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
This was sooooo delicious! Even my kids loved it. I did not have fresh dill, so I just eliminated it and it was still fantastic! Thanks!
I’m so happy the kiddos enjoyed it!
I don’t either, but I’ll use a little bit of dried.
Hmmm… hard boiled eggs in the photos but not in the written recipe…
Hi Melissa, they are optional. Sometimes we use them and sometimes we don’t. It just adds extra protein. I have a note added about them in the print-friendly recipe card.
outstanding you are the best
Aww Thanks! And you are the best for following our blog and reading our recipes!
Can’t wait to try this. I do not like the typical dressings with vinegar and normally just use lemon and olive oil on my salads. This fits right in to my taste. Thanks. YUM
That’s so great, Sandi!
This turned out great. Next time I am going to try it on a bed of fresh spinach! Thanks for the great recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it
I would cut the avocado last and sprinkle it with lemon juice or the dressing to keep it fresh longer. Will be making this soon. A nice summer dinner. Thanks for posting.
Yes! The lemon juice will keep it from turning brown! Great tip for everyone!
I made this delicious salad today and I really enjoyed it. It is so hot here in California that this salad is so refreshing for me.
I agree, this salad is so great for a hot summer day! We are experiencing 100 degree weather this week ourselves!
This. Is. AMAZING! So great! I can’t wait to make it again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review, Lisa!
Hey Natasha! I’m so excited to try this recipe, and I tried to read through all the comments to see if this question had already been asked – but there are SO many, and when people got snotty, I got protective and kinda mad…lol
I recently had gallbladder surgery and I’m trying to get back to keto…I thought of just leaving out the corn, but I suspect it does quite a bit for the texture of the salad…do you have ideas for substitutions that might maintain the texture/integrity of the salad?
Thanks for all your hard work!
Hi Mandy! That is a great question. I haven’t tried it without the corn and I’m sure it helps the texture but I think this salad would be fine if you omit it. We had several Keto dieters comment on how much they enjoyed this One writing” just made this, but left out the corn, because I’m keto. It was very good”
I use the USDA food composition database to count nutrition information. According to it, 1 cup of yellow sweet corn off the cob is 38.77 grams of carbohydrates, with 4.6 grams of fiber if you count net carbs.
Total carbs per serving would be reduced by 6.46 if you omit the corn.
Net carbs would be 5.7.
What a great salad!! Love the dressing that crisp taste.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
How much is a serving? a cup?
Hi Robin! This recipe makes six servings. I haven’t measured it by cup. 1/6th of the recipe is considered a serving 🙂 Hope this helps.
I am overwhelmed!
Isn’t it sooo good!? Thanks for the awesome review!
Love this Avocado Chicken Salad, nok majo, which makes it perfect (i dont like majo ind nu salad)
My familie mand friends like it.
Its perfect in lunchbox and to have when you to camping. Just købe it.
Simple but good.
Like your other resipes <3
Thank you for sharing with us <3
You’re so welcome, Arndis! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
My cousin posted this recipe on Facebook and I brought it to a 4th of July party. After I made it I actually thought twice about bringing it because I wanted to keep it for myself! But I did bring it and it was the hit of the party! Everyone had to have the recipe. Also, I am not a big dill lover but it really gives it a little extra pop. I’m really happy I found your website, and will definitely be trying more recipes. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review, Tish! 🙂
What is the sodium count if I leave out the bacon?
Hi Joan, we are not nutritionists or registered dietitians. However we do use a free online nutritional calculator such as this and this one to figure out nutritional facts for you and try to be as accurate as possible. Bacon is high sodium, up to 500mg per ounce! We used lean bacon for this recipe and that number is still pretty significant. I hope this helps 🙂
I leave the bacon out altogether and still tastes amazing!
Awesome! I’m happy it worked out well for you!
1002 mg sodium tho ???
Yes! The bacon adds to that greatly. Omitting the bacon will help that number a ton!
Hello Natasha! I just wanted to let you know I made this salad and it’s DELICIOUS!! I don’t miss the mayo at all 🤓!
That’s so great! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for the recipe. I just found out I need to fix my cholesterol and lower my sugar and I think this is gonna be something I can use to help that. Once again Thank you.
You’re so welcome, Becka!
leave out the bacon and oil to do so. The best way is to make this veggie by replacing the chicken with say black beans and put spice in it and use a pure guacamole dressing for it or another dressing with no oil
for best results
Looks so good! I can’t eat bacon or chicken meat, but I will be trying that with shrimp and smoked salmon or coconut “bacon”!
Fyi, instead of boiling the eggs, bake them in the shells in the oven at 350ºF for 28 minutes in muffin pans, put them eggs in a bowl of ice water to cool them down, and their shells are easier to peel. The baked eggs tastes 100Xs better than boiled eggs!
Thank you for that wonderful tip, Can’t wait to try that!
We’ve been looking for low/no carb dinners, so we doubled the recipe to have as an entree for 4 people, however we lowered the dill to a scant tsp total. It didn’t look like it would be enough, but it was VERY filling! Definitely one to do again! =)
That is so great Tracie, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!