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Steak is grilled to perfection along with fresh pineapple, red bell peppers and red onions, paired together with creamy avocado and served over lettuce. Top it with pineapple dressing to make for the best summer salad, ever. Put this Grilled Steak Salad on your menu now, because everyone is going to love it!
Grilled Pineapple and Steak Salad
This salad is the best of both worlds in the summer: grilled meat and veggies yet served over a salad which makes it feel just a bit lighter. This steak salad features perfectly grilled New York strip steak, along with grilled pineapple, bell peppers, onions and avocado. It’s all served over hearty lettuce and with the most amazing fresh pineapple dressing. This salad is savory yet just a bit sweet thanks to the grilled onions and pineapple. Get out of the kitchen and make this perfect hearty salad outside tonight!
Here is what you need to make it!
- New York Strip Steak
- Fresh Pineapple
- Pineapple Juice
- Red Bell Pepper
- Avocados
- Red Onion
- Crisp Lettuce
- Cilantro
- Dijon Mustard
- White Wine Vinegar
- Olive Oil
Substitutions
Steak: We are recommending a New York Strip Steak, but you can really use whatever steak you like on the grill. Some other nice options would be ribeye or a skirt steak.
Cilantro: Don’t like cilantro? You can skip it. Maybe add in some chives instead.
Veggies: We love the vegetable pairing here or red bell pepper and onion with this dish, but you could substitute in what you have on hand.
Pineapple Juice: We are calling for pineapple juice in this recipe to use for the dressing. We didn’t want it to be a thick dressing and we didn’t want to have to use any more appliances other than the knife and grill, so we opted to use purchased juice, instead of pureeing up the leftover pineapple. But if you wanted to avoid buying pineapple juice, you can puree and strain the leftover fresh pineapple and use that instead.
Steps to Make It
There are just a few steps between you and this delicious salad. To make this recipe you need to:
- Make the pineapple dressing.
- Prepare and grill the steak and veggies.
- Prepare salad ingredients and assemble the salad!
Grilling Tips
Most of this salad is composed of grilled meat and veggies. If you are new to grilling, here are a few tips to get you going.
- Just like you would an oven, you definitely want to preheat the grill. Regardless of whether you are grilling over a charcoal, or gas flame, make sure to preheat the grill (with the lid closed) for at least 10 minutes.
- Make sure your grates are really clean before cooking. Use a brush to get off any stuck-on bits of food from previously cooked meals.
- Oil your food, not the grates! And, make sure it’s a very light coating of oil. Dripping oil can cause flare-ups, which can char your food unpleasantly. You do not need to oil the steak though, because it has plenty of fat already in it, and when seared properly, it will not stick to the grates.
- Turn the food only once. No need to flip the food constantly.
- Keep the lid down as much as possible. This helps extinguish any flare-ups, and helps keep a consistent temperature.
- Use a meat thermometer. It’s the best way to tell when your steak is done.
Want to “grill” this indoors?
This salad is all about the grill! However, if you don’t have a grill, you can certainly cook up the veggies inside on a grill pan. The above tips apply to cooking on a grilling pan, too!
Steak Cooking Temperatures
Here is an overview of grill cooking temps. Remember, the steak will continue to cook after it is pulled off of the grill. So make sure to take it off when they reach this temperature, instead of at the final temperature you want it to be at since the temperature will continue to climb after you pull it off the grill.
- If you like rare steak, stop cooking at 125°F.
- If you like medium-rare steak, stop cooking at about 130°F.
- If you like medium steak, stop cooking at 140°F.
- If you like a well-done steak stop cooking at 150ºF-155ºF.
Looking for more salad recipes? Check these out:
- Cheeseburger Salad with Mustard Dressing
- Southwest Tuna Salad
- Greek Lentil Salad
- Spicy Shrimp and Citrus Salad
- Chopped Antipasto Salad with Chicken
Grilled Steak Salad with Pineapple and Avocado
Ingredients
- 16 ounce New York strip steak
- Salt and Pepper
- 1/2 pineapple cored, and cut into half-moons
- 1 red pepper cut into large pieces
- 1 red onion cut into thick rings
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ¼ cup pineapple juice
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon fresh black pepper more to taste
- 1 cup cilantro leaves divided
- 4 cups crisp lettuce
- 2 avocados sliced
Instructions
- Preheat grill.
- Liberally salt and pepper the steak, and let it sit at room temperature while the grill preheats.
- Add pineapple, red pepper, red onion, avocado oil and a big pinch of salt and pepper to a bowl. Gently toss to coat, while keeping the red onion slices intact.
- Add the steak, and veggies to the grill in an even layer, in batches if necessary. Cook the veggies, turning just once, until softened, about 5-7 minutes per side. Cook the steak on one side for 4-5 minutes, until nicely seared then turn and cook for an additional 3-10 minutes, depending on your desired temperature.
- Pull the steak and the veggies from the grill, and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. Add mustard, pineapple juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper to a jar.
- Mince half of the cilantro, and add to the jar. Shake up the jar until the dressing is combined. Taste, and adjust seasoning.
- Slice the steak, and dice up the veggies.
- Assemble the salads: Divide lettuce, avocado, remaining cilantro, sliced steak, onions, pineapple, and bell pepper into four bowls. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of dressing over the top. Serve immediately.
Delicious and Easy to make. The flavors went together better than I could have imagined.