Sometimes you crave chicken with a powerful hit of flavor, and this is exactly what you’ll get with our keto-friendly Hawaiian grilled huli-huli chicken. Made with a delicious sweet-salty-sticky marinade, this chicken dish pairs perfectly with seasoned cauliflower rice.
Huli-huli chicken is a popular part of Hawaiian cuisine, and it’s not hard to see why. Traditionally prepared by slathering a generous amount of “huli-huli sauce” over chicken that is turned over mesquite wood, the preparation and cooking process ensures perfectly cooked chicken with slight charring and incredible flavor. You can still get the taste of huli-huli chicken in the convenience of your own home by marinating the chicken in the sauce and grilling it over an open flame. Don’t be surprised if this recipe becomes your go-to for your backyard barbecues!
The star of the show is the sauce, which both works as a marinade for the chicken and coats the meat when it’s on top of the grill. Despite traditional huli-huli chicken being made with brown sugar, you’ll get the same results with a replacement, like allulose. The addition of soy sauce, sugar-free ketchup, and apple cider vinegar makes it incredibly addictive, and there’s even a slight kick from the red pepper flakes.
While you can certainly serve the chicken as is or even alongside a simple side salad, there’s something so perfect about dishing it up on a bed of cauliflower rice. Apart from being low-carb and high in fiber, cauliflower rice has a delicate flavor that can easily absorb all the sauces from the chicken. Don’t forget to garnish with some spring onion for additional color.
Yields 4 servings of Keto Hawaiian Grilled Huli Huli Chicken
The Preparation
Huli Huli Chicken:
- 24 ounce boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/4 cup brown sugar replacement
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- 1/4 cup sugar-free ketchup
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 teaspoon freshly ginger, grated
- 2 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cauliflower Rice:
- 400 gram cauliflower rice, frozen
- 3 1/2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- 3 stalks green onion, sliced thin
The Execution
1. Gather and prep all ingredients for the Huli Huli Chicken.
2. Mix together the brown sugar replacement, soy sauce, sugar-free ketchup, vinegar, oil, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
3. Add chicken into the marinade and cover with plastic wrap. This can be marinated for a minimum of 2 hours but ideally overnight.
4. To prepare the cauliflower rice, add both oils to a pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in the spring onion stalks (reserving some of the green parts for garnish) and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Add in the cauliflower and toss to coat in the oil. Continue to cook for a few minutes until the cauliflower is tender. Add soy sauce and mix into the rice thoroughly. Continue cooking the rice, stirring frequently, until most moisture is out of the rice. Set aside.
6. Prepare the grill to medium heat (350-400F). Once ready, add chicken onto the grill and cook for 8-12 minutes or until cooked through. Baste chicken liberally as it cooks with the leftover marinade.
7. Re-heat the cauliflower rice if needed and serve with the Huli Huli chicken. Enjoy!
This makes a total of 4 servings of Keto Hawaiian Grilled Huli Huli Chicken. Each serving comes out to be 447 calories, 32.2g fats, 6.2g net carbs, and 33.0g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 24.00 ounce boneless, skinless chicken thighs | 973 | 60.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 115.4 |
| 0.25 cup low-carb brown sugar replacement | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0.25 cup soy sauce | 34 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 5.2 |
| 0.25 cup low-carb ketchup | 36 | 0.1 | 3.8 | 0 | 3.8 | 0 |
| 2.00 tablespoon apple cider vinegar | 6 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 |
| 1.00 tablespoon avocado oil | 120 | 13.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2.00 teaspoon fresh ginger | 3 | 0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| 2.00 teaspoon fresh garlic | 8 | 0 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| 0.50 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes | 3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 400.00 gram cauliflower rice | 100 | 1.2 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 7.6 |
| 3.50 tablespoon avocado oil | 422 | 47.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1.00 teaspoon sesame oil | 40 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2.00 tablespoon soy sauce | 17 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 2.6 |
| 3.00 medium green onion | 14 | 0.1 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 0.8 |
| Totals | 1788 | 128.7 | 35.1 | 10.4 | 24.7 | 132.1 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 447 | 32.2 | 8.8 | 2.6 | 6.2 | 33.0 |
Keto Hawaiian Grilled Huli Huli Chicken
Ingredients
Huli Huli Chicken:
- 24 ounce boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ¼ cup brown sugar replacement
- ¼ cup soy sauce or coconut aminos
- ¼ cup sugar-free ketchup
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 teaspoon freshly ginger grated
- 2 teaspoon garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cauliflower Rice:
- 400 gram cauliflower rice frozen
- 3 ½ tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 3 stalks green onion sliced thin
Instructions
- Gather and prep all ingredients for the Huli Huli Chicken.
- Mix together the brown sugar replacement, soy sauce, sugar-free ketchup, vinegar, oil, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes.
- Add chicken into the marinade and cover with plastic wrap. This can be marinated for a minimum of 2 hours but ideally overnight.
- To prepare the cauliflower rice, add both oils into a pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in the spring onion stalks (reserving some of the green parts for garnish) and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add in the cauliflower and toss to coat in the oil. Continue to cook for a few minutes until cauliflower is tender. Add soy sauce and mix into the rice thoroughly. Continue cooking the rice, stirring frequently, until most moisture is out of the rice. Set aside.
- Prepare the grill to medium heat (350-400F). Once ready, add chicken onto the grill and cook for 8-12 minutes or until cooked through. Baste chicken liberally as it cooks with the leftover marinade.
- Re-heat the cauliflower rice if needed and serve with the Huli Huli chicken. Enjoy!
