This easy and colorful Hawaiian chicken salad with grilled pineapple and vegetables is the perfect lean dish for lunch or dinner.
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This beautiful salad is absolutely bursting with colors and flavors - perfect for summer! I love a good filling chicken salad, and this one hits the spot every time.
Chicken breast fillets are paired with a simple chili lime cilantro dressing, roasted or grilled pineapple and vegetables to create a very filling and satisfying salad. This is an excellent salad to enjoy as a complete meal for either lunch or dinner.
🥘 Ingredients
For the salad you will need a variety of vegetables. I use radish, avocado, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and fresh cilantro, however you can substitute any of these as you wish.
Additionally, you will need chicken breast fillets with any seasoning of your choice. I recommend using a seasoning mix such as Cajun seasoning, or a combination of spices like paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
The salad also includes roasted or grilled pineapple. You will need fresh pineapple and honey for this, and you can grill the pineapple using your favorite method. I love my air fryer pineapple which makes this so easy, but you can also place the pineapple on a grill or roast it in an oven.
Lastly, you will need white wine vinegar, lime juice, chili, cilantro and olive oil for the dressing.
🔪 Instructions
Follow these easy steps to make the perfect Hawaiian chicken salad:
Step 1: Prepare the chicken
First, prepare the chicken breast fillets by seasoning them. I like to add salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder to them, but you can definitely just use whatever seasoning you like.
Step 2: Cook the chicken and pineapple
The chicken breast fillets have to be cooked through, and the pineapple slices should be roasted, before they are added to the salad. There are several optional preparation methods.
Oven baked: Preheat your oven to 350 °F or 180 °C. Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan or skillet on medium heat, and pan sear the chicken for a few minutes until golden on both sides.
Place the chicken in a casserole dish, or on a sheet covered baking tray, along with pineapple slices, and bake in the oven for 5-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 74 °C or 165 °F.
Remove the chicken from the oven, and leave it to rest for a few minutes before slicing.
Air fried: Preheat your air fryer to 350 °F or 180 °C. Place the sliced chicken fillets in the air fryer, and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the fillets have cooked through. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 74 °C or 165 °F before removing it from the air fryer.
Then, place the pineapple slices in the air fryer, and fry for 5-10 minutes, or until the edges are starting to develop a charred color.
Grilled: Place the pineapple slices and chicken breast fillets on a grill. Make sure to keep the two separate to avoid cross contamination. Grill the pineapple for 1-2 minutes, then flip and grill for another minute. Set it to the side when the pineapple slices have softened and developed a charred color.
Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes on both sides, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 74 °C or 165 °F. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature before removing the chicken from the grill.
Step 3: Prepare the dressing
Finely dice fresh chili and cilantro, and add these to a small container. Add white wine vinegar, olive oil and lime juice. Stir or shake to combine the ingredients. Optionally, you can add some black pepper to taste.
Step 4: Assemble the salad
Dice the vegetables and place them in a bowl. Add roasted or grilled pineapple and chicken, and drizzle the dressing over the top. Serve the salad immediately!
💭 Top tips
Here are my top tips to make this salad perfect:
- To simplify the process, I prefer to prepare the chicken and pineapple together. You can air fry both, roast both in the oven, or add them to a grill at the same time.
- You can make a big portion of the dressing and store it in a refrigerator for a few days. The dressing can be used for a variety of other dishes, such as salads, roasted vegetables or chicken.
🥗 Serving suggestions
Hawaiian chicken salad with pineapple is an excellent dish to serve by itself as an entree, however there are many other ways you can enjoy it. Here are some of my favorites:
As a side - without the chicken: If you omit the chicken, the remaining salad is an excellent side dish to serve with grilled meat or other entrees.
With different dressings: You can try serving the salad with a variety of dressings. I love it with lemon pepper vinaigrette for a change.
With bread: I love some crusty bread with my salads. Crackers, air fryer tortilla chips or garlic bread also work well.
📖 Variations
Here are some of my favorite variations of this amazing salad:
Spicy: Add some diced jalapeno or chili to the salad, and season the chicken with a spicy seasoning blend for a hot Hawaiian chicken salad.
Vegetarian / vegan: Make a veggie version of the dish by replacing the chicken breast with black beans, red beans and coconut rice, or fried tofu.
Other veggies: Add or omit any vegetables to suit your preferences. This salad is also amazing served with roasted zucchini, corn, black beans, cucumber, and strawberry pineapple salsa.
🍲 Leftovers
Leftover Hawaiian chicken salad can be stored in an airtight container in a refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store the dressing and salad separate, and combine the two before serving to keep the ingredients fresh for as long as possible.
Avocado tends to brown really fast. If you want to make this salad ahead of time, or make a large batch to prepare for multiple future meals, I recommend omitting the avocado, and only adding it as you serve the salad.
Leftover salad is best enjoyed cold or at room temperature. This dish is not suitable for freezing.
🍴 You might also like these recipes..
If you love healthy chicken salads, you should try any of these recipes:
📋 Frequently asked questions
Hawaiian chicken salad often refers to a salad which contains both pineapple and chicken. More specifically it also typically contains ingredients and vegetables local to, or associated with Hawaii.
Recipe
Hawaiian Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- ½ tsp diced chili
- 1 tsp cilantro
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ lime (juice only)
- ¼ tsp white wine vinegar
Chicken
- 1 chicken breast fillet
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning (or any other seasoning)
Salad
- ½ avocado
- 2 radishes
- ½ red bell pepper
- 5 cherry tomatoes
- 100 g fresh pineapple (peeled and sliced)
- handful cilantro (green coriander)
Instructions
- First, prepare the chicken breast fillets by seasoning them. I like to add salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder to them, but you can definitely just use whatever seasoning you like.
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F or 180 °C. Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan or skillet on medium heat, and pan sear the chicken for a few minutes until golden on both sides.
- Place the chicken in a casserole dish, or on a sheet covered baking tray, along with pineapple slices, and bake in the oven for 5-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 74 °C or 165 °F.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, and leave it to rest for a few minutes before slicing.
- Finely dice fresh chili and cilantro, and add these to a small container. Add white wine vinegar, olive oil and lime juice. Stir or shake to combine the ingredients. Optionally, you can add some black pepper to taste.
- Dice the vegetables and place them in a bowl. Add roasted or grilled pineapple and chicken, and drizzle the dressing over the top. Serve the salad immediately!
Notes
Top tips
Here are my top tips to make this salad perfect:- To simplify the process, I prefer to prepare the chicken and pineapple together. You can air fry both, roast both in the oven, or add them to a grill at the same time.
- You can make a big portion of the dressing and store it in a refrigerator for a few days. The dressing can be used for a variety of other dishes, such as salads, roasted vegetables or chicken.
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