These Homemade Hawaiian haystacks with chicken gravy made from scratch are one of my very favorite meals. It may look like a jumbled mess of ingredients but they are so tasty and easy to put together.
Homemade Hawaiian Haystacks
Who's had Hawaiian haystacks before? Do you love them? Hate them?
They were a staple in our house while growing up and are still one of my favorite meals. It's kind of a wacky combination of ingredients but they really do go well together... unless you don't think they do. In which case, I invite you to go make some chocolate chip cookies while I finish out this post.
A typical Hawaiian Haystacks recipe uses condensed cream of chicken soup for the gravy base but I like it better when I make my own so that's the recipe I'm going to share today.
How to Make Hawaiian Haystack Sauce From Scratch
My chicken gravy recipe just uses just a few ingredients like chicken broth, milk, flour, butter, and a bit of sour cream. You'll see that I add a little bit of turmeric to the gravy. It's a totally optional ingredient, but I add it because it gives the gravy a nice color and subtle flavor that works really well with all the toppings. I wouldn't run out and buy a whole jar just for the recipe but if you have it on hand I would definitely add it in.
Hawaiian Haystack Toppings and Base
Sometimes I use white rice, other times I use brown. It just kind of depends on my mood and what I think my kids will eat that particular night. As for toppings, it's up to you! Some of my favorites include Diced Bell Peppers, black olives, fresh tomato, diced celery, toasted cashews and coconut, pineapple and crunchy Chinese noodles. The pineapple and Chinese noodles are definitely the best part!
Want more Easy Chicken Dinner Recipe?
Tools/Ingredients Used in Making Homemade Hawaiian Haystacks
- Better Than Boullion: I use a lot of chicken/beef/vegetable broth in my recipes because it adds such nice flavor but I don’t love keeping cans or cartons of it in my pantry. For this reason (and more) I use this broth base anytime I call for broth in my recipes. It only takes 1 teaspoon of base to make 1 cup of flavorful broth and can be stored for quite a while in the refrigerator.
- OXO Handheld Slicer: I love this little tool because it slices small amounts of veggies quickly and easily and I don’t have to dirty a cutting board– I just slice right over the pot or plate! I especially love it for carrots and celery.
📖 Recipe
Hawaiian Haystacks
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup onion chopped
- 6 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon tumeric
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves cooked and shredded or cubed
- ½ cup Sour Cream
Toppings:
- black olives
- pineapple tidbits
- diced celery
- diced tomatoes
- grated cheese
- cashews
- shredded coconut
- green onions
- crunchy Chinese noodles
- diced bell pepper
Instructions
- In a large saucepan melt butter over medium heat, stir in onion and cook until translucent. Add flour, stirring and cooking for 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in broth and milk, whisking while pouring. Continue to whisk until smooth, thickened and boiling. Remove from heat.
- Stir in pepper, salt, tumeric and cooked chicken. Stir in sour cream. Serve gravy over rice with desired toppings.
Nutrition Facts
Lavues says
This recipe looks really quick and easy to made, great!
A M says
How many would you say this serves? I'm planning for a crowd and trying to calculate how many times to multiply for 6 adults and 7 kids.