Avocado Chicken Salad

If you’ve ever been told that you should eat more salad, but always found them boring and not particularly tasty, this Avocado Chicken Salad is for you! I’ll get to the tasty part in a minute, but let’s take a look at avocados for a second. Did you know that avocados are a healthy source of monounsaturated fats (shown to lower heart disease risk and lower levels of cholesterol) and tomatoes are high in the antioxidant lycopene, shown to reduce risk of heart disease and stroke?

Chicken, of course, is a great low-fat source of protein. And there are plenty of red onions, cucumbers, and Romaine lettuce here to make any health-conscious eater feel good. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. How does this Avocado Chicken Salad taste? Because it doesn’t matter how good it is for you if it doesn’t taste good.

Let’s start with the avocado. There’s an entire avocado diced into this, which complements the tomatoes and red onion wonderfully. Plus there’s the honey mustard dressing, made with both smooth, creamy Dijon mustard and spicy whole-grain mustard. Then. Then! THEN!!!

The magic ingredient. Salty, smoky, and crisp bacon. You read that right. Just when you though this salad couldn’t get any better, we’re adding in chopped bacon slices, so you get that deep, unmistakeable flavor in every bite. The bacon adds a nice contrast, too. With lighter ingredients like chicken, avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions, the bacon brings a different and delightful seriousness to this salad.

There’s really no way to go wrong with the Avocado Chicken Salad. And if you’re trying to stick more closely to a lower fat diet, you could even skip the bacon if you wanted. Whatever you decide, I promise this one will be on your regular menu.

Avocado Chicken Salad

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Healthy AND tasty?! This Avocado Chicken Salad, with a tangy honey mustard dressing, hits all the right notes. 

• Author: Addie Gundry
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Marinade Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 4
• Category: Salads & Dressings

Ingredients

• Dressing and Marinade
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 small garlic clove, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Chicken and Salad
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce, plus a few leaves for garnish
  • 1 cup sliced cucumber
  • 1/2 cup red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup chopped red onion
  • 4 bacon slices, cooked until crisp, chopped
  • 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch dice

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Instructions

1. For the dressing and marinade: Make the dressing/marinade by placing the honey, whole-grain mustard, Dijon mustard, garlic, and salt into a small food processor or blender. Blend and with the machine running, add the olive oil. Set aside.
2. For the chicken and salad: Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally to a ½-inch thickness. Place half of the dressing/ marinade in a large zip-top bag and add the chicken. Close the top and use your hands to thoroughly coat the chicken with the marinade. Let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or chill until ready to cook.
3. Prepare an outdoor grill or heat a stove-top grill pan over medium- high heat. Lay the chicken on the grill and cook for about 4 minutes per side, until chicken is cooked through.
4. In a large serving bowl, place the lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and onion. Toss with the other half of the dressing, reserving 2 tablespoons. Cut the chicken into thin slices and add to the bowl, then top with bacon and avocado. Drizzle with the remaining dressing, if desired. Serve.

Do you have a favorite healthy salad? Have you made this one? What did you think?