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What Are Different Types of Pineapple Sauce?

Cynde Gregory
Cynde Gregory

In creative kitchens around the world, pineapple sauces abound. For some cooks, the first thought associated with the sauce is as a sweet topping for cakes or ice cream. For others, it means ham, lamb, or other meaty meals. Still others like to whip up a pineapple sauce that bites back a bit to use as a marinade or to serve as a relish.

The simplest sweet pineapple sauce is as easy as opening a can of crushed pineapple and cooking it on a stove top with a little cornstarch and butter to thicken it. This sauce brings out the angel in angel food cake and can transform a plain bowl of vanilla ice cream into something fit for company. Home cooks who prefer to cook fresh can create an even finer sauce using fresh pineapple rather than canned. Additions such as chopped basil or mint and ginger lend a tropical flavor.

Jalapenos are often added to Caribbean pineapple sauces.
Jalapenos are often added to Caribbean pineapple sauces.

A great many ham lovers see it as a fine excuse to slurp some savory pineapple sauce. The ubiquitous sauce that most folks grew up with is a simple combination of crushed pineapple, lemon juice, and mustard that’s been sweetened with a little maple syrup or brown sugar and cooked a bit to thicken it. With a world of herbs, spices, and other ingredients at their fingertips, though, cooks with more sophisticated tastes can have a blast in the kitchen experimenting with other options.

Canned pineapple can be used in pineapple sauce.
Canned pineapple can be used in pineapple sauce.

Bathing lamb, chicken, or fish in an orange-pineapple sauce that includes toasted coconut, pecans, or walnuts and some ginger will make it taste like it’s just come back from the islands. Another Caribbean interpretation marries the sweet and savory flavors of pineapple, cucumbers, and oranges with onion, lime juice, and cilantro. This sauce gets its sweet from a few spoons of honey, and some jalapeno or other hot chili peppers will make it dance.

A peanut buttery barbeque marinade melds canned crushed pineapple with curry powder, ginger, and lime juice. Smooth peanut butter adds bulk and flavor, and brown sugar turns it into a sweet and sour sauce. This one is perfect for chicken, either grilled in pieces or on skewers.

Cooks who’ve earned their silver spoons will find that slow-cooker recipes for pineapple sauce condiments are easy to find. A popular one is spun from onion and garlic together with cinnamon, a handful of currents, and rum and orange juice, or a combination. Adding minced ginger, a splash of soy sauce or balsamic vinegar, and a few whole cloves sweetens the mix.

Discussion Comments

StarJo

@seag47 – I also love the pineapple dipping sauces offered at seaside restaurants. I once had a slice of cake at one that was covered in a pineapple sauce, and I had never eaten any dessert so good before in my life!

The sauce was warm, and the juice from the pineapple dripped all over the cake, moistening it with flavor. Bits of pineapple stuck with chunks of coconut and pecans, which had been caramelized with brown sugar.

The liquid part of the sauce saturated the cake, and the solid parts were almost candied. They were warm yet crunchy and held together well.

OeKc05

I made a really good pineapple sauce for fish and shrimp awhile back. I tried to copy the sauce at my favorite restaurant that was served with the coconut shrimp, and I think I got pretty close.

I simply put pineapple chunks and orange marmalade in a food chopper and sprinkled in some dill weed. The marmalade made the sauce sweet and gave it a great orange flavor, while the pineapple balanced out the intensity of the orange. The dill weed tastes great on fish, so I thought that I would just go ahead and put it in the sauce, too.

It made my sauteed tilapia and fried shrimp taste even yummier. It is very intense, so I only had to use a little of it for each bite.

kylee07drg

My husband makes a delicious pineapple sauce for chicken. He marinates the chicken in it, grills it while basting it with the sauce, and then dips the chicken in it once it is done.

We always buy fresh pineapple, because it tastes amazing. We use a little food processor to chop up the chunks. Then, he mixes in some soy sauce, brown sugar, and worcestershire sauce.

This may sound like an odd combination, but it is incredibly delicious. As a side item, he grills actual chunks of pineapple and even uses some of the pineapple sauce on the chunks to give them flavor.

seag47

I've never heard of any of these pineapple sauce recipes, but several of them sound very appealing. I never would have thought of cooking pineapple with butter to make an ice cream topping, but I bet it turns out creamy and wonderful.

I love island food, so pineapple sauce mixed with ginger really appeals to me. I have eaten at restaurants in tropical locations before, but I could never quite put my finger on what the ingredients in the pineapple sauce were. Now that the article mentions it, I do believe I've had pineapple sauce with ginger on top of chicken.

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    • Jalapenos are often added to Caribbean pineapple sauces.
      By: epantha
      Jalapenos are often added to Caribbean pineapple sauces.
    • Canned pineapple can be used in pineapple sauce.
      By: HandmadePictures
      Canned pineapple can be used in pineapple sauce.