Picked With Passion

Pineapple Chicken Sausages come together in under 20 minutes for a quick and easy dinner that is perfect for summer with a refreshing pineapple salsa that you will want to eat with everything.

Without realizing it, I have been posting tons of sandwich and burger recipes over the past week. I guess it’s just that time of year when it’s easy to grill up your favorite protein, squish it in between some bread, and call it dinner. And chicken sausages are at the top of the list when it comes to a quick meal and a healhty sandwich filler. With so many different flavors and the fact that they are ready in less than 10 minutes, it’s a no brainer around here.

This meal actually happened by accident and I couldn’t be happier it did since we loved it. The original plan was to make pineapple, chicken, and sausage skewers but by the time dinner time came around, I was too tired to put together the skewers. Plus it was about 100 degrees out and I wanted some quick and refreshing. Since we all love pineapple salsa, I decided to whip up a quick batch and use it to top the sausages. I also made a quick creamy sauce with cilantro, jalapeno, sour cream, and yogurt. It was kind of like an aji verde (a green Peruvian sauce) and is delicious with the pineapple salsa. Definitely make it.

Here are some things to keep in mind when making these Pineapple Chicken Sausages:

• You can use any type of sausage you like, but I personally love to use a slightly spicy sausage since it pairs really well with the sweet pineapple salsa.
• Although we are partial to pineapple, you could make the sausage with mango, peaches, plums, or even watermelon. And for a more traditional dish, tomatoes are also always an option.
• If you don’t have a grill, you can cook the sausages on a grill pan or in a saute pan. Just try to get some char on the outside since it adds a nice smoky flavor to the dish.
• If you are making this dish for kids, consider leaving out the jalapeno and just serving it on the side instead. That way everyone can control the amount of spice in their dish.

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Here are some tools and products I used when preparing this recipe:

• When it comes to chicken sausages, I usually buy Aidell’s, Al Fresco, or Applegate. I find that I love of their flavors and I like the fact that they are less processed and more natural than many of the other brands on the market.
• If you don’t have a gas or charcoal grill at home, a grill pan is a great option for grilling indoors. I used one for years when I lived in an apartment that didn’t allow grills. The two that I use most often are this nonstick version and this cast iron version. The nonstick is great for easy clean-up but the cast iron will give you deeper grill marks and more smoky flavor.
• Pineapples can be a pain to cut, especially if you want pretty pineapple rings. That’s where a pineapple corer comes in handy. It slices the pineapple into perfect rings in about one minute. If you eat a lot of pineapple, it’s worth it.