Avocado Chicken Salad (Printable Version)
Ripe avocado, shredded chicken, cherry tomatoes and lime dressing tossed gently over greens for a low-carb lunch.
# What You Need:
→ Poultry
01 - 2 cups cooked chicken breast, diced or shredded
→ Produce
02 - 2 ripe avocados, diced
03 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
04 - 1/3 cup red onion, finely chopped
05 - 1/4 cup fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped
06 - 1 small cucumber, diced (optional)
07 - 2 cups mixed salad greens or lettuce
→ Dressing
08 - 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
09 - 2 tbsp olive oil
10 - 1 garlic clove, minced
11 - 1/2 tsp salt
12 - 1/4 tsp black pepper
# Directions:
01 - In a small bowl, whisk together the fresh lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and black pepper until well combined. Set aside.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, combine the diced or shredded chicken, diced avocados, halved cherry tomatoes, finely chopped red onion, chopped cilantro or parsley, and cucumber if using.
03 - Pour the prepared dressing over the salad and gently toss to coat all ingredients evenly, taking care not to mash the avocado pieces.
04 - Arrange a bed of mixed salad greens or lettuce on each plate and mound the avocado chicken salad on top. Serve immediately.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The avocado does double duty here, adding creamy richness while keeping everything light and refreshing.
- It comes together in under thirty minutes with absolutely no cooking required if you start with leftover or rotisserie chicken.
02 -
- Tossing too aggressively will mash the avocado into a guacamole-like texture, which still tastes great but loses the satisfying contrast of creamy chunks against crisp vegetables.
- A pinch of ground cumin or smoked paprika in the dressing completely transforms the flavor profile with almost zero extra effort.
03 -
- Dice the avocado last, right before adding it to the bowl, because exposed avocado deteriorates faster than any other ingredient in this recipe.
- Slightly underripe avocados actually hold their shape better during tossing, so if yours are borderline, use them without hesitation.