Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad

All of the flavors of guacamole are present to make up this delicious Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad! Creamy avocado is a great substitute for mayo, which is the base in most chicken salads. The crunchy jalapeno and onion add great texture and flavor. Make sure you add enough lime juice-- it totally brings this dish to life!

The origin of this guacamole chicken salad came from a need for a recipe that uses a lot of avocados. Doesn't it seem that either avocados are hard as rock or they are mush, there's no in between. Not ripe, not ripe, not ripe, and… you missed your window! Well if you have a ton of avocados to use at once, this may be a recipe you want to try out.

I love making different types of chicken salads, as they are generally HIGH protein and full of flavor. In my opinion, some of the best recipes for chicken salad are this lemon tarragon chicken salad and pesto chicken salad. I love to serve these as is, on croissants, or in wraps!

Ingredients

• Chicken: Grilled chicken breast or rotisserie chicken work great.
• Ripe avocados: Make sure your avocados are super ripe, as they will be creating a "sauce" to coat the chicken chunks.
• Jalapeno: Click here to learn all about jalapenos and how to pick a good one.
• Cilantro: In my opinion, this ingredient is essential as the flavor really amps up the chicken salad.
• Garlic cloves: Fresh garlic is best, as the flavor is more bitey. If you would like, you can substitute in a half of a teaspoon of garlic powder.
• Red onion: Onion adds flavor and crunch. You can sub in yellow, white, or a shallot.
• Lime: Lime adds freshness and helps to preserve the color and texture of the avocados. Lemon juice will work in a pinch.
• salt
• pepper

How to make Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad

In a large mixing bowl, add in diced chicken, avocado, jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, red onion and lime.

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Stir to combine and coat all of the chicken with avocado.

The avocado will break down a bit to cover the rest of the chicken salad ingredients, but will still retain avocado chunks as well. If you want a smoother chicken salad, combine the guacamole ingredients first and then add in the chicken.

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Add salt and pepper to taste.

How to serve avocado chicken salad

Southwest avocado salad with chicken can be serve a bunch of ways. Eat it on its on, on toast, a tortilla, bib lettuce, or a croissant.

You can also top the salad with shredded pepper jack cheese for extra protein.

Variations

This avocado chicken salad is pretty chunky. If you want the chicken to be coated in more of a "sauce," prep the guacamole part first and thin it out with extra lime or a little water until the avocado mixture resembles more of a thin sauce.

Some guacamole recipes call for diced tomatoes, feel free to add tomatoes into the salad or on top of the finished chicken salad.

Avocado and bacon are a match made in flavortown. Try adding a strip or two of crispy, crumbled bacon for a bit of a salty bite.

Storage

Because this chicken salad is made with loads of fresh avocado, the shelf life is short. The lime juice will help a bit with preservation, but avocados lose their color and texture quickly once cut. Store any leftovers in the fridge, and eat this avocado chicken salad within a day or two.