Big Kahuna Teriyaki Sandwiches
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These BIG kahunas are stuffed with flavor and saucy goodness! Chicken, ham, pineapple, and loads of teriyaki sauce turn this into a MEGA sandwich. An instant family favorite in 30 minutes or less!
Choose my Grilled Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Wraps, Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken, or Grilled BBQ Chicken for another tasty recipe!
Happy Labor Day! And oh my gosh it’s September. What is happening here?? Summer has come and gone in the blink of an eye and I kid you not, the leaves are starting to change color around here. This is early. Usually Fall doesn’t really start until late September, maybe even early October. September is usually still pretty warm and the leaves don’t change color until after my birthday. Which is… in two weeks. 😉 Shhhhhh!
Funny story about my birthday. Or really, just a story about how ironic it is that I’m telling you my birthday is coming up. When I was little my parents moved from California to Utah and the cutoff date for starting Kindergarten were different here in Utah than they had been for all of my (EIGHT) siblings before me. So when we moved to Utah they wouldn’t let me start school because my birthday fell after the cutoff. My mother was…irritated. Probably because she wanted to get this little brat out of the house sooner.
Just joshin’! She probably saw loads of potential in me or something like that.
So anyway, fast forward one year. When it came time for me to officially begin school the next Fall, my mother had me take all of these tests and next thing I knew, I’d skipped Kindergarten and gone straight to first grade. Therefore, I was the youngest, scrawniest little tomboy in the whole class (oh yes. a tomboy I was.) and at first I was proud of that. But as I soon found out, other little kids can be kind of harsh and they really found joy in pointing out that I was supposed to be in Kindergarten, and the next year they’d say I belonged in first grade, and this went on for all of elementary school.
So when I finally made it to Junior High/Middle School, I made it a point to tell everyone that my birthday was in the summer. When my real birthday came around and the office people announced my name with all of the other birthday kids over the intercom, I pasted on a bewildered look and said, “What the??? My birthday was in the summer, they must’ve gotten it mixed up…” and somehow I managed to get away with no one knowing my real birthday until my senior year in high school. But the moral of this story is just how ironic it is that I hid my birthday for so many years and now I’m broadcasting it to the entire world on the internet. Ha!
I’m probably the only one who finds that comical. So let’s move on to more teriyaki-type things….
So this sandwich! It’s called a Big Kahuna for a reason. To you see the monstrous proportions of deliciousness manifesting themselves in this heap of tasty goodness?!? Look at all that sauuuuce! We’re talking juice chicken breast topped with melty swiss cheese, sliced ham, pineapple rings, hoards of thick, gooey teriyaki sauce, and cilantro. That, my friends, is a Big Kahuna. It’s what’s happening today. Embrace it! Oh and did I mention it takes less than 30 minutes to throw these babies together?? Yeah. It does. So there is no excuse, you must have one. NOW.
Big Kahuna Teriyaki Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 4 small-medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness, (you can also use two large breasts and butterfly them)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika , (or smoked paprika)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 slices swiss , or provolone cheese
- 8 thin slices of deli ham , (Virginia ham, Black Forest ham, use your favorite)
- 8 pineapple rings , (fresh or canned)
- ¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 ½ cups teriyaki sauce , (store bought OR click [url:1]here[/url] for an easy homemade recipe)
- 4 sandwich buns , or burger buns
- optional: sesame seeds, mayo
Instructions
- Season chicken breasts with garlic powder, paprika, and salt. Cook over medium heat on the stove OR on the grill, 5-6 minutes on each side until chicken is cooked through. Set aside and allow to cool slightly. Optional: Once cool enough to touch, slice chicken breasts into 1 inch strips – this is what I did but you could also leave the breasts whole if they are the right size for your sandwich buns.
- Slice buns open. If desired, spread mayo on each bun.
- Place chicken on the bottom of each bun. Top with a slice of cheese, then some teriyaki sauce. Add ham slices, then pineapple, and then top with more teriyaki sauce. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and if desired, sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Top with remaining bun. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
They are actually easier to make than writing out the recipe. lol
hahah you’re definitely not the only one to find it comical, usually we’re not hding our birthdays til later on in life, your story gave me a good chortle (do people still say that word?!! probably no.) But it was funny!
I am droooling over this sandwich and I KNOW my husband would flip!
That’s an insanely good-looking burger!
This sandwich looks so yummy, Pinned!
You definitely did this recipe justice! Holy cow that looks DELICIOUS!
Thanks for the inspiration- you had me at ‘big kahuna’!!! 🙂