This easy sliders recipe features pineapple-teriyaki marinated and perfectly chargrilled Hawaiian Pork Chops, juicy grilled pineapple, spicy sriracha mayonnaise, and bright cilantro on sweet Hawaiian rolls for a full-blown flavor explosion. And, despite being supremely tasty, these mini grilled pork chop sandwiches take less than 30 minutes of active time to make!
Jump to:
- Why We Got A Grill (And Why You Should, Too)
- About These Easy Hawaiian Pork Sliders
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- How To Make Grilled Hawaiian Pork Chop Sliders
- Expert Tips
- Optional Variations
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Easy Dinner Recipes
- Grilled Pineapple & Hawaiian Pork Chop Sliders
- Kimchi Fried Rice with Leftover Pork
- BBQ Pork Fried Rice With Kimchi & Gochujang
- 💬 Reviews
Why We Got A Grill (And Why You Should, Too)
So here's the story: At the outset of 2020, I had all kinds of grand plans to shower my sweet husband Joe with lovely plans for his 40th birthday. We were going to go to Savannah, GA for close to a week to wine and dine around the city.
When we returned, I was going to host the full gamut of his friends on a rented boat and offer a glut of food and booze to all who came to celebrate my wonderful spouse. And then 2020 actually happened.
A tornado hit our beautiful city, Nashville, TN. "Coronavirus" and "social distancing" became part of the common vernacular. I lost my job. Another devastating storm hit Nashville and over 100,000 people (us included) lost power for an extended period of time.
The ever-important Black Lives Matter protests garnered more support than ever before in illustrating America's persistent, ongoing racial inequalities after multiple unconscionable deaths of Black citizens at the hands of police. And, as a result of my social anxiety, I've become more of a homebody than before the $#*!-storm of 2020 hit.
So all of the purchases (not including donations) I made over quarantine were dedicated to the aim of making our house the most comfortable, stocked, and prepared it can be for whatever shocking new realities tomorrow brings.
Which is why I knew just what I had to get for Joe's quarantine birthday: a brand spankin' new grill.
Because not only is it awesome to have freshly grilled food, but having a propane grill also helps us keep our electrical bills down during the hot summer months and gives us an avenue to cook our meals if the power goes out again. As they say, chance favors a prepared kitchen!
About These Easy Hawaiian Pork Sliders
Aside from being ravishingly delicious and easy to make outside, these grilled Hawaiian-inspired pork chop sandwiches are:
- Quick & Easy. You only need 10 minutes of active prep and about 15 minutes of cooking and assembly time to get this delightfully fresh meal on the table.
- Made With Mostly Pantry Ingredients. Aside from the thick-cut boneless pork chops and sweet Hawaiian rolls, everything you need to make this easy slider recipe is something I consider a kitchen staple.
- Budget-Friendly. Stretching expensive groceries (like meat) with other less expensive ingredients helps to fill your family's bellies without breaking the bank. Adding fruit, carby rolls, and a side salad to your pork chops means you can feed the whole crew for just a $2-3 per serving.
- Ultra-Flavorful. Sweet & tangy pineapple, umami soy sauce, spicy chiles, piquant pickled onions, and herby cilantro all contribute to the perfectly balanced flavor of these pork sliders.
- Leftovers Can Be Made Into A Nextover Meal! Don't you just love when one meal stretches into two? Read on below the first recipe card to get my recipe for pork, kimchi, and gochujang fried rice using any leftover porkchops and pineapple you may have on hand.
Ingredients & Substitutions
As promised, you don't need much to make these Hawaiian roll sliders with grilled pork and pineapple. Here's what to grab:
- Boneless, Skinless Pork Chops - If possible, reach for thick-cut so they'll be harder to dry out. Also, it's a personal preference that's 100% tied to finances, but if you're able, please purchase certified humanely raised pork. It's better for the animals, better for the planet, better for the workers, and better for you.
- Canned Pineapple Rings in Pineapple Juice - You'll want both the pineapples and the juice, so canned is the way to go here.
- Soy Sauce - Feel free to swap in Tamari if you're gluten-free. If you're soy-free, either coconut aminos (gluten-free) or Bragg's liquid aminos (NOT gluten-free) will do the trick.
- Brown Sugar - Either light or dark brown will work. You can also use minimally refined sugars like grated piloncillo or jaggery, coconut sugar, agave nectar, date syrup, or maple syrup instead.
- Dried Onion Flakes & Garlic Powder - For lots of allium goodness without any sticky fingers, annoying papery skin, or tears. HUZZAH!
- Ginger Powder - You can also use freshly grated ginger or ginger paste from a tube.
- Ghost Pepper Flakes - Optional, but great if you like a fiery kick. You can also use crushed red pepper flakes, hot paprika, or cayenne powder if you prefer.
- Toasted Sesame Oil - A touch of sesame oil adds tons of richness and depth of flavor.
- Neutral Oil - This is just for brushing the grill grates so your pork chops and pineapple don't stick. Avocado oil is arguably the best for you, but grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil, corn oil, or canola oil will all work!
- Hawaiian Rolls - They don't need to be brand name to be delicious! Grab whatever works for your budget.
- Mayonnaise & Sriracha - Mixing these two condiments makes for a delightful sandwich spread. If possible, reach for custardy Japanese Kewpie mayo whenever you make sriracha mayonnaise; they're made for each other. If not, any high-quality mayo like Hellman's or Duke's will still be delicious! Gochujang or sambal oelek can also be used in place of sriracha.
- Cilantro - For a pop of fresh, herby goodness. If you're one of the unfortunate souls who can't stand it, feel free to swap in an alternative like parsley, Thai basil or mint.
- Pickled Red Onions - The zinginess of pickles with the peppery bite of onions is ideal for these pork chop sliders. Feel free to swap in thinly sliced scallions instead.
How To Make Grilled Hawaiian Pork Chop Sliders
These deliciously succulent mini pork chop sandwiches come together with very little fuss. Here's how they're made:
Step 1: MARINATE HAWAIIAN PORK CHOPS. Remove the pork chops from the packaging and drain the liquid. Return to package if it's a suitable size and material for marinating (this cuts down on dishes!). Otherwise, transfer to a small glass/plastic dish with a lid.
With a sharp paring knife, stab the pork like Tommy DeVito going after Billy Batts in the trunk. In other words, make lots and lots of cuts.
Mix all marinade ingredients together. Dump over pork, wiggling the pork around to make sure the marinade is all around every piece. Cover and refrigerate 1-24 hours.
NOTE: The first time I made these bad boys, I accidentally let my pork chops marinate for 60 hours. While that long of a marination time isn't usually advisable (marinating meat too long can make it mushy), I found that they were still perfectly succulent!
Step 2: GRILL. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Brush the grill with oil. Once heated, add pork chops to the grill grates and cook 4-6 minutes per side (depending on thickness), until the center reaches 145F. Save marinade.
Grill the pineapple rings until each side has good char marks. Slice into smaller pieces to fit the slider rolls.
Step 3: REDUCE MARINADE. While your pork rests, reduce the marinade with the remaining pineapple juice. The sauce will appear split at first. Don't fret. Continue cooking until at least syrupy, or preferably jammy.
Step 4: ASSEMBLE SLIDERS. Split Hawaiian Rolls in half. Slather with mayonnaise, reduced marinade and sriracha to taste. Pile up thin slices of pork (roughly ¼ of a pork chop per slider). Top with cilantro and pickled red onions. Eat and repeat. You know you want to.
Expert Tips
- Make-Ahead Tips - The marinade can be made up to a week in advance. You can also marinate and freeze the pork chops up to 3 months in advance. I always recommend keeping a jar of red onion pickles on hand to jazz up any meal; they'll keep for weeks at a time.
- Whenever you buy canned fruit, make sure to reach for the kind that is packed in real fruit juice, NOT syrup. Not only does fruit packed in juice have a better nutritional profile than the sugar-laden syrup-packed kind, but you also get a free extra ingredient out of it! While you'll use the pineapple juice for the marinade in this recipe, other times you can save it for cocktails, popsicles, smoothies, and more!
- Don't forget to brush the grates with oil. You don't need a ton for it to work, just enough to help the pork chops and pineapple rings slide off without breaking.
- Rest your meat. After grilling, tent the pork chops with foil on a cutting board and let rest for 5-10 minutes so the juices can redistribute.
Optional Variations
While Joe and I LOVE these Hawaiian roll sliders with pork chops and grilled pineapple, there is always plenty of room for you to customize just about any recipe to fit your needs and preferences. Here are a few variations to consider:
- Gluten-Free - Forget making sliders! Make these delicious grilled Hawaiian pork chops and pineapple rings and serve them over rice with a big sprinkling of sliced green onions. Make sure to swap in a GF soy sauce option like tamari or coconut aminos to keep the marinade celiac friendly.
- Extra Spicy - Add extra ghost pepper (or red pepper flakes/cayenne/etc) plus a generous squirt of sriracha to the teriyaki marinade. You can also add grilled sliced jalapeños for extra kick.
- Soy-Free - Swap out the soy sauce for coconut aminos or Bragg's liquid aminos.
- Pork-Free - Not a fan of swine? Swap in boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts), pressed extra-firm tofu, or sliced seitan instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
It sure does! The enzyme bromelain is responsible; it dissolves collagen fibers and helps to unravel the proteins.
Sure thing! Simply swap in a cast-iron grill pan or your trusty George Forman-style indoor grill.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
If you tried this easy Hawaiian Pork Chop & Pineapple Slider recipe, let me know how it turned out by giving it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or commenting below.
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Grilled Pineapple & Hawaiian Pork Chop Sliders
Ingredients
- 3 Boneless, Skinless Pork Chops
- 1 can Pineapple Rings in Pineapple Juice all juice reserved
Marinade Ingredients
- ⅓ C Soy Sauce or Tamari
- ⅓ C Brown Sugar
- ⅓ C Reserved Pineapple Juice
- 1 tablespoon Dried Onion Flakes
- 1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Ginger Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Ghost Pepper Flakes optional
- 1 teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
Sandwich Ingredients, if Making
- 6 Hawaiian Rolls
- Mayonnaise
- Sriracha optional
- Cilantro optional
- Pickled Red Onions optional
Instructions
- Remove pork from packaging and drain liquid. If suitable size and material for marinating, return to package. Otherwise, transfer to small glass/plastic dish with lid. With a sharp paring knife, stab pork like you're Tommy DeVito and the pork is Billy Batts in the trunk of Henry Hill's car. In other words, make lots and lots of cuts. Mix all marinade ingredients together. Dump over pork, wiggling the pork around to make sure the marinade is all around every piece. Cover and refrigerate 12-60 hours.
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Brush grill with oil. Once heated, add pork chops to grill and cook 4-6 minutes per side (depending on thickness), until center reaches 145F. Save marinade. Grill pineapple rings until each side has good char marks from the grill.
- While your pork rests, reduce marinade with remaining pineapple juice. The sauce will appear split at first. Do not dismay. Continue cooking until at least syrupy, or preferably jammy.
- Split Hawaiian Rolls in half. Slather with mayonnaise, reduced marinade and sriracha to taste. Pile up thin slices of pork (roughly ¼ of a chop per slider). Top with cilantro and pickled red onions. Eat and repeat. You know you want to.
Notes
- Gluten-Free - Forget making sliders! Make these delicious grilled Hawaiian pork chops and pineapple rings and serve them over rice with a big sprinkling of sliced green onions. Make sure to swap in a GF soy sauce option like tamari or coconut aminos to keep the marinade celiac friendly.
- Extra Spicy - Add extra ghost pepper (or red pepper flakes/cayenne/etc) plus a generous squirt of sriracha to the teriyaki marinade. You can also add grilled sliced jalapeños for extra kick.
- Soy-Free - Swap out the soy sauce for coconut aminos or Bragg's liquid aminos.
- Pork-Free - Not a fan of swine? Swap in boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts), pressed extra-firm tofu, or sliced seitan instead.
Nutrition
Kimchi Fried Rice with Leftover Pork
Looking to use up your Hawaiian grilled pork chop leftovers? Make this easy and delicious Gochujang fried rice next!
BBQ Pork Fried Rice With Kimchi & Gochujang
Ingredients
- 4 C Cooked White Rice preferably short grain
- 1 stick Butter
- ½ Yellow Onion diced finely
- 1 ½ - 2 C Kimchi chopped
- ¼ C Kimchi Juice or to taste
- 1 BBQ Pork Chop cooked and diced finely
- 1-2 tablespoon Soy Sauce or Tamari
- 1-2 tablespoon Toasted Sesame Oil Tahini is an acceptable substitute
- 1 tablespoon Tahini optional. I ran out of Sesame Oil after a tablespoon and used this as a replacement for flavor and fat.
- 1-3 tablespoon Gochujang depending on heat preference
Optional Toppings
- Fried Eggs
- Gochujang, Sriracha, or Chili Garlic Paste
- Toasted Sesame Seeds
- Chopped Scallions
- Cilantro
- Nori Furikake
Instructions
- Melt butter in cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sautee until just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add kimchi and kimchi juice to skillet, cooking for about 3-4 minutes until kimchi begins to sweat. Add pork and cook until warmed through and juices are mostly evaporated.
- Add rice to skillet, breaking up the grains. Stir to coat, then continue cooking until all sauce is absorbed. Add soy sauce, sesame oil and Gochujang. Adjust seasoning as necessary - soy sauce for salt, sesame oil for toasted nutty flavor, kimchi juice for umami, gochujang for sweet heat. Continue to cook, stirring only occasionally, until parts of rice become browned and a little crispy.
- Assemble bowls, adding any toppings you prefer. We ate ours with a sunny side up egg, sriracha, nori furikake and sliced green onions. And then we did it all over again for breakfast with the leftovers. Because breakfast fried rice is the bee's knees.
Notes
- Gluten-Free - Opt for tamari or coconut aminos and double check that your BBQ pork is gluten-free.
- Soy-Free - Coconut aminos or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos are both soy-free options to use in place of soy sauce.
- Extra Veggies - Have some extra veggies languishing in the fridge? Feel free to add them to bulk up your meal even more. Some good options include shredded or finely diced carrots, frozen peas, and chopped, cooked broccoli florets. You could also add some small cubes of pineapple for a fun Korean-Thai fusion.
- Korean Steak Fried Rice - Feel free to use any leftover steak from these Korean-inspired tacos instead of pork.
- Chicken Kimchi Fried Rice - Chicken is a perfect swap for the pork. I personally prefer using dark meat like BBQ chicken thighs since it doesn’t dry out as easily as breasts.
- Vegetarian Kimchi Fried Rice - Skip the pork entirely for a vegetarian meal. (Go a step further and swap the butter for a plant-based alternative to make it vegan.) You’re welcome to keep things simple with just the onions and kimchi, or you can feel free to replace the pork with pressed and cubed firm tofu and/or extra veggies.
