Hawaiian Haystacks are definitely a family favorite at our house. Easy to make, yummy to eat, and everyone can personalize it to their own tastes!
I think this dish is pretty much a staple for a lot of families. Some of you may call it Mexican Haystack or just Haystacks. I’ve heard it called all kinds of things.
I think this recipe came from one of the very first cookbooks I got when I was married – Make a Mix.
Whenever my daughter, Cali got to pick what we had for dinner her choice was always Hawaiian Haystacks. When she went gluten and dairy free the thing she missed most was Hawaiian Haystack until I came up with a gluten free dairy free cream of chicken soup and she could once again enjoy it!
This dinner is quick and easy to prepare and it is a great one when you are feeding a crowd too. It can be made ahead of time and kept warm in a crock pot. The other reason it is great for a crowd is because people can personalize it to their tastes – depending on what toppings they add.
Hawaiian Haystack is a fun dinner – a “build your own” kind of meal. We just serve the meat sauce over rice and then everyone adds whatever toppings they like. I love to make my rice in my rice cooker because it turns out perfect every time!
Some of our favorites are pineapple tidbits, chow mein noodles, peanuts, green onions and lots of cheese. The sky is the limit as far as what you can add to it!
How to make Hawaiian Haystacks
The first trick I taught Cali was a quick and easy way to cook the chicken that goes into the Haystack. It is done in the slow cooker and the chicken stays nice and moist and doesn’t dry out as chicken will do. You can check out the post on how to cook chicken in the slow cooker.
After your chicken is shredded add the chicken to two cans of cream of chicken soup (for 2-3 breasts) and then add enough chicken broth to make it the consistency you want. We don’t like it too runny!
Serve your chicken over the rice, add toppings and you are good to go! Doesn’t get any easier then that!! Enjoy!
Kids love this and so do adults. The best part is they can personalize it to their own tastes! Add the toppings they love and leave off the others.
Hawaiian Haystacks Recipe
Hawaiian Haystacks
Ingredients
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 C chicken broth
- 2 C chopped cooked chicken
- Cooked rice
Toppings
- cheese
- green onion
- tomato
- broccoli
- chow mein noodles
- peanuts
- pineapple
- black olives
- carrotts
- peas
- dried cranberries
Instructions
- Add chicken to cream of chicken soup
- Add chicken broth until desired consistency
- Serve over rice
- Top with desired toppings
Nutrition
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Sarah
May 15, 2009 at 7:17 amI’ve never heard of this one…and it looks gooooood! My little ones would have fun with the chow mein noodles, too.
Kara
May 15, 2009 at 7:27 amThis is a favorite at our house too. We usually use almonds, but I think it would be fun to try the peanuts. Thanks for the idea!
tamara
May 15, 2009 at 7:29 amThis has been one of our staples for years. . . .Used to feed lots of missionaries on one chicken. Way to go Cali! It is a blessing you have the best teacher around. Am in Washington this week not too far away. Can’t wait to be here permanently and come over for my own cooking lessons.
Emily
May 15, 2009 at 7:41 amThis is a favorite at our house also . . . Guess what’s for dinner? The picture looks too good!
Barbara Jean Smith
May 15, 2009 at 10:38 amI have been looking for this recipe forever. Seriously! I went to a Bunko game when I was in my early 20’s and the hostess made this for her meal. I loved it then and now I am really craving it. Guess what my kids are getting for dinner tonight?! Thank you again for sharing. Loving the cooking lessons.
Cristina
May 15, 2009 at 12:14 pmWe call it chinese sundaes, I guess because of the chow mein noodles. I haven’t had them forever! They were always something we looked forward to as kids! Maybe I should introduce my 3-year old to them! 🙂
Shawna
May 15, 2009 at 8:16 pmI just served these to my 9 year old’s mother-daughter book club tonight. As always they were a big hit.
My variation is the shredded chicken is separate from the gravy. We layer rice, chicken, cheese, and ladle the gravy over that. Then add any or all of the toppings: pineapple, mandarin oranges, diced tomatoes, green onions, diced bell pepper, diced celery, sliced almonds, coconut, and a little soy sauce on top.
I like to put the frozen chicken in the crockpot in the morning, and by dinner it is ready to shred.
I also serve a Chicken Curry recipe (mildly seasoned)where you build your own adding the toppings you like.
Joan Callaway
May 16, 2009 at 1:10 pmI’m wondering if this wouldn’t also work with shredded pork shoulder…which I happen to have in the frig right now.
…could use Sweet Baby (can’t think of the correct name) barbecue sauce instead of chicken soup maybe…
i’ve sent the non-recipe on to two of my college-aged grandchildren. These two are real cooks…one more adventuresome than the other, however.
Your “college Cooking” reminds me of a cookbook that was published at the college I attended (in Portland…) written by a fellow Reedie: The Impoverished Student’s Cookbook…and the title of one of the recipes: What the Hell Did You Do to the Liver? It was the sage!
Stacie Townsend
May 19, 2009 at 12:44 amWe’ve made this one for years too, except we do the sauce a bit different. I use whipping cream, butter and flour, then add in the cooked chicken, and sauted green peppers. It’s a probably a bit richer, and sometimes I used half and half or milk to cut the richness. But our toppings are similar!
Katie
August 4, 2010 at 6:10 pmSo I just tried cooking the chicken like how you did in the microwave. It’s so easy. I was kinda nervous if it would cook it all the way but it did. I didn’t do the Hawaiian haystack recipe but instead did chicken tacos.. Thanks for the idea!
Toni
September 24, 2014 at 2:35 pmThis is a new variation on the ‘haystacks’ we’ve been making in our family for years. Ours is more Latin based, with Organic corn chips on the bottom, a little smashed, then toped w/ seasoned beef or chicken, then black or refried beans, then an assortment of toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, green onions, salsa or enchilada sauce, black olives, shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado slices… whatever happens to be ‘on hand’ when we make them. A little meat goes a long way b/c of all the other ingredients. I like your version, and we will be trying it in our house soon! 🙂
Leigh Anne
October 6, 2014 at 2:54 pmYour family’s version sounds great!
Toni
September 24, 2014 at 2:38 pmThis is a new variation on the ‘haystacks’ we’ve been making in our family for years. Ours is more Latin based, with Organic corn chips on the bottom, a little smashed, then toped w/ seasoned beef or chicken, then black or refried beans, then an assortment of toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, green onions, salsa or enchilada sauce, black olives, shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado slices… whatever happens to be ‘on hand’ when we make them. A little meat goes a long way b/c of all the other ingredients. This is also GF and dairy free if you omit the cheese & sour cream, or use a lactaid or vegan version. I like your idea for haystacks and we will be trying it in our house soon! . 🙂
Sandra
October 29, 2014 at 10:00 pmI saw your GF cream of chicken soup recipe and came to see this one – how much of the homemade Crm of chik would equal two cans? Thanks in advance!
Leigh Anne
October 30, 2014 at 7:27 amIt’s not exact but I use about 4 cups. 2 Cups per can
Julie
August 7, 2017 at 1:27 pmWould you by any chance know the amounts for all the toppings if I am serving this to 200 people?
Leigh Anne
August 7, 2017 at 2:46 pmI don’t. Whenever I am feeding a crowd like that – I figure out what one portion would be and then do the math. Good luck!