Grilled Teriyaki Chicken with Pineapple and Black Bean Salsa

Tender juicy chicken is marinated in a sweet and savory teriyaki sauce. Served with a refreshing pineapple and black bean salsa, this is a great summer-time dinner. Let the grilling season begin!

It’s officially grilling season and I’ve got a delicious teriyaki chicken recipe to share with you today. Served with a pineapple and black bean salsa, it’s the perfect light meal for warm summer days.

The marinade for this recipe starts with store-bought teriyaki sauce. I love taking a convenience item like bottled teriyaki sauce and elevating it to give it a homemade touch. The marinade is super simple to make and involves adding a little oil, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, and green onion to your favorite bottled teriyaki sauce.

If you’re watching your sodium intake, pick a teriyaki sauce with the least amount. I noticed quite a difference in the sodium content between brands. When assessing the differences, it’s important to check the label serving size. Most brands I looked at had a serving size of 1 tablespoon. Interestingly, the Panda Express Mandarin Teriyaki Sauce listed 2 tablespoons as the serving size. Once adjusted to reflect a 1-tablespoon serving, it turned out to contain the least amount of sodium among the four brands I evaluated.

Anyone who’s grilled chicken breast before knows that this super-lean poultry is notorious for being dry and somewhat tough. To ensure your grilled chicken breast is moist and juicy, check out these helpful tips.

• Use thinner chicken breasts. This allows the marinade to more easily penetrate and flavor the entire piece of chicken. You can pound the chicken breast with a meat mallet to an even thickness (1/2- to 3/4-inch thickness works well). I actually prefer cutting them in half lengthwise, creating two, half thickness chicken breasts. One large 8- to 10-ounce chicken breast will yield two, perfectly portioned, 4- to 5-ounce breasts. Best of all, no pounding is necessary.

• Use a marinade like the teriyaki sauce in this recipe to tenderize and flavor chicken breasts. Plan for at least 4 hours of marinating time in the fridge. For maximum flavor, marinating for 8 hours would be better and overnight would be ideal.

  

  These chicken breasts marinated overnight.

• Keep an eye on the temperature of the chicken using an instant read meat thermometer. The typical cause of dry, tough chicken in overcooking. Chicken breasts are safely cooked when the thermometer reaches 165 degrees. After they’re removed from the grill, allow the chicken to rest a few minutes before slicing. This resting period allows the juices to redistribute inside the chicken breast rather than running out onto your plate.

  

  For juicy and tender teriyaki chicken breasts, keep an eye on the temperature to avoid overcooking.

Just in case you have leftover teriyaki chicken, it’s great sliced and tossed into salads or tucked into a tortilla wrap. Leftovers will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

To your health,

Darlene

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GRILLED TERIYAKI CHICKEN with PINEAPPLE and BLACK BEAN SALSA

Yield: 6 servings

Serving Size: 1 chicken breast topped with 2/3 cup salsa

Prep: 20 minutes

Ready: 40 minutes (not including chicken marinating time)

INGREDIENTS

Teriyaki Chicken

• 3 (8 to 10 ounces each) boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise

• 1/2 cup bottled teriyaki sauce

• 1 tablespoon canola oil

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1/4 cup sliced green onion, green tops only

Pineapple and Black Bean Salsa

• 1 1/2 cups diced fresh pineapple

• 1 can (15 ounce) black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

• 1/4 cup diced red onion

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

• 2 tablespoons finely diced jalapeno pepper

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

To prepare chicken, place halved chicken breasts in a gallon size resealable plastic bag. In a small bowl, whisk together teriyaki sauce, 1 tablespoon canola oil, honey, rice vinegar, 1 clove minced garlic, and green onion. Pour marinade over chicken, turning to evenly coat. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

To prepare pineapple and black bean salsa, combine pineapple, black beans, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, and 1 clove minced garlic. In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, 1 tablespoon canola oil (use remaining tablespoon canola oil to brush grill grate when ready to cook chicken), sugar, and salt. Pour lime juice mixture over pineapple and black bean mixture and toss to combine. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving, allowing flavors to blend.

When ready to cook chicken, prepare outdoor grill and brush grill grate with remaining tablespoon oil to prevent sticking (to oil the grill grate, use tongs to hold a wad of paper towel that has been dipped in oil and rub the oil-soaked towel over grate). Place chicken on grill and discard marinade. Grill for approximately 5 to 8 minutes on each side or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees is reached. Allow cooked chicken breasts to rest 5 minutes before slicing. Serve each chicken breast with about 2/3 cup pineapple and black bean salsa.

Nutrition Information per Serving

316 Calories, 8 g Total fat, 2 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 96 mg Cholesterol, 489 mg Sodium, 22 g Total carbohydrate, 6 g Dietary fiber, 8 g Total sugars, 3 g Added sugars, 39 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 61 mg (4%) Calcium, 2 mg (10%) Iron, 664 mg (15%) Potassium

© 2023 RECIPES MADE HEALTHY BY DARLENE ZIMMERMAN, MS, RD LLC

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken with Pineapple and Black Bean Salsa

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