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This avocado chicken salad recipe is a healthier, lightened up version of a classic sandwich filling. This salad is made with no mayonnaise, but is still creamy and full of flavor. Serve this in a croissant for a tasty light lunch full of goodness.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Avocado: This is the star ingredient in this recipe. Its plant-based buttery dreamy consistency makes it such an awesome substitute for mayonnaise.
- Greek yogurt: This adds a great creamy texture as well as a little extra protein. You can also use plain yogurt.
- Mustard: Dijon mustard adds a great tang to the chicken avocado salad. You can use wholegrain for a milder flavor.
- Lemon: Use both the zest and juice of a lemon for a great zingy and vibrant flavor.
- Chicken: Use cooked shredded chicken. This is a great recipe if you have leftover roasted chicken!
- Vegetables: Celery and green onions add a great texture and flavor.
- Cilantro: For a fresh herby flavor. You can use parsley if you don’t like the taste of cilantro.
How to make avocado chicken salad
- Chop the avocado and add to a bowl so it’s easier to mash; reserve some for topping.
- Mash the avocado until creamy.
- Add the yogurt, dijon mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Whisk together until combined.
- Add the chicken, celery and green onions to the large bowl with the dressing.
- Stir to combine. Cover the mixture and store in the fridge for 4 hours or more to set.
Tips for making the salad
- Use a low-fat yogurt to cut down on calories and fat content. You won’t notice the difference especially since the avocados add a lot of good fat and creaminess already.
- Make the sauce in a blender. You can easily mash the avocado with the ingredients in a bowl. But for a more even consistency, try blending everything in a blender or mini food processor until smooth and creamy.
- Make sure your avocado is ripe. It should give a little when you squeeze it, but it shouldn’t be mushy. This will help to create a more smooth dressing for the salad.
- Let your chicken cool before mixing it with the other ingredients. If you’ve cooked chicken specifically for this recipe, shred it then let it cool for a 10 minutes before combining. That will help minimize immediate browning on the avocado from the heat.
Frequently asked questions
Keep any leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge, and it will keep for up to two days. Do not leave the chicken out at room temperature or it will go bad. It’s also best if you assemble it in the croissant or bread right before eating
Try serving this chicken salad in a croissant; the flavors all work really well together. If you are gluten-free, you can serve it on gluten-free bread, and if you are following a low carb or keto diet you can use a low carb wrap or a large lettuce leaf. This salad also works well as a summer side dish.
Use cooked shredded chicken in this recipe. You can use thighs, breasts or a mix. It’s great to use up leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken, or you can quickly bake, poach or grill up a couple of breasts.
This is a modern take on the classic chicken sandwich, with fresh and light ingredients that leave your tummy happy. It’s easy and quick to make with a creamy consistency and filling ingredients – perfect for an easy weekday lunch!
More summer salads:
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Avocado Chicken Salad recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Avocado Chicken Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 avocados chopped, divided
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1 bunch green onions chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mash half the avocados. Add the Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and lemon zest. Whisk together until well combined (or blend in blender for smoother consistency).
- Add the chicken, celery, green onions, salt and pepper on top and stir to combine. Fold in the remaining chopped avocado.
- Serve with fresh cilantro on its own, as a dip, in a croissant or with whole grain bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, Yumna I made this salad for my lunch for work and it was so good!! But I added tuna instead of chicken and some boiled pasta to bulk it up. This is now my go to healthy lunch thanks for the inspiration!!
Yay! That’s a great idea!!
This was amazing!! Made for mine and my brother’s family and EVERYONE loved it and had third servings!! We ate it on its own, on a tortilla wrap, on lettuce and on sourdough bread. All so relish!!!
Thank you so much! That’s so great!!
I just made this last night, added basil and grape tomatoes. I am so glad I ran into your recipe! Thanks!
I love the sound of that! Same here!! You’re so welcome!
This was delicious! I used half a lemon and a green bell pepper instead of green onion because I didn’t have any and it added a nice flavor and crunch! I will definitely be making this again soon, thanks Yumna! 🙂
That sounds lovely too! Yay!! You’re so welcome!
I made these today and they were absolutely delicious!
Just made this on the fly – I didn’t measure any of my ingredients out and just tasted as I went and it was AMAZING. Such a quick, easy and healthy meal with ingredients I already had on hand. I didn’t have any green onion or celery but it was still really good. They would’ve added some nice crunch and flavor though. I also only used a bit of lemon juice from half a lemon, only one avocado, and added a lot more cilantro because I love it. Highly recommend!!
I love that! Next time it’d definitely be worth adding the green onion and celery. Thank you!
I have been craving a healthier version of chicken salad, and this hit the spot! It was great on its own, in a wrap/pita bread, or in a lettuce wrap for the low-carb version. I didn’t have green onions or cilantro but it was still fabulous without these garnishes. Thank you as always for another great recipe to add to my repertoire!
I’m so glad this hit the spot! You’re so welcome!
Super easy to make and extremely fresh especially for the summer!!! Love that it is ingredients you either already have or can easily find!
Thank you so much! Exactly what I was going for!
Hello Yumna, I love following the recipes 😍. But please Turkish yogurt, not Greek. Thanks
Thank you! You could do that too if you prefer.
I loved this the first time I made it using brown sugar but tonight I made it with Stevia not realizing that the ratios are so different. A word to the wise, if using a substitute use a LOT less. We had to throw the whole thing away!
Hi Alisha – There’s actually not sugar in this recipe. How come you added the brown sugar and then the stevia?