Hawaiian haystacks are a fun and delicious dinner your whole family will love! Tons of topping options over a creamy chicken sauce.
With this Hawaiian haystacks recipe, you can choose between any number of topping options including pineapple, crunchy noodles, peas, and even olives! The toppings for Hawaiian Haystacks are totally up to you! With so much variety you can really make your own plates unique at mealtime.
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Ingredients
- Butter
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Chicken bullion
- Parsley
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Water
- Sour cream
- Cooked chicken
- Cooked rice
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
Suggested Hawaiian Haystack Toppings
- Carrots
- Olives
- Cheese
- Pineapple
- Lo Mein Noodles
- Peas
- Green Onions
How to Make Hawaiian Haystacks
- Melt your butter in a medium-sized skillet.
- Stir in the flour and then cook for 2-3 minutes until thickened and darkened slightly.
- Add in the milk, onion powder, garlic powder, bullion, salt, pepper, and parsley while stirring constantly.
- When the sauce has thickened slightly, add in water and sour cream. Bring the mixture to a simmer and then add in the chicken.
- Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve over rice and add the toppings of your choice.
Substitutions
- Traditionally, it's made with cream of chicken soup, which is delicious. But obviously, I love homemade here so it is just a basic roux. This only takes a couple of extra minutes.
- You can replace the sour cream with plain, nonflavored Greek yogurt.
Farmhouse Recipe Tip for Hawaiian Haystacks
I love using leftover chicken in this recipe, it's a great way to use up cooked chicken and a great way to use meal prepped chicken or chicken you have in your freezer.
What to serve with Hawaiian Haystacks
Traditionally Hawaiian haystacks are served over rice. You can view my in-depth post about making Homemade White Rice or you can follow along with these easy steps to make your own.
- Combine 2 cups of white short-grain rice in a pot with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt on the stovetop.
- Do not mix them together.
- Bring the mix to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the top of the pot with a lid.
- Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving and using.
A roux is simply butter and flour cooked together and then combined with milk or broth to make a thickened sauce. It takes just a few minutes and creates a really delicious flavor and sauce for this and so many other recipes!
These Hawaiian haystacks are not a traditional Hawaiian recipe, instead, they originate from the midwest and are given their namesakes from the toppings that are most commonly used (pineapple and shredded coconut).
Yes, you can prepare the sauce up to a day in advance and serve with fresh rice at mealtime, just reheat the sauce when ready.
You will need to keep the rice and gravy in separate containers so that the rice doesn’t become soggy. Then when you’re ready to reheat and eat, warm the gravy on the stove over medium heat until bubbling and reheat your rice in the microwave, maybe adding a small pad of butter to help rehydrate the rice as it warms up. Leftovers are good for about 4-5 days.
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Hawaiian Haystacks Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon chicken bullion
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup chicken (cooked)
- 3 cups rice (cooked)
Topping Suggestions
- Carrots
- Olives
- Cheese
- Pineapple
- Lo Mein Noodles
- Peas
- Green Onions
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, heat butter until melted. Stir in flour and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add milk, onion powder, garlic powder, bullion, salt, pepper, and parsley, stirring constantly.
- When the sauce is slightly thickened, add water and sour cream. Bring to a simmer and add chicken.
- Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve over rice and with toppings of your choice.
Alli
Such a fun dinner, my kids love it!