Recipes & Cooking Dinner & Meal Ideas Salads Green Salad Grilled Avocado and Pineapple Salad Be the first to rate & review! Grilled avocado is the smoky addition your salad's been missing. By Chadwick Boyd Chadwick Boyd Chadwick Boyd has been sharing his lifelong passion for food better living with home cooks for almost 30 years. Like other food media and lifestyle entrepreneurs, such as Martha Stewart, Ina Garten and Nate Berkus, Chadwick juggles running his business and playing multiple roles – TV host, author, magazine and newspaper contributor, speaker and business owner – often at the same time. Chadwick is known for his modern twists on home cooking, biscuits, entertaining insights, and motivational writing. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process and Sarah Martens Sarah Martens Sarah Martens is the Senior Editor overseeing food at Better Homes & Gardens digital. She has been with the BHG brand for more than 10 years. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Published on July 21, 2023 Rate PRINT Share Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Carson Downing Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 6 Jump to Nutrition Facts When an avocado meets the searing heat of the grill, something marvelous happens—the already creamy flesh softens and takes on smoky flavor. This vibrant salad marries that distinct taste with caramelized pineapple, fresh blackberries, and a cilantro-orange dressing. You can use bottled orange juice in the salad dressing, but our Test Kitchen found that freshly-squeezed gave the dressing the most flavor. How to Assemble the Grilled Avocado Salad To arrange the avocado salad recipe, start with a bed of romaine lettuce. Look for romaine hearts in the grocery story—they are the most tender, sweetest part of the head of lettuce. Layer on grilled pineapple and avocado next. Scatter on blackberries and chopped bell pepper. Finish with a drizzle of the dressing. How to Choose a Ripe Avocado Firm, nearly ripe avocados work best on the grill; they’ll soften but still hold their shape. There are a couple of ways to check if an avocado is ripe. Stem Check: Peel back the small stem at the top of the avocado, if it lifts away easily and the flesh appears green underneath, the avocado should be at or near ideal ripeness. Squeeze: Give the avocado a gentle squeeze. If it yields, it is ready to be used right away. How to Cut an Avocado After washing your avocado, use a chef's knife to make a lengthwise cut around the seed (or pit), cutting through the skin and fruit. Holding the avocado in your hands, gently twist the two halves in opposite directions to separate them. Always cut your avocados with a sharp knife on a cutting board. Do not pit or slice it while it is in the palm of your hand. 18 Recipes for Perfectly Ripe Avocados Ingredients 2 tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp hot chili powder 1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 3/4-inch slices 3 firm, ripe avocados, halved, seeded, and peeled 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil 1/3 cup white wine vinegar 1/3 cup fresh orange juice 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 2 cloves garlic 2 cups chopped romaine heart or small leaves 1 cup coarsely chopped red onion 1 cup 1-inch pieces yellow or red bell pepper 1 cup fresh blackberries, rinsed and drained Directions In a small bowl combine the sugar and chili powder. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over pineapple slices. Brush cut sides of avocados with the 1 Tbsp of oil. Grill pineapple slices and avocados, cut sides down, on a greased grill rack directly over medium-high heat, turning the pineapple once, until it’s golden brown and avocados have deep brown grill marks, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove; cool for 5 minutes. If you like, halve pineapple slices and avocados. For dressing, in a medium bowl whisk together the 1/3 cup olive oil, the vinegar, orange juice, cilantro, garlic, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. On a serving platter arrange the lettuce and top with pineapple, avocados, onion, bell pepper, and blackberries. Drizzle with dressing. Serve immediately. Rate It Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 413 Calories 32g Fat 33g Carbs 5g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 6 Calories 413 % Daily Value * Total Fat 32.1g 41% Saturated Fat 4.6g 23% Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 25.3mg 1% Total Carbohydrate 33g 12% Dietary Fiber 13.4g 48% Total Sugars 15.1g Protein 5.1g 10% Vitamin D 0mcg 0% Vitamin C 89.1mg 99% Calcium 69.1mg 5% Iron 2.1mg 12% Potassium 1059.8mg 23% Fatty acids, total trans 0g Vitamin D 0IU Alanine 0.2g Arginine 0.3g Ash 3.1g Aspartic acid 0.5g Caffeine 0mg Carotene, alpha 42mcg Choline, total 36mg Copper, Cu 0.4mg Cystine 0.1g Energy 1729.5kJ Fluoride, F 9.4mcg Folate, total 238.6mcg Glutamic acid 0.7g Glycine 0.2g Histidine 0.1g Isoleucine 0.2g Leucine 0.3g Lysine 0.3g Methionine 0.1g Magnesium, Mg 68mg Manganese, Mn 1mg Niacin 3.2mg Phosphorus, P 123.5mg Pantothenic acid 2.2mg Phenylalanine 0.2g Phytosterols 37.7mg Proline 0.2g Retinol 0mcg Selenium, Se 1.6mcg Serine 0.2g Starch 0.1g Theobromine 0mg Threonine 0.2g Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 5.4mg Tryptophan 0.1g Tyrosine 0.1g Valine 0.2g Vitamin A, IU 7659.7IU Vitamin A, RAE 383mcg Vitamin B-12 0mcg Vitamin B-6 0.6mg Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 121.5mcg Water 305.7g Zinc, Zn 1.3mg *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.