I love chinese food and other asian classics. Teriyaki chicken is a staple. Luckily, you won’t have to veer too far from a traditional recipe in order to have baked teriyaki chicken even on phase one of an elimination diet. The key ingredient is and always will be, brown sugar. The darker the better, you want the sauce to be syrupy and delicious. The main alteration you’ll have to make is substituting arrowroot powder for cornstarch or flour. Arrowroot powder can be found at most grocery stores, it may be called arrowroot flour, just keep your eyes out for it.

I also want to let you in on a secret. Chicken thighs are really easy to debone. Stop spending marked up prices on the boneless skinless thighs! All you need is a sharp knife. Just peel the skin off with your hands, lay the thighs flat, bone side up and carefully cut the meat next to the bone. Then cut the bone away from the meat behind it until the bone comes free. It will still have some meat left on it but you can use them and the skin to make some easy chicken broth. So you can stock up on the bone in thighs every time they go on sale and never worry about making one of these recipes again!

Caramelized onions add a depth of flavor to this dish and pineapple makes it even more delectable. I like the texture of basmati rice but you can use brown rice or whatever rice you prefer. You could even use rice noodles if that’s what you want! Elimination diet recipes are all about finding substitutions. This recipe will never be carb free because of the sauce but if you want to cut the rice turn it into a salad bowl and serve on cabbage or use cauliflower rice. There is no end to the customizations you can make when cooking for yourself.

This baked teriyaki chicken recipe differs from the traditional methods in that it isn’t pan fried. I find baking to be easier and less messy than cooking in a pan. This recipe does have you caramelizing onions in a pan to get that perfect flavor but you can cut them thinner and just bake them with the rest of the dish if you would prefer. The sauce will still make it nice and yummy but you can avoid dirtying an extra dish.

This elimination diet version of teriyaki chicken uses coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Soy will likely be forbidden on one of these diets but this easy alternative still provides that dark, salty, umami flavor that soy sauce is used for. I doubt you’ll notice a flavor difference, especially when combined with the rest of the ingredients.

Is teriyaki chicken healthy?

Depends on your definition of healthy but the short answer could be no. This and most other teriyaki chicken recipes contain quite a bit of sugar which is to be limited on most diets. However, this baked teriyaki chicken recipe is a “healthier” adaptation that can be used for an elimination diet, gluten free diets, and anyone avoiding numerous food allergies. It also avoids the extra fat from pan frying and saves a few calories in that respect.

To make the recipe even healthier I suggest the simple trick of adding more veggies to your plate. Steamed broccoli goes great with the sweet sauce and green onions can be added on top. Cabbage is almost always welcome in asian style dishes like these as well. Get creative and balance out the sugar with lots of fiber to feel good about feeding this meal to your family.

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Ingredients

For the Chicken

5 boneless chicken thighs
3 cups cooked jasmine or basmati rice
16 oz can of pineapple chunks, drained
2 medium yellow onions
2 large carrots, sliced
olive oil
salt and pepper

For the Sauce

1 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tbsp cold water
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup coconut aminos
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions

lightly oil a 8×8 baking dish
place chicken thighs in baking dish
whisk together the sauce ingredients minus the arrowroot powder, make sure it’s well combined
whisk the arrowroot powder into the sauce
pour sauce over the chicken thighs
add sliced carrots on top of the chicken
refrigerate to marinate for at least 1 hour
preheat oven to 400 F
bake chicken for 30 minutes until internal temp reaches 160 F
While chicken is baking heat olive oil in medium pan over medium low heat
add sliced onions and caramelize slowly, you want to really bring the sugars out and are looking for a dark brown color
when the onions have reached peak caramel add fully drained pineapple chunks and season with salt and pepper to taste
bring a brown to the pineapple and then add the cooked rice to the pan
remove chicken from oven and pour extra sauce into pan with rice, toss well
serve with the chicken thighs topping the rice mixture