I’ve been craving chicken salad sandwiches lately and had some leftover rotisserie chicken, so I decided to make a Chicken Avocado Lime Salad to put on my bread. It is SO simple to make, and so yummy. The avocado adds a creaminess to it that is divine and the celery adds just the right amount of crunchiness.
The best tip for making this chicken salad savory and fast is to use a rotisserie chicken. We love picking one up for a quick dinner, adding rice and vegetables to make it stretch. My son had surgery and so we were blessed to receive 3 rotisserie chickens. My kids were SO happy! So was I, as I was able to take the meat off, cover the bones in water to make a Chicken and Rice Soup (I’ll post the recipe soon!) and use the meat for dinner, lunch, and Chicken Divan the next day. Rotisserie chickens are SO tender and easy to pull apart.
For the avocado, it’s good to find one that is just turning black but still slightly firm. This was a good one for us. To dice it, I slice it using my mac knife (expensive, but my FAVORITE knife set!!!) around the center length wise, making sure not to cut into the seed. I then twist the avocado and pull the sides apart. I set one side down, and proceed to dice the avocado in the skin (I start with the side without the seed to make it easy). I do several long vertical cuts, making sure not to cut through the skin, and then do several horizontal cuts. I then take my knife and carefully cut along the bottom of the avocado skin popping out the diced avocado. Really easy, quick, and saves washing yet another dish!
As far as the other ingredients go, this is a simple recipe. For this recipe I used some diced celery and a little bit of olive oil mayonnaise. You can also use Greek yogurt in place of the mayonnaise as a healthy alternative. You will just want to add a little bit more of the seasonings. I’ve done this before with yogurt and it’s a yummy substitute.
When everything was mixed together, I felt like it was missing something, so I cut open a lime, squeezed the juice on top and mixed it in. Yum! It was exactly what was missing. The more I use limes, the more I am falling in love with them. I squeeze the juice into my water, over my salads, and into my chicken dishes. So glad I planted a lime tree! Here’s hoping it will live:)
This chicken salad is so versatile. It is healthy, fast, and satisfying. You can serve it as a sandwich on bread, over a bed of lettuce, or mix in some grapes and cut up cantaloupe for a special treat! Enjoy!
- 2 c chicken, cooked and diced (I used meat from a rotisserie chicken)
- ½ avocado, diced
- ½ key lime or Mexican lime juice
- 1 tsp. mustard
- 2 T olive oil mayonnaise (or substitute Greek Yogurt)
- 1 stalk celery, diced small
- Salt (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste)
- Celery salt (to taste)
- In a large bowl, place all of the ingredients together (except the lime juice).
- Squeeze the lime half over the bowl of ingredients.
- Stir gently, to combine.
- Add additional salt, pepper, and celery salt as needed.
- Serve immediately over a bed of lettuce, on bread, or with chopped cantaloupe and grapes or chill to keep cold.