This avocado chicken salad comes together in less than 15 minutes

We love this cool, creamy avocado chicken salad. Whether you are looking for a crowd-pleasing dish for a backyard potluck or you are just looking for a quick and healthy lunch recipe, you can’t go wrong with this 15-minute avocado chicken salad recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

Best of all, this refreshing recipe doesn’t require fancy or hard-to-find ingredients. You don’t need to head out to the store for tarragon or dill or do anything super complicated to make it. And you don’t need mayo, which is a major plus if you’re trying to avoid high-fat, high-sodium foods or anything highly processed. In fact, this recipe is both keto-friendly, Whole 30 friendly and paleo-friendly, so this is a win-win-win of a dish that will work for large groups and a wide variety of tastes.

To make Mel’s recipe for avocado chicken salad, you can either cook chicken breasts ahead of time and then let them cool before you chop them up, or you can simply reach for a store-bought rotisserie chicken and dice the white meat into chunks.

You also need two ripe avocados, red onion, corn kernels (fresh or frozen), along with cilantro or parsley. The dressing for this avocado chicken salad recipe is also uber-simple: Made with nothing other than olive oil, lemon juice (or lime juice, or both!) and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, this is a light and crisp chicken salad recipe that is packed with healthy fats thanks to the avocado and olive oil.

Find the full recipe and read all of Mel’s tips at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe here.

Customizing Your Avocado Chicken Salad

It’s so easy to add some twists to this avocado chicken salad recipe to make it extra special for your family. Add some pistachios, pumpkin seeds or tri-color tortilla strips for extra crunch and color. Or sweeten it up with a handful of dried cranberries or raisins. Up the protein quotient by adding in a can of garbanzo beans. Black beans would also be perfect with this Southwestern-style avocado chicken salad recipe, as would black olives or fresh tomatoes. If you want it to keep it keto, reach for crumbled bacon bits or cheese, such as goat cheese, feta or smoked cheddar.

You can serve this avocado chicken salad in lettuce wraps, on top of a crunchy baguette or make it a sandwich with your favorite bread. Or take a cue from a happy reviewer who says her family loved this recipe when it was served alongside Trader Joe’s cornbread crisps. What a great idea for easy grazing at a barbecue or picnic!

And, if you want to make the chicken instead of using a store-bought rotisserie chicken, consider using Mel’s recipe for lemon garlic grilled chicken. This simple marinade (lemon, garlic, olive oil and oregano) cooks quickly, either on the grill or broiled in the oven for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your breasts. Mel recommends that you use chicken tenders or even cut your chicken breasts in half so that your breasts are thinner and will cook faster and have a more tender and toothsome bite.

This basic chicken breast recipe is perfect for recipes like the above-mentioned avocado chicken salad, but it also is ideal in everything from green salads to pasta to wraps. Make a big batch on the weekend, then keep the leftovers in the fridge for an easy addition to any summer recipe.

Enjoy!