Ditch the soup cans and crispy chow mein noodles, this homemade Hawaiian Haystacks recipe is the ultimate version of the classic! Made with a creamy from-scratch chicken sauce and layered with rice, fresh toppings, and plenty of flavor, these haystacks are a family favorite you’ll want on repeat.
Easy to customize, fun to serve, and perfect for weeknight dinners or feeding a crowd, this is Hawaiian Haystacks done right.
Alright, alright! I’m clearly not in Washington anymore, Toto. I’ve lived in Utah for well over a decade now, and Utah loves food and family—and you better get on board or risk being an outcast…ha! A Hawaiian haystack, also known as a “chicken sundae,” is a convenience dish with a rice base topped with chicken gravy, diced pineapple, tomatoes, Chinese noodles, cheese, and really whatever you want for a topping.
When we first moved here, we learned about Funeral Potatoes—a cheesy potato casserole with a terrible name. Then there’s the Swig cookie debate (I don’t do cold cookies), Navajo Tacos and Cafe Rio Sweet Pork, Cafe Rio Chicken, Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice, Magleby’s Buttermilk syrup, and Waffle Love Copycat. Utah loves to be social and eat. I mentioned at a Relief Society meeting (a meeting with the women of our church congregation) that I’d never had Hawaiian Haystacks, and I swear fiery darts shot from everyone’s eyeballs.
Ingredients For Hawaiian Haystacks
Hawaiian haystacks are all about layering flavors and textures, and the right ingredients make all the difference. Gather everything before you start, and you’ll be ready to build these classic Utah comfort-food stacks that are perfect for family dinners, potlucks, or any casual gathering.
Base & Sauce
- Butter: Melted to create the base of the sauce
- Garlic: Whisked in for flavor
- Flour: Cooked with butter and garlic to form a roux
- Salt: Seasons the sauce
- Fresh Black Pepper: Adds a mild spice and depth
- Onion Powder: Enhances savory flavor
- Sour Cream: Stirred in to add creaminess and tang
- Lemon Juice
Toasted coconut ice cream is fool-proof sweet, creamy coconut vanilla ice cream with the nutty goodness of freshly toasted coconut. It’s perfection in simplicity in ice cream form, friends.
Toasted Coconut Ice Cream
To make this coconut lover’s ice cream, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- heavy cream
- whole milk
- sugar
- kosher salt
- vanilla extract
- coconut extract
- toasted coconut
The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!
With over 100 ice cream recipes here to choose from, there’s sure to be an ice cream for everyone! If you’re new to making ice cream, the best and easiest vanilla ice cream is a great place to start.
These are my favorite inexpensive containers for storing ice cream. They’re perfect for gifting (who doesn’t love homemade ice cream?) storage, re-using, etc. I write the flavors on the lids with a sharpie and it washes off with dish soap.
I have more ice cream scoops than I can keep track of at this point and I definitely play favorites. This ice cream scoop does the best job ever of cutting through firm ice cream and still delivers a pretty scoop. It gets bonus points for being one of the least expensive scoops I own as well.
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Learn how to unlock intense flavor, crisp texture, and beautiful golden brown color when you learn how to toast coconut. Toasting coconut gives it a nuttiness, sweetness, and complexity that dried coconut lacks – and it’s so easy to do, too!
How to Toast Coconut
Previously I relied on toasting coconut in the oven and in the microwave. Those methods work as well, but lack some of the control of the stovetop method.
The stovetop is my favorite for being able to closely watch and delivering the extra crispy bits. Since I love the crispy bits the most, this method wins for me every time now.
And once you have had freshly toasted coconut, the world is your oyster! Anywhere you’d use plain coconut in a dessert, swap in the toasted coconut for added oomph!
Use it in recipes like Coconut Cookie Bars: chocolate and toasted coconut stuffed inside chewy blondies, could any dessert possibly make me happier? Or sub it for the sweetened coconut flakes in Coconut Rice Krispie Treats for a seriously irresistible twist on classic rice krispie treats.
How to Make Toasted Coconut
To make toasted coconut, you’ll need the following items:
- non-stick skillet
- sweetened coconut flakes
- heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon
- plate
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This is the recipe you never knew you were missing! Creamy homemade coconut peanut butter is a little bit of heaven on earth and you can make it in 5 minutes or less!
A trip to Hawaii last year was the perfect end to our daughter’s senior year of high school. We had an awesome time and came home inspired to make a few things at home, starting with the coconut peanut butter.
At Waialua Bakery in Haleiwa I sampled a coconut peanut butter that I’ve been craving ever since. In fact, if you know where I can get Coconut Peanut Butter let me know because it is sooo delicious! I immediately began testing at home and found out that 1. you need to use the right coconut, always dried, never fresh and 2. slather it on everything!!!
What Do I Need to Make Coconut Peanut Butter?
This homemade peanut butter recipe only takes 5 ingredients and I love knowing exactly what is going into a recipe. Here is what you will need:
- Bare Toasted Coconut Chips: These can be found at most grocery stores – Walmart, Kroger, Harmon’s, Target, and Amazon of course!
- Unsalted Dry Roasted Peanuts: Make sure the peanuts are roasted and not raw and you’ll definitely want unsalted.
- Vanilla: adds flavor
- Salt: enhances all the flavors
- Brown Sugar: adds a touch of sweetness, maple sugar could also be used
The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down below. This is meant to just be an overview of items you will need.
How to Make Coconut Peanut Butter
You won’t find an easier recipe to make! Grab a blender, a rubber spatula and some measuring cups and spoons…
- Blend: Add the coconut chips to a blender and blend until grainy.
- Cream: Add the peanuts and blend until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides if needed to get all those peanuts blended.
- Finish: Add the few remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
The recipe card can be found down below with all the ingredients and instructions. You can also print or save the recipe there.
How to Use Coconut Peanut Butter
I use this peanut butter with coconut wherever I can think of. It is so dang good! My typical go-to is on top of lightly toasted multi-grain bread. Sometimes I just have the toast plain with the peanut butter only and other times I’ll load it up with sliced fruit and other toppings. Here are some other ideas:
- Add it to a smoothie in place of peanut butter (or other nut butter) like our Read more
Pineapple coconut cake is a rich white cake full of pineapple flavor and just a hint of coconut, layered with a velvety smooth, indulgent coconut cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with toasted coconut. It’s the perfect dessert for coconut and pineapple lovers alike.
Pineapple Coconut Cake
Handy canned pineapple and a splash of coconut milk make this special cake reminiscent of a Pina Colada. You already know how much I love a well-stocked pantry and these are two foods that you will always find in my kitchen.
This is not your average pineapple cake. The pineapple is pureed and mixed into the actual white cake batter so you get the tropical flavor in every bite. The resulting batter was so moist and pineapple-y that I could hardly believe it.
Coconut Frosting
In a nod of understanding to all of the people who can’t get past the texture of coconut, this is a smooth frosting flavored with creamy coconut milk. This gives the frosting a subtle coconut taste without the texture that some might find off-putting.
The higher fat content in canned coconut milk makes the frosting nice and creamy. Use the full fat variety of canned coconut milk rather than the lite or reduced-fat versions for the best results.
The coconut milk gets blended with cream cheese and powdered sugar to become a creamy sweet cake frosting that’s worth licking the spoon for. Please note that refrigerated coconut milk will not work in this recipe.
When making the easy coconut cake frosting, be sure to only beat the cream cheese in with the rest of ingredients until just combined. If you beat it for too long, the icing is prone to become runny no matter how much more powdered sugar you add.