This Avocado Chicken Salad Recipe has so much flavor and the perfect texture! We swap mayonnaise for fresh avocado, so it’s creamy but light and satisfying. I know, I know classic chicken salad recipes usually have mayo, but you will never miss it!
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Helpful Reader Review
“This salad is always on rotation, my son asks for it and he loves the leftovers for lunch the next day. It really is hearty and yummy!“ – Eva ★★★★★
Easy Avocado Chicken Salad Recipe
This avocado chicken salad recipe is a winner, and it is well-loved by adults and children. Since I first posted the video, it went viral with over 50 million views, making it one of the most popular recipes on my blog. Funny enough, this recipe came about from a craving I had driving home from my night shift back when I worked as a Registered Nurse!
It’s quite a bit different than our classic Chicken Salad, but everything about this is good, from the tender bites of chicken, creamy avocado, sweet corn, and crunchy bacon. Plus, you’ll want that fresh lemon dressing on all of your salads.
My son is particularly smitten with this chicken avocado salad and requests it for his birthday. It was in his top 3 requests, so you can imagine I made it for his birthday and as often as I can throughout the year. By the way, his other two were this Shrimp Dip and Caesar Salad. I love this kid.
Avocado Chicken Salad Video
You’ll love my lighter chicken salad with avocado. It’s just as creamy, flavorful, and filling as using mayo, but this is a dish you’ll feel great about eating often! If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, this chicken salad tastes just as good the next day – perfect for a to-go lunch. You all are always requesting work and school lunch ideas, and I hope you love this one!
Ingredients for Avocado Chicken Salad
This Avocado Chicken Salad has such simple ingredients, and you may already have everything you need to make it (I just love it when that happens)!
- Chicken – shredded or cubed. I use rotisserie or Roast Chicken to make prep easier, but you can also use well-drained canned chicken or Bake Chicken Breasts before shredding or cutting them into bite-sized pieces.
- Avocados – I use two avocados. You’ll want nearly ripe or perfectly ripe avocado for this salad.
- Corn – You’ll need 1 cup, or 1 ear of corn. You can rinse canned corn, cook frozen corn, use Grilled Corn or Boiled Corn. You can also microwave unshucked corn for 3-4 minutes. If you want to keep this salad Paleo, just omit the corn.
- Bacon – I prefer lean cuts of bacon (see how to cook bacon without a mess). If you’re looking to cut fat, I use turkey bacon instead.
- Herbs – Dill and Chives – If you prefer you can swap the dill with cilantro or the chives for green onions
- Dressing ingredients – lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper
- Hard-boiled eggs – Optional, but these add great protein to the salad. Peel, cut, or quarter, and then add to the salad ingredients.
Substitutions/ Variations
We love this just as it is, but you can use these easy substitutions to make it your own.
- Protein – omit the chicken or swap with hard-boiled eggs, leftover shrimp, or chickpeas
- Veggies – swap the corn or add other seasonal veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, or red peppers
- Pasta – Try mixing in a cup of bowtie pasta or any small-shaped pasta.
- Add heat – chop jalapeno or add a shake of red pepper flakes to the dressing.
Helpful Reader Review
“Stellar recipe!! Used turkey bacon for the first time ever and could NOT tell a difference, thanks for the tip! Also used a cup of frozen corn and just heated It up in pan until it got a little char to it. D-E-L-I-S-H😋” – Sam ★★★★★
How to Make Avocado Chicken Salad
- Dice or shred two chicken breasts or 2 cups of rotisserie chicken into a mixing bowl.
- Peel and dice avocado into bite-sized pieces. Careful! I’ve met too many people with avocado-cutting injuries. Add the pieces to the bowl.
- Add the corn, onion, bacon, and dill to the bowl.
- Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and then pour over the salad ingredients. Toss to combine. Add the hard-boiled egg if using, but don’t stir too vigorously after adding them.
How to Serve Avocado Chicken Salad
This avocado chicken salad is deliciously versatile. It is a protein-packed salad so it’s perfect for work lunch or meal prep and the lemon keeps it fresh and vibrant. Serve this chicken salad:
- As a main course salad alongside crusty Sourdough Bread
- In Croissants, Pita Bread, Hamburger Buns, Tortillas, or Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- Or scooped up with Pita Chips or Sourdough Crackers
- In lettuce cups for chicken salad lettuce wraps
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
This is a great salad to Make-Ahead because it tastes even better once the flavors meld the next day.
- Make-Ahead: If you know you won’t be serving it immediately, wait to cut and add the avocado until right before serving. Mix the salad and cover. Refrigerate overnight or until ready to serve.
- To Refrigerate: Cover leftovers with plastic wrap directly over the surface of the salad. This will help to slow the browning of the avocados. Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
This Avocado Chicken Salad recipe is one of my (and my son’s) very favorite salad recipes; seriously tasty and easy, hearty but feel-good food at the same time. It’s a win-win-win! Try this easy chicken salad today.
Avocado Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Avocado Chicken Salad Ingredients:
- 2 large cooked chicken breasts, shredded or chopped
- 2 large avocados
- 1 cup corn, from 1 cooked cob
- 6 oz lean bacon, cooked and chopped
- 1/4 cup Chives , (or green onion), chopped
- 2 Tbsp Dill, chopped, or to taste
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, Optional, halved or quartered
Lemon Dressing:
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Dice or shred the 2 large cooked chicken breasts and place them into a large mixing bowl.
- Peel and pit 2 large avocados, slice into bite-sized pieces and add to the mixing bowl.
- Add 1 cup of cooked corn (freshly cooked corn is best), toss in chopped green onion, chopped bacon, and fresh Dill.
- Make the dressing – add the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Drizzle the dressing over your salad and toss to combine. Serve with slices of hard-boiled egg if desired.
Notes
**For a healthier salad, you can use uncured turkey bacon which tastes amazing but has less fat. Make-ahead – Mix all the ingredients except the avocado and hard-boiled egg. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Add the avocado and egg just before serving. Storage – To store leftovers, cover the dish with plastic wrap, ensuring the wrap is touching to top of the salad to slow the browning of the avocado pieces. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Easy Salad Recipes
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- Maroulosalata – Greek Lettuce Salad
- Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad
- Taco Salad
- Classic Tuna Salad
- Caesar Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
We LOVE your recipes; this one is so good, I could eat it everyday! Keep them coming and keep up the delicious work! Thanks for sharing your work 🙂
I’m glad you love the recipe Kate! Thanks so much for following and sharing your great review!
How did you cook the chicken?
Hi Robert, I purchased cooked rotisserie chicken but you can also sauté some chicken breasts.
I cut the chicken breast in bite size pieces, salt and pepper and grilled stove top in a pan. Medium heat. It was very tender and flavorful
I am making this as part of my meal prep for the week (my lunches). Does the lemon juice keep the avocado from turning brown, or should I plan to add 1/2 an avocado to my salad each day when I pack my lunch? I’m just thinking dividing this over 4 days, the avocado is going to get really brown, even with lemon juice.
Jamie, I would recommend to add avocado on the day you pack lunch for the best results.
Looks delicious, did I miss the nutritional Information listing? I can’t find it.
Due to time constraints, I don’t typically include nutritional info, but check out this nutrition analyzer – you can plug in the ingredients from any recipe, select the serving size and it will give you nutritional info, calories, etc. I hope that is helpful to you!
Curious about leftover salad – do the avocado pieces turn brown as so often is the case when I try to refrigerate the portion of the avocado I don’t use in a recipe. I plan to make this today and take for my lunch tomorrow.
Hi Bonnie, I think this is the very best when it is served the same day but the avocados will be fine until the next day because the lemon juice in the dressing preserves them. To be safe, I would suggest placing plastic wrap directly over the salad to keep the air out which is what causes the avocados to brown.
Ive refrigerated it over night without problem of browning. It may be because of the fresh lemon juice in the olive oil dressing. To be honest it doesn’t last more than 24 hours in my house. We love it that much.
Loved this!! Subbed turkey bacon to cut down on a bit of fat and used dried dill-added to the dressing. My bf gave it two thumbs up as well – thanks!
You’re welcome Danielle! I’m glad to hear you both enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your great review!
Would love to know calories and proteins in this.
Due to time constraints, I don’t typically include nutritional info, but check out this nutrition analyzer – you can plug in the ingredients from any recipe, select the serving size and it will give you nutritional info, calories, etc. I hope that is helpful to you Annie!
I make this salad often and LOVE it! Very important to use fresh herbs and veggies for the best tasting result.
I’m happy to hear that Pam! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Hi! I’m a college student that lives on her own looking to make quickmeals. This is right up my alley,I love avocado! I was wondering if you could use pre made avocado dip for the salad?
Hi Tatyana, I think it would be too mushy. It’s best not to use overripe avocados in this salad so I don’t think dip would work well. I hope you love this salad – it really is so so good! 🙂
Is corn low carb? Isn’t corn GMO? Could we substitute it with something like zucchini? Also is bacon not always with nitrites? Is that not healthy?
Hi Lorena, you can purchase corn that is organic (non gmo) as well as bacon that is natural without added nitrites, but they are more expensive to substitute. I’m glad there are options though! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
The Avocado Chicken Salad looks delicious, however, I am allergic to Bacon is there anything that I can substitute with that. Any suggestion will be appreciated.
Thank you,
Este
Hi Ester, you can absolutely leave out the bacon and the salad will still work great. 🙂 If you want that salty bite, you might add some cheese.
I made this just this week and used turkey bacon instead because a lady at work doesn’t eat pork. Was still very tasty and well appreciated by the girls at work.
Made this today for lunch and gobbled it up! I added a few cherry tomatoes and some chopped zucchini that I had to use. Left out the onion…not a fan. A little tweak to an AWESOME recipe!
I’m glad you love it Donna! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Any idea on portions and calories.
Hello Ann! The recipe serves 6 as a side or 4 as an entree. Due to time constraints, I don’t typically include nutritional info, but check out this nutrition analyzer – you can plug in the ingredients from any recipe, select the serving size and it will give you nutritional info, calories, etc. I hope that is helpful to you!
WONDERFUL! So creamy and yummy! Thank you!
You’re welcome Angelina! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe!
This is incredible!!. I didn’t have dill and also substituted chopped red onion, and it was perfect! I can’t wait to make it again.
I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe Shelley! Thanks for sharing your great review with other readers!
Hi Natasha, could you tell me the approx weight of chicken, I’m planning on using a roterisse chicken. Thanks
Lyn, An average weight for a rotisserie chicken is about 2 pounds (32 ounces). You will get whole chicken = 3 Cups or white meat only = 2 cups.
I made this and it was okay. It was a bit too much dill. One tablespoon should be enough if you’re not a dill person. I prefer to taste the avocado and bacon.
Hi Bree, we are big fans of fresh dill :). Make sure if you possibly substituted with dried dill, you would use considerably less.
This salad is so yum! I made it for a family party and Received so many good comments on it! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
You’re welcome Zhanna! I’m glad to hear the recipe is a HIT! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Hey Natasha! Stop posting all these recipes. My bookmarks are a mile long 😛 Ha!
Can’t wait to try. My kid is gonna love this. Have blessed holiday
Hello Rich! I’m glad to hear how much you’re enjoying the recipes. Thanks for following and Merry Christmas!
I am making this salad TOMORROW! I can’t WAIT!!! So, over the past year I’ve begun to struggle with… symptoms… and, lets just say… the result has been weight loss (wont bore or gross you with the truly gory details of all that.) and a diagnosis of Ciliac Disease. :'( I am a BREAD AND PASTA FIEND!!! So… this has truly… a heart break for me. *sigh* I am now on a wheat free/gluten free adventure. Came across this recipe and thought… well hey… there’s a YUMMY new thing to try! With everything… Like BACON and Avocado, that I happen to LOVE so I don’t completely starve while I am going without everything else (bread and pasta) that I love, and trying new recipes and gluten free stuff. (Quinoa pastas, rice and oat flours, etc) I’ll be sure to review it when Im done making it and have tried but, I plan on using cilantro instead of dill and lime instead of lemon. (I don’t like dill) lol
I hope you love it Lori! Please do let me know what you think!