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Nothing says summer cooking like a big delicious and filling salad. This Grilled Pineapple Chicken Salad is the perfect crowd pleaser or easy weeknight meal. Made with perfectly grilled chicken breasts, grilled caramelized pineapples, fresh and crisp romaine, cucumbers, red onions, cherry tomatoes, and creamy avocado. Tossed with a sweet and zesty honey-lime dressing.
Grilled Pineapple Chicken Salad
This Grilled Pineapple Chicken Salad is a crowd pleaser and great for a summer barbecue. It’s also super easy to make and great for a weeknight dinner. Especially during those summer days when it’s 100 degrees outside and the last thing you want is to turn on the stove. Much less the oven!
This salad has everything you ever want from a salad. It’s filling, crunchy, fresh, loaded with protein, and a good hint of sweetness. This recipe comes with its own Honey-Lime Dressing which perfectly compliments it.
What you will find is the best part of this salad, aside from its flavors, is its freshness. It seriously is on a whole other level! The fresh romaine, pineapple, and all other ingredients are refreshing making this the perfect summer salad.
Furthermore, this salad is also very filling. Which makes it a great easy and quick weeknight dinner. This salad has a good serving of protein since it calls for a good amount of chicken. Lean protein is an essential part of a healthy diet. Pineapples are also very filling and contain a lot of health benefits.
Health Benefits of Pineapple:
- Improves digestion
- Boosts immune system
- Promotes strong bones
- Rich in antioxidants
- Reduces inflammation
- Anti-cancer properties
- Reduces blood pressure
How do you know if a pineapple is ready to be cut?
There are a few ways you can tell if a pineapple is ready to be cut open.
- Color and the texture- If the pineapple is a yellowish color yet still has hints of green then it’s good to go. When it’s too green it’s not ready. Too yellow, hinting at a brownish color, means it’s starting to go bad.
- Smelling it- If you smell the bottom of a pineapple and it has that sweet pineapple smell then it’s a good sign it’s ready.
- Tugging on its leaves- If you gently tug the leaves and they easily come off then that also means the pineapple is ripe enough to be cut open.
How to cut a pineapple:
The easiest way to cut a pineapple is by using a pineapple corer. Cut the top of the pineapple off, then proceed to insert the corer inside of the pineapple. Then you just have to twist it up and the skin will be removed from the fruit. This tool will also remove the pineapple’s core. Hence it being a corer. Then Just slice your pineapple into circles to be grilled for your Grilled Pineapple Chicken Salad.
Honey-Lime Dressing for your Grilled Pineapple Chicken Salad:
This Honey-Lime Dressing goes perfect with the rest of the ingredients in this salad. It’s just as fresh as all the other ingredients. This dressing is sweet, tangy, with a bit of a kick. Just the perfect blend to take this salad to the next level of deliciousness.
What you need to make this:
Ingredients:
- Fresh Pineapple
- Chicken Breasts
- Romaine Lettuce
- Red Onion
- Cucumber
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Avocado
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Honey
- Lime
- Garlic Powder
- Pink Salt
- Black Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes
Equipment:
- Pineapple Corer
- Grill
- Serving Salad Bowl
How to make Grilled Pineapple Chicken Salad:
- Step 1– Start by cutting off the skin of your pineapple. Remove core and slice into circles. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over pineapple rings and rub on both sides of each. Pat dry chicken breasts and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle chicken with salt, black pepper, dried thyme, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Mix chicken well making sure it’s well coated with oil and seasonings.
- Step 2– Turn grill on medium-high heat and preheat for about 10 minutes. Place chicken and pineapple slices on grill. Grill chicken for 7 minutes on each side. Grill pineapple rings for 3-4 minutes on each side.
- Step 3– While pineapple and chicken grill, chop your romaine, thinly slice onion and cucumbers, halve tomatoes, and peel and slice avocado. Set prepped veggies to the side.
- Step 4– In a small mixing bowl, combine and whisk all the ingredients for the dressing; extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, honey, garlic powder, pink sea salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
- Step 5– Once chicken is done grilling, slice into strips. In a large serving bowl, layer all of the ingredients for salad; start with chopped romaine then layer cucumber, onions, tomatoes and avocados over romaine. Then add sliced gilled chicken and grilled pineapple.
- Step 6– When ready to serve, pour dressing over salad and give it a good toss. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Tips and Substitutions:
- Use pineapple corer to slice pineapple- They’re inexpensive and makes cutting a pineapple so easy. You don’t even have to cut the skin off and it slices pineapple into perfect circles.
- Add some spices to chicken breasts before grilling for more flavor- For this recipe I like to use rice vinegar, pink sea salt, garlic powder, paprika, and dried parsley to season my chicken.
- Switch up your bed of lettuce- Use arugula, baby spinach or any other green as a substitute for romaine.
Like this Grilled Pineapple Chicken Salad? You may also like these salad recipes:
- Adobo Steak and Avocado Salad with Cilantro-Lime Ranch Dressing
- Grilled Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Classic Macaroni Salad (Gluten-Free)
- Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad with Grilled Chicken
- Watermelon Strawberry Salad with Feta
- Southwest Chicken Salad
- Cucumber Herb Salad
- Easy Veggie Pasta Salad (with Easy Homemade Italian Dressing)
Grilled Pineapple Chicken Salad
Nothing says summer cooking like a big delicious and filling salad. This Grilled Pineapple Chicken Salad is the perfect crowd pleaser or easy weeknight meal. Made with perfectly grilled chicken breasts, grilled caramelized pineapples, fresh and crisp romaine, cucumbers, red onions, cherry tomatoes, and creamy avocado. Tossed with a sweet and zesty honey-lime dressing.
Ingredients
For Chicken:
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp pink sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
For Salad:
- 1 Pineapple
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 5 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1/2 red onion
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 avocado
For Honey-Lime Dressing:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp pink sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
-
Start by cutting off the skin of your pineapple. Remove core and slice into circles. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over pineapple rings and rub on both sides of each. Pat dry chicken breasts and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle chicken with salt, black pepper, dried thyme, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Mix chicken well making sure it's well coated with oil and seasonings.
-
Turn grill on medium-high heat and preheat for about 10 minutes. Place chicken and pineapple slices on grill. Grill chicken for 7 minutes on each side. Grill pineapple rings for 3-4 minutes on each side.
-
While pineapple and chicken grill, chop your romaine, thinly slice onion and cucumbers, halve tomatoes, and peel and slice avocado. Set prepped veggies to the side.
-
In a small mixing bowl, combine and whisk all the ingredients for the dressing; extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, honey, garlic powder, pink sea salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
-
Once chicken is done grilling, slice into strips. In a large serving bowl, layer all of the ingredients for salad; start with chopped romaine then layer cucumber, onions, tomatoes and avocados over romaine. Then add sliced gilled chicken and grilled pineapple.
-
When ready to serve, pour dressing over salad and give it a good toss. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips and Substitutions:
- Use pineapple corer to slice pineapple- They’re inexpensive and makes cutting a pineapple so easy. You don’t even have to cut the skin off and it slices pineapple into perfect circles.
- Add some spices to chicken breasts before grilling for more flavor- For this recipe I like to use rice vinegar, pink sea salt, garlic powder, paprika, and dried parsley to season my chicken.
- Switch up your bed of lettuce- Use arugula, baby spinach or any other green as a substitute for romaine.
*Number of total servings in estimated. Actual number of servings may vary depending on your own personal preference in portion sizes.
**Nutritional values shown are general guidelines for 1 serving using the ingredients listed above. These numbers do not reflect and may vary depending on substitutions, additions and/or different brands and/or other ingredients that may be used.
**Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links and sponsored content. All the opinions are my own and I only recommend products I use in my own home with my own family.
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