I love chicken salad, but I am admittedly a chicken salad snob. I like for it to be good and creamy, with onion and celery but without nuts and grapes. When I find a place that makes a good chicken salad, I try to savor it, because those places are hard to find!
I was nervous about trying this one because on the original pin, it was hailed as a healthy dish. That always scares me because I'm fearful it's sacrificed on flavor. This definitely did not. It's not as creamy as the best of the best chicken salads, but because it has an entirely different flavor than most, I'm able to overlook it. I actually find this one quite tasty and I enjoy making it for days when we need to eat on the run. Easy to pack a sandwich and go!
Avocado Chicken Salad
* 2 cups of shredded chicken
* 1 avocado
* 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon of salt
* 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
* 2 teaspoons of lime juice
* 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
* Pita buns
Combine all items in a bowl at least a half hour before serving, so flavors can marry. Serve cold plain or on pita buns, crackers or chips!
* I always cook my chicken breasts or tenders by putting them {fresh or frozen} in a pan of water on the stove and bringing them to a boil until they are cooked all the way through.
* I put the cooked chicken in my stand mixer and let the paddle shred it up. Another Pinterest tip I learned a while back that has served me VERY well.
* Mom never cooked with avocados when I was growing up, so I had no idea how to tell if they were ripe. If that's you...avocados are ripe when they're soft and squishy. They are THE easiest thing to cut; just run a knife down to the core all the way around, twist it open, and scoop or chop out the insides.
* I don't cut up my cilantro super fine, and it still works well. If you prefer tiny pieces, you can really cut it up small.
* I use Fage Greek Yogurt for all my cooking. Love it!
* Ryan and I have become fans of the flat pita buns for all our sandwiches. I hate it that they're so pricey, but we splurge on that.
* This saves well for a couple of days. After that, the avocado starts to turn brown and gross.
6 comments:
Thanks for sharing this, Bekah! I love to try new recipes, especially healthy ones. This one sounds so yummy; I will be trying it soon! :o)
I love avocados!!! If I weren't a vegetarian I would totally try this. I wonder how it would work with tuna???
Shari - hope you like it when you try it!
Natasha - I bet it would work really well, actually. I (confession) despise tuna with all my being, but the consistency is similar, and I know on casseroles and salads, you can often interchange tuna and chicken, so I bet it would work well!
When Frog makes guacamole, he always saves a pit from one of the avocados to keep in the bowl in the fridge (as if guacamole lasts very long around here anyway, with all 4 of us loving it!). The pit keeps it from turning brown as quickly. Also, if he makes it ahead of time, he'll put a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of it, then cover the bowl with a lid. That keeps the oxygen out, which is what browns it. Just a couple hints that may help...not that brown-ish avocado is BAD, but it just doesn't look appealing! Maybe it will help the chicken salad look better longer! :)
ok, so I just asked Frog WHY the avocado pit helps, and he said, "I have no idea." He googled it and found that it's an old wives' tale. The article he read said you'd get the same results from putting golf balls or your iphone in your bowl of guacamole. haha. It did say that the plastic wrap on the surface helps prevent browning, as does adding some sort of citrus juice like lemon or lime to counteract whatever enzyme oxidizes the avocado. Now you've had your science lesson for the day. I just didn't want to lead you astray after finding out the pit does nothing. You'd hate to scoop THAT into your chicken salad sandwich!
Jenna - That's so funny, because Jonathan taught me that pit of the avocado in the guacamole thing. I wanted to believe it worked! Maybe I will try a golf ball....
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