese flavors, a true celebration of cultural fusion.

Is teriyaki sauce Japanese or Hawaiian? ›

Ultimately, while teriyaki is of Japanese descent and a traditional method of preparing and cooking meats, the origins of the classic teriyaki dish that we know and consume today is Japanese-American. It is the by-product of American colonization, immigration patterns, and cultural collaboration.

Is teriyaki Thai or Japanese? ›

Teriyaki (pronounced 'ter-rie-jak-kie' with equal emphasis on each syllable) is a Japanese cooking technique where the main ingredient, usually meat or fish, is marinated in a special sauce and then grilled or roasted.

What does huli huli sauce taste like? ›

Huli Huli sauce is like lightened-up pineapple flavored Teriyaki Sauce. It is not thick or too sweet sauce but has right balance of sweet, sour and heat. The thin consistency and pineapple flavor make this the perfect stir-fry sauce and marinade.

What do we call Huli in English? ›

ಹುಲಿ (huli) - Meaning in English

The tiger is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail, and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes.

How do you say bad in Hawaiian slang? ›

ʻIno loa, very bad or wicked, horrible, abominable. Kā i ka ʻino, curse. hō. ʻino, hoʻo.

What is Hawaiian slang for visitor? ›

malihini (mah-lee-hee-nee) noun: Non-derisive old Hawaiian word, meaning the opposite of kamaaina, or local. If first time come Hawaii, that's you, brah: a stranger, tourist, someone who wears socks and shoes instead of rubbah slippahs and eats rice with a fork, not chopsticks.

Where did huli huli chicken originate? ›

Huli Huli chicken is by all accounts the circa 1955 invention of a businessman living in Hawaii. Ernest Morgado created the marinade (essentially soy sauce sweetened up with brown sugar and pineapple juice) for a lunch event, and the chicken's been on every party menu in Hawaii since then.

Why is there Portuguese food in Hawaii? ›

Portuguese immigration to Hawaii began in 1878 when laborers from Madeira and the Azores migrated there to work in the sugarcane plantations.

What are chickens called in Hawaiian? ›

The Hawaiian word for chicken or Red Junglefowl is moa. A rooster is a moa kāne; a female chicken is a moa wahine.

What Chinese sauce is similar to teriyaki? ›

Hoisin is often described as a Chinese barbecue sauce for its incredibly salty, slightly sweet taste, and like teriyaki, it goes well with red meat or poultry. Hoisin is made from soybeans, with garlic, sesame, chillies and spices, and was first created to accompany Cantonese seafood.

What is another name for teriyaki chicken? ›

Teriyaki Chicken (照り焼きチキン) is more commonly called 'tori no teriyaki' (鶏の照り焼き or 鳥の照り焼き) in Japan. Both Kanji characters 鶏 and 鳥 mean chicken in this context, but to be exact, 鶏 means chicken and 鳥 is a generic word for bird.

Is hibachi chicken the same as teriyaki? ›

Teriyaki Style Dishes

The method of cooking Teriyaki food is the same as the method of cooking Hibachi food. The only difference is the sauce; Hibachi cuisine is cooked only with soy sauce, while Teriyaki cuisine is cooked with sweeter, more seasoned soy sauce.

What's the same as teriyaki sauce? ›

Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar

A simple and effective substitute for teriyaki sauce is a combination of soy sauce and brown sugar. The soy sauce provides the salty umami flavor, while the brown sugar adds sweetness and helps to caramelize the dish. To make this substitute, mix one part soy sauce with one part brown sugar.

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