A truly easy recipe for a delicious avocado chicken salad. This creamy and filling salad is low carb and keto.
I love having a salad for lunch. Summer, winter, it doesn’t really matter – I find them incredibly fresh-tasting, versatile and filling. I have a main-course salad for lunch at least once a week. I just never tire of them! 🥗
This avocado chicken salad is one of my favorite lunches. I make myself a big bowl and dig right in! It reminds me of Cobb chicken salad, but it’s way easier to make, so I make it more often.
The ingredients you’ll need
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty salad. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:
Chicken breast: Cooked and chopped or cubed. You can also use shredded rotisserie chicken if you’d like. Just make sure to remove the skin.
Hard-boiled eggs: Chopped. This is an optional ingredient, but I really like the flavor it adds.
Sliced celery: Thinly sliced is best.
Prepared guacamole: How easy is that! But you can also cube fresh avocado (a nutritious ingredient) and then add salt, pepper, and garlic if you’d like.
Red pepper flakes: Just a little. They don’t make this dish very spicy. But you can omit them if you’d like.
How to make an EASY avocado chicken salad
It’s so easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
Simply mix everything except for the pepper flakes in a salad bowl!
You can add a bit more guacamole or perhaps a tablespoon of olive oil if you feel it’s too dry.
Garnish (if you want) with red pepper flakes and serve.
I am very lazy in the kitchen and always looking for shortcuts. So I usually make this salad with prepared guacamole, instead of mashing an avocado and adding my own seasonings.
I simply look over the ingredients list and make sure it contains no weird ingredients. It’s not difficult to find store-bought guacamole that has a clean list of ingredients.
I like to add hard-boiled eggs to this salad. It’s just a personal preference. If you don’t like the idea of hard-boiled eggs in your salad, you can certainly leave them out without changing anything else in the recipe.
I also add a small amount of thinly sliced celery, for some added crunch. Again, this is something you can easily leave out. Or you might replace the celery with diced red onions. Or add the onions in addition to the celery.
Do you add mayonnaise?
I use no mayo in this avocado chicken salad. The guacamole adds plenty of creaminess. After you add the guacamole and gently stir everything together, do taste the salad. You might find that you would like to add more guacamole.
I usually add one cup of guacamole when making this salad for four. But when I make it when my parents visit, I use 1.5 cups. Otherwise, they find it a bit dry and not seasoned enough.
Instead of adding more guacamole, you can also add a tablespoon of olive oil to make the salad extra creamy.
Like all salad recipes, this one is very flexible and forgiving, and you can adjust the basic recipe to your own tastes and preferences.
How to serve avocado chicken salad
I keep it simple and serve it in a bowl – there’s really no need for a bun. But if you’d like, you could serve it on (or in) any of the following:
Can I keep leftovers?
I wouldn’t try to keep leftovers for longer than a day or so. The guacamole will not stay fresh. It’s best to finish this salad on the day you make it.
More avocado recipes that you might like
My favorite avocado recipe is these very tasty baked avocado fries with spicy chipotle dipping sauce. They are phenomenal!
A close second is this recipe for baked avocado egg, a tasty and gorgeous recipe for brunch.
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Avocado Chicken Salad
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped (20 oz, four medium chicken breasts)
- 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- 1/2 cup celery, finely sliced
- 1 cup prepared guacamole
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes for garnish (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large salad bowl, add the chicken breast, eggs and celery. Use a big serving spoon to gently mix everything together.
- Add the guacamole and gently stir to combine. Taste, and add more guacamole (try 1/2 cup more) if necessary, or add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Divided the avocado chicken salad among four individual bowls, sprinkle with red pepper flakes, and serve.
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.