These Hawaiian haystacks are a family favorite dinner that’s easy, inexpensive and completely customizable. Made in the crockpot and perfect for busy weeknights.
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Quick and Easy Hawaiian Haystacks
If you’re looking for a simple weeknight dinner the whole family will love, this Hawaiian haystacks recipe is it! It’s an easy crockpot meal that requires hardly any work. Other favorites are my easy meatball subs, sloppy joe’s, goulash and slow cooker ranch chicken tacos.
Hawaiian haystacks are always a favorite around our house and on rotation with crockpot chicken crack! They’re super easy, inexpensive and are completely customizable. I grew up eating them, so they’re definitely a nostalgic family dish. We love to create a buffet-style toppings bar, so that everyone can easily add the toppings that they want. It’s a fun way to serve the meal and makes it super easy to assemble.
My favorite part about this recipe is that the bulk of the meal cooks in the crockpot. Simply throw it all in the slow cooker and enjoy! This is the perfect recipe for busy nights. It’s so easy and yummy!
What are Hawaiian Haystacks?
If you’ve never heard of a Hawaiian haystack before, it’s simply a dish that contains a rice base and is topped with a protein (such as chicken), a sauce/gravy, and other various toppings like pineapple, mandarin oranges, diced tomatoes, olives, Chinese noodles, celery and cheese. It’s a dish that’s convenient, inexpensive and can be assembled in a buffet-style manner.
How to Make Hawaiian Haystacks
This recipe is SO simple and one of our go-to easy weeknight meals. I love that the chicken is made in the slow cooker, which makes this dish even more convenient. Just follow the simple steps below to get started.
- Cook in crockpot. Add chicken to bottom of crockpot, then pour chicken broth, soup, onion and seasonings on top. Cook on low for 6 hours.
- Shred chicken. Once chicken is cooked through, shred and add back to sauce. Keep on low while you prepare the rice.
- Cook rice. Cook rice according to package directions.
- Assemble and serve. Pour sauce over rice and add toppings of choice. Enjoy!
Toppings
Below are some of our favorite toppings to add. You could even add green onions, shredded carrots or avocado for more flavor.
- Shredded cheese
- Chinese noodles
- Diced tomatoes
- Chopped peppers
- Wonton strips
- Mini pineapples
- Mandarin oranges
- Sliced olives
- Chopped celery
Cooking Tips
- Can use precooked rice for convenience. I get mine from Trader Joe’s in the frozen section.
- If making rice on the stove, feel free to sub chicken broth for water for even more flavor. You could even make a rice pilaf.
- Make it low carb and serve over cauliflower rice if preferred.
- If you want to make a sauce from scratch, check out this recipe. This is a great option if you’d rather not use the cream of chicken soup.
- Dice up any toppings in advance! That way everything is ready to go once dinner time comes around.
You may also love these tropical dinner ideas including Hawaiian meatballs or this huli huli chicken recipe!
More Easy Crockpot Meals
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Hawaiian Haystacks Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken
- 1 Tablespoon onion (minced)
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 ½ cup rice
- Salt & pepper to taste
Optional Toppings: Shredded cheese, Chinese noodles, diced tomatoes, chopped peppers, mini pineapples, mandarin oranges, sliced olives, chopped celery
Instructions
- Place chicken in crockpot. Pour chicken broth, soup, onion and seasonings over chicken. Cook on low for 6 hours.
- Once chicken is cooked, shred and add back to crockpot with sauce. Keep on low setting while you prepare the rice.
- Cook rice according to package directions (can substitute chicken broth for water for more flavor).
- Pour sauce over rice and add desired toppings. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
So perfect for picky kids — love them!
Can you use frozen chicken?
Definitely! You may just need to adjust the cook time!
These are delicious! I had never heard of them before trying this recipe. So good!
My family LOVED it! This will be on the regular rotation for sure!
We love Hawaiian Haystacks!! They are always a hit! Love that you can add all your favorite toppings!
These are a family favorite! Thanks!
I was just wondering how many this serves?
This serves about four adults (less if you have teenagers, more if you have little kids!). :)
About what size crockpot did you use for this recipe? I’m guessing it may need to be a smaller one like a 4 qt? Or did you use an even smaller crockpot than that? Thanks.
I use a 6 qt crock pot, but any size should work just fine! :)
I think the first time I saw your recipe it had milk and cream cheese, I think, instead of cream of chicken. Is that possible?
Hi Michelle! I did update the recipe a little bit. Some people were having issues with the milk curdling!
I’ve never tried the peppers/tomatoes. We have these all the time but top with pineapple, toasted coconut, macadamia nuts or almonds, chow mien noodles, and green onion. The kids like mandarin oranges and cheese as well. I will have to try your topping list to mix it up a little!
I've never had this – so I am saving it to my recipe file! This looks so delish!
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Naomi
Na-Miart.blogspot.com
Yum, I haven't made these in ages! They are so yummy, and just taste awesome! We add sliced green onion and chopped or sliced almonds as well. Thanks for the reminder that these are so yummy!
I'm visiting from Frugalicious Fridays!
http://kensingtoncottage.blogspot.com
Ok…. YUM! This looks so tasty! And not even too many ingredients!
Thanks for sharing!
Katie P
Food, Wine, & Mod Podge
Herb Chopper Giveaway!
This was so yummy!!!
This actually sounds pretty good!
I lived in Hawaii for 6 years and I was thinking….eww….instead of chicken to make it REALLY Hawaiian you could use Spam!! LOL They love their Spam in Hawaii (and ok, I won't lie…so do I!) :)
I make this for my husband on his birthday! Your gravy sounds much better then mine, think I will make it this week! I do toasted almonds and green onions in addition to your toppings.
We do a stack but it's a lot different from this one. I'll have to blog about it soon.
This really sounds great..like Tanya, I love using my crock pot.:)
This sounds really tasty…i might just have to try it. I love anything that can be done in a crock pot!!!