Easy Pineapple Marinade (Sweet Hawaiian Marinade for Chicken & Pork)

Fire up the grill with this easy pineapple marinade that brings big tropical flavor with minimal effort. Made with pineapple juice, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger, it hits that perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and savory—aka exactly what you want on chicken or pork. 

It comes together in minutes, works for grilling or baking, and instantly makes dinner feel a little more interesting. Use it as a marinade, reserve some for a glaze, and you’ve got an easy way to level up weeknight meals or summer cookouts.

It’s especially perfect for this grilled Hawaiian pork tenderloin – simple, flavorful, and exactly what this marinade was made for.

• Serves: Makes about 1 1/2 cups of marinade
• Prep Time: 5 minutes

Get the full printable instructions with measurements at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.

Love homemade sauces? Try these:

• mango barbecue sauce – sweet and tangy
• mustard bbq sauce – Carolina style
• traditional bbq sauce – a classic for a reason

Step-by-Step Directions:

Step 1: Pour all off the ingredients into a bowl or jar. Whisk or shake well (covered) and use to marinate chicken or pork before grilling or broiling.

Tips for marinating:

• Marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight for deliciously sweet flavor!
• This recipe makes enough to marinate up to 3 pounds of meat.
• Make ahead and refrigerate, covered tightly, for up to 3 days.
• Reserve some of the marinade before adding to meat to drizzle over cooked chicken or pork. You can also simmer it over low heat for a few minutes to thicken it up a bit before serving.
• Discard any marinade that was used in direct contact with raw meat.

Before you go . . .

If this marinade is doing the heavy lifting for you (as it should), you’ll find plenty more easy wins in our tropical and Hawaiian recipe collection. Consider this your flavor safety net.