This Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Salad is loaded with fresh veggies and sweet grilled pineapple slices. You can make your own teriyaki sauce or use your favorite store bought version to make this recipe even faster. It’s naturally gluten free, dairy free, paleo, and tastes better than takeout!
We grill a lot every summer, but this summer has been nonstop grilling with the heat wave we’ve had! I can’t even bear to turn the stove on, and I even cringe just boiling water for coffee every morning. Luckily there’s pretty much nothing you can’t grill into a meal.
This recipe is nice and simple because the teriyaki sauce gets split to double as a marinade, and the rest is saved for the dressing – 2 for 1! It’s packed with veggies, but the star of the show for me is the grilled pineapple. I just can’t get over how awesome grilled pineapple tastes. We even grill it for dessert, and you can check it out over on my Cinnamon Glazed Grilled Pineapple recipe.
Let’s talk about how to make this Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Salad!
I like to marinate the chicken overnight when possible because it gives you a deeper teriyaki flavor. But sometimes when I haven’t planned ahead, I just marinate it for an hour or so. You will still get plenty of teriyaki flavor from the salad dressing.
You can cut the pineapple however is most convenient for you. The main thing to keep in mind is lots of surface area for grill marks, which equals more flavor. Also you don’t want the pieces to be so small they’ll fall through the grill slats, so slices are nice.
The pineapple always finishes before the chicken, so just remove it as it’s finished. I like to cook mine just long enough to get grill marks on both sides, and it’s slightly softened.
While everything grills, prepare the rest of the salad ingredients as well as the dressing.
From there you can toss the salad together, or serve everything separately.
Then once the everything is off the grill, pile it together and serve. It’s also worth noting, if I’m not worrying about presentation, I cut up the grilled chicken and pineapple up into bite sized pieces to make the salad easier to eat.
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Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Salad
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Salad is loaded with fresh veggies and sweet grilled pineapple slices. You can make your own teriyaki sauce or use your favorite store bought version to make this recipe even faster. It’s naturally gluten free, dairy free, paleo, and tastes better than takeout!
Ingredients
Teriyaki Sauce:
1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup coconut aminos, or gluten free soy sauce
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup mirin, optional, see notes
Grill Ingredients:
1 pkg boneless skinless chicken thighs, 1 1/2 pounds
10 – 1/2” slices fresh pineapple, 1 1/2 pounds from 1 large pineapple
Salad ingredients:
1 large head romaine, cut and washed, 14-16 cups
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 small orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 ripe avocado, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
Teriyaki Salad Dressing:
1/3 cup of the reserved teriyaki sauce
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup avocado or olive oil
Instructions
Place all the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce into a medium sized saucepan, and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook until the mixture is reduced and slightly syrupy, about 15-20 minutes. You will have about 2/3 – 3/4 cup finished sauce. Cool the sauce completely in the refrigerator before using it as a marinade.
Pour 1/4 cup of the teriyaki sauce over the chicken thighs, and toss to thoroughly coat. Reserve the remaining 1/3 cup of the sauce for the salad dressing. Marinate the chicken 1 hour or overnight for a deeper flavor.
When you’re ready to cook the chicken, preheat the grill over medium heat until it reaches a steady temperature of 350ºF-400ºF. Place the marinated chicken and the sliced pineapple onto the grill.
Cook the pineapple for 3-4 minutes per side or until grill marks appear, and the pineapple is slightly softened. Cook the chicken for about 8 minutes per side, or until no longer pink in the center. The time will vary depending on the size of your chicken thighs.
While the chicken is grilling, prepare the salad ingredients, and place them all in a large serving bowl. Make the dressing by whisking/shaking in a jar the ingredients together until they’re emulsified. If the dressing separates, shake it together again before serving.
When the chicken and pineapple are done, remove them from the grill. Slice or cube up the chicken and serve it over the salad with the pineapple and teriyaki dressing.
Notes
Mirin doesn’t fit into a lot of diets, but it does add an authentic flavor. So if you do use it, look for one that doesn’t have any additives. I like to use the Eden brand.
If you have the teriyaki sauce made ahead, or use your favorite store bought, this recipe goes much faster.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: Asian
I love grilled pineapple. And I love dinners that I can make without heating up the kitchen.
For sure, I’ve rarely turned on the stove this summer!
This looks superb!!! What a tasty dish especially with the grilled pineapple.
Thanks so much, grilled pineapple definitely adds a lot!
Those grilled pineapple slices! Oh my!!
They’re definitely addictive!