We love this roasted pineapple with brown sugar, butter and a hint of cinnamon. It is a quick side dish that is as good as grilled pineapple any day! Roasting concentrates the sweet pineapple flavor for delicious results. I serve it all the time with ham but it is also great with BBQ pork, breakfast sausage or even over ice cream. For all it’s versatility it is crazy easy to make – you can have it in the oven in five minutes!
I make this easy roasted pineapple side dish all year long but it is most popular at Easter. Every year that I bring it to Easter Dinner people are fighting over the last chunks of sweet, buttery pineapple left in the pan. Our family loves grilled pineapple but this simple oven roasted version has become our go for an easy side dish at holidays and BBQs.
Brown Sugar Roasted Pineapple: Ham’s Perfect Side Dish
I love pineapple with ham but if you roast a ham with pineapple chunks directly on it the enzymes in the pineapple break down the meat. Any leftover ham is not very nice. In our family leftover ham is coveted for breakfasts, ham and bean soups, and even chicken and ham pot pie!
These days I must make this easy roasted as a side dish for ham! It pretty much lets me have my cake and eat it too! And since this roasted pineapple recipe takes about 5 minutes to prep it for the oven I don’t mind making it even during the busiest of holiday meals!
Roasting pineapple chunks at high heat in butter and sugar with a little salt and cinnamon brings out the fruit’s rich sweet flavor perfectly.
Roasted Pineapple Vs. Grilled Pineapple
Pineapple is a fruit that is excellent raw or cooked! Both roasting and grilling reduce the sugars in the pineapple and bring out a rich, caramel flavor in the fruit. With roasting you get a deeper, more even reduction of the fruit and concentration of the flavors. Grilled pineapple results in a slightly more smokey / char flavor.
If you grill the fruit lightly you get more of a seared outside with a warm, but raw inside. You can also do a longer, low/slow grilling of the fruit to get it more cooked.
Generally I love grilling pineapple when I’m doing my pineapple grilled chicken or my grilled hamburgers so the fruit is cooked along with the meat. I use oven roasting when I’m looking to make a side dish or I want a deeper, more caramel flavor.
What to Serve With Brown Sugar Roasted Pineapple
While this is one of my favorite things to serve with ham it also is great for breakfast with sausage and pancakes, served with pulled pork BBQ or hamburgers, and even for dessert by itself or to top ice cream. You have to love a recipe that is so incredibly versatile.
Favorite Pineapple Side Dish Recipes
Other Pineapple Recipes To Love
- Hawaiian Grilled Chicken and Pineapple
- Teriyaki Meatballs in Pineapple Sauce
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Easy Pineapple Cake
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Brown Sugar Roasted Pineapple
Ingredients
- 4 cups pineapple chunks fresh or frozen
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 F.
- Cut fresh pineapple into chunks or thaw the frozen pineapple in the microwave until it is mostly thawed. If you are using frozen and thawed pineapple include any juice from the thawing process.
- In a medium bowl combine all of the ingredients. Stir by tossing gently until all the pineapple is well coated.
- Pour the pineapple mixture into a large, rectangular baking dish.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, stirring about half way through.
- The pineapple is done when it turns a rich golden and begins to brown but before it starts to blacken.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2015. It has been updated for content in 2020.
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