This is a festive way to wow your summer guests and it’s fun for lunch or dinner! The tropical flavor of pineapple enhances the sweet and salty teriyaki chicken. For a big splash of color toss in all of your favorite bright & crunchy veggies. The rainbow is the limit! You can also add forbidden black rice for more texture and color.
This recipe is for two people, so simply multiply it by the number of people you are planning to serve. We find that two chicken tenders per person is plenty for this salad, but you can always add more if you like. Also, you can chop everything and toss it together before filling up the pineapple shell, but we kind of love the look of the more “deconstructed” salad for this dish, especially with so many vibrant colors and textures!
Aloha Pineapple Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Salad Fixings
- 1 pineapple shell
- 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
- 4 chicken tenders
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
- 2 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1/2 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- 1 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
- 1 avocado, cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced and curled
- 1/2 red onion, caramelized
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1 tbsp. sesame seeds, lightly toasted
Teriyaki Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup pineapple pulp saved from carving out the pineapple
- 3 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 tbsp. minced cilantro
- 1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger root
- 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles Can go in dressing or as a garnish on salad
Instructions
Pineapple
- Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise. Hollow out the center, leaving about 1/2 inch on the sides. Cut out the pineapple pieces by cutting into the pineapple both horizontally and vertically. Remove any of the core and reserve the pineapple chunks. Save the pulp from your carving work for your dressing.
Teriyaki Vinaigrette
- Blend all dressing ingredients together and shake well in a container with a tight-fitting lid.
Salad Fixings
- Marinate chicken tenders in either your own, or store-bought teriyaki sauce. Cook on the grill over medium heat until cooked through.
- Prepare all the veggies, by slicing or dicing as you wish.
- Lay a bed of fresh cilantro sprigs all along the edges of the pineapple. Arrange all of the salad fixings as artistically as you can in the pineapple shell. Drizzle dressing over the top and garnish with almonds, sesame seeds and blue cheese crumbles. Pass extra dressing.
