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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- Taco Salad
- Classic Tuna Salad
- Caesar Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
What is the opinion on temperature for serving. Seems like room temp would be best for flavor???
Hi Tiffany, I like to enjoy it right after it is made, but I have also enjoyed it the next day after it is refrigerated – it’s a great way to use leftover rotisserie chicken that has been refrigerated 🙂
could you do this with tuna and no bacon?
Hi Kim, I think you would love this Avocado Tuna Salad 🙂
Delicious! I made this for lunch one day and wanted more the next
I’m happy to hear that Lynn! Thanks for sharing your great review!
I am making this for my Bunco group tonight. Will the avocados turn brown before tonight, or should I add them at the last minute? Can’t wait to serve this!
Hi Jureda, The avocados will be fine until tonight 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.
I made it tonight and added black beans and served it over arugula. Delicious! Thank you
My pleasure Tricia! That does sound really good! I’m glad you like the recipe! 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight. It was so GOOD!
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe Celeste! Thanks for sharing 🙂
It was so good! I didn’t add the eggs because I can’t eat them but it even got a thumbs up from my husband! We served with warm corn tortillas! So yummy!
I’m glad you both enjoy the recipe Tara! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
Incredibly easy and incredibly delicious! Thanks Natasha!
My pleasure Alisha! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe so much! Thanks for sharing 😀
The avocado chicken salad was fabulous!! 😋
I’m glad you love it Tracy! Thanks for sharing 😀
Oh my goodness! This recipe is amazing! Definitely a keeper.
Thinking about trying a variation by omitting bacon, adding tomato, swapping cilantro for the dill and lime for the lemon.
I’m glad you like it just as much as I do Jenni! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Excellent! I’m having it for the second time tonight. Thank you.
You’re welcome Lulu! I’m so glad you love it! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
I’m making this tonight 🙂 how many days will it keep for? Thinking 2 maybe 3??
Hi Amber, This salad is still really great on day 2 but we haven’t tested it beyond that since the avocado is the ingredient that doesn’t last beyond that without starting to discolor.
Oh, Also, when storing in the refrigerator, place the plastic wrap directly over the surface of the salad to keep the air out – this will keep the avocados fresh longer 🙂
We made this tonight
Wish i would have taken pics to show off,
Either way this was a great tasting entree! Thanks Natasha for sharing
My pleasure Melodie! I’m glad to hear you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review!
This recipe tastes great and is very easy to throw together. And almost all of the ingredients are Paleo which is an added bonus for me! Thank you for sharing this with us.
You’re welcome Brittany! I’m glad to hear you enjoy the recipe so much! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
Hello, i’d love to try a version of this for a pescatarian friend using either seared tuna or poached salmon in place of the chicken. Any ideas what I could replace the bacon with? I was wondering either capers or olives to still get some saltiness as I would have got from the bacon. Thank you xx
Hi Kim, I think olives would be nice. It would probably still be ok to just omit the bacon but I agree, that salty bite is nice!
Very good dish! I’m currently on a diet and this was fulfilling.
I’m glad to hear that Kelley! Thanks for sharing 😀
Excellent salad, all my wife’s favorite ingredients, this had great flavor and was quite filling. I did add a little Dijon to the dressing but more from habit than anything else.
I’m glad to hear you both enjoy the recipe John! Thanks for sharing your great review!
We had this salad for dinner today and I gotta say it was amazing!! So so good👍👍thanks for the recipe 😚
You’re welcome Natasha! I’m glad to hear you love the recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Tried this for supper tonight for my husband and I. We had it over chopped romaine. So good and filling!
I’m glad to hear you both like the recipe Regina! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Nutritional breakdown please.
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 Terry!