Teriyaki Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa
This Teriyaki Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa is a delicious meal bursting with flavor. The chicken is marinated in a homemade Teriyaki sauce, then grilled (or baked) to achieve juicy, flavorful chicken. Pineapple and red bell pepper are grilled, which caramelizes the sugars in the pineapple and creates a delicious tender, smoky, charred, sweet flavor. The pineapple and bell pepper are tossed together with jalapeno, fresh lime juice and cilantro to create a salsa that pairs perfectly with the chicken. Top this off with a homemade thickened teriyaki sauce for a delicious meal.
My favorite part about summer has to be grilling food. It gives food extra flavor that you can’t replicate from just baking in the oven. I especially love grilling fruits and vegetables. When you grill fruits, the high heat from the grill caramelizes the sugars and adds an extra layer of delicious flavors to the fruit. This Teriyaki Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa is one of my favorite meals to make. As always, I like my food with extra sauce, so this meal has extra sauce to drizzle on top of the chicken once it’s cooked.
Here’s what you need to know…
The first thing you need to do is make the teriyaki sauce. Pour half of the sauce over the chicken and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. While the chicken marinates, you can chop up the ingredients for the Pineapple Salsa. Make sure you chop the pineapple and red bell pepper into larger pieces as you will be placing them on the grill to cook.
Once the chicken is ready to grill, add the chicken, pineapple slices and red bell pepper. Cook until chicken’s internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. It will take roughly 9-10 minutes. Make sure you flip the chicken halfway through cooking. The pineapple and red bell pepper need to be turned every 2-3 minutes so that they develop nice even, golden brown grate marks. Cook the pineapple and red bell pepper just until they have golden brown grate marks. Once the pineapple and red bell pepper are cool enough to handle, chop into bite size pieces then toss with the rest of the salsa ingredients.
Whisk cornstarch and water together, then add to the remaining teriyaki sauce. You can either add the sauce to a skillet over medium heat, or microwave the sauce until it thickens. I like to microwave the sauce in 20 second increments, stirring in between. Serve the chicken and pineapple salsa over rice if desired. Drizzle with the thickened sauce and enjoy.
If you try this recipe, let me know what you think below in the ratings and comments. Also, make sure you find me on instagram, where you can see the full cooking video for this. Enjoy!
PrintTeriyaki Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This Teriyaki Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa is a delicious meal bursting with flavor. The chicken is marinated in a homemade Teriyaki sauce, then grilled (or baked) to achieve juicy, flavorful chicken. Pineapple and red bell pepper are grilled, which caramelizes the sugars in the pineapple and creates a delicious tender, smoky, charred, sweet flavor. The pineapple and bell pepper are tossed together with jalapeno, fresh lime juice and cilantro to create a salsa that pairs perfectly with the chicken. Top this off with a homemade thickened teriyaki sauce for a delicious meal.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half, horizontally
Teriyaki Sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated (or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger powder)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water
Pineapple Salsa
- 1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled and cut into large slices
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into large slices
- 1/4 small purple onion, diced
- 1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped (adjust to your taste preference)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1. In a medium bowl, add garlic, honey, soy sauce, ginger, apple cider vinegar and black pepper (do not add cornstarch yet. This is for later). Whisk to combine.
2. Add chicken to a shallow bowl. Pour half of the Teriyaki Sauce. Toss to coat, cover and refrigerate 15 minutes. Cover remaining sauce and place in refrigerator.
3. Once the chicken is ready to cook, preheat grill to medium. Add chicken, pineapple slices and red bell pepper slices. Turn the red bell pepper slices and pineapple slices every 2-3 minutes and grill until they have golden brown grate marks. Grill chicken 9-10 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking. Remove and set aside.
4. Once cool enough to handle, chop the pineapple and red bell pepper into bite size pieces. Add to a large bowl along with onion, jalapeno, juice of lime, lime zest and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine all ingredients.
5. Whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water in small bowl. Add to leftover sauce. In a skillet (or the microwave in 20 second increments), heat sauce, whisking constantly until sauce thickens.
6. Serve the chicken and pineapple salsa over rice, if desired, then drizzle with thickened teriyaki sauce.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grill