So I don’t know if you recently heard me swear off almond butter, but I did. I told myself I wouldn’t eat it for a month. Stupid idea huh? That’s why I did it, I knew it would be hard and pretty much impossible for me. And guess what…it was. I gave in after three days.Three. Freaking. Days. I’m an adult and I can’t even control my almond butter addiction. But here’s the thing, ever since Georgia and I gave up fruit for the month, Georgia has been consuming higher amounts of fat, meaning almond butter. And she mixes regular almond butter with honey and cinnamon….do you honestly expect me to say no to that? Honestly? You’re stupid if you said yes. I don’t give a sh*t about will power. I give a sh*t about my happiness. Even if that happiness includes love handles.
Ok, back to the point of life. I really REALLY like chicken salad. At Whole Foods, their chicken salad that costs $11.99/lb (yeah I said that right, 11 dollars and 99 cents PER POUND) and is DRENCHED in mayo. It’s stupid delicious. Maybe it’s so expensive because they used 1lb of mayo per .08lb of chicken. Makes sense, right? They’re smart there at Whole Foods. They know mayo tastes good on anything. ANYTHING. I think it would even make that attic fluffy stuff taste good. Back to the point though. Making paleo mayo is exhausting sometimes. I’d just rather not spend 10-20 minutes making mayo when there is a better fat alternative…AVOCADO. So I made a dressing out of avocado. Then I smeared it on chicken and added a bunch of crap from my fridge. Easy peasy.
Paleo Avocado Cilantro Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1lb chicken, cooked and diced
- 2 avocados, pitted
- 1 bundle cilantro, stems removed
- 3–4 long carrots, shredded
- 3–4 stems celery, diced
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1 handful sliced almonds
- juice of 1 lemon
- juice 1/2 lime
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- So you need to start off cooking your chicken however you’d like. If you want a more “grilly” flavor, grill it. Duh. I just boiled my chicken because I didn’t have a ton of time so boiling the chicken was the quickest option. Have you ever seen boiled chicken? It looks disgusting. Just a warning.
- While your chicken cooks, make your dressing. Pull out your wonderful food processor. Mine has been smoking lately. Making almond butter does a number on the engine…oops.
- Add your avocados, cilantro, lemon, lime, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to the food processor. Mix thoroughly until the avocado becomes a paste. This will take about 1-2 minutes or so.
- Once your avocado creamy sauce/paste is tasting delish, add it to your diced chicken. If you haven’t already shredded your carrots or diced your other veggies, do that. I just the shredding attachment on my food processor to shred my carrots.
- Mix veggies into your chicken salad and add a handful of sliced almonds.
- Top with salt and pepper for a little extra flavor and a little leftover cilantro.
I love chicken & avocado! I am SO making this for our camping trip.
I’d like to make it in advance, but does the avocado start to brown, or does the lemon & lime juice take care of that?
LOVE your recipes!!
I just made this recipe for lunch today and I pretty much ate half the bowl. YUM
First of all, I love your blog! I just made this dish last night and it was delish! I didn’t have garlic powder, so I minced some raw garlic and it turned out great. I am new to paleo, as well as crossfit, and this site is amazing!!! Oh, I also made your dark chocolate coconut bark, and that too was amazing. I look forward to more recipes and hilarious rants!
OMG, I can’t wait to make this little gem! But considering the avocado, how long does it last in the fridge? It’s just me my lonesome and I’d hate for it to go bad:'(
I have no idea…it was gone in a day. oops.
OMG!!! This is so amazing! I had made your Brazilian curry chicken the other day and didn’t get around to having it for a meal so I used the chicken from that and made this!! Only mod I made was adding onion and extra diced up avocado. I have always loved curry chicken salad and goes beyond my love for that. I cannot wait to have this for lunch tomorrow!! Love your site
Made this for lunch yesterday – totally fantastic and easy! It’s a definite keeper. Served over a bed of field greens with coconut flour tortillas.
I added sweet onion to this recipe and it was awesome!!! I am thinking maybe some diced jalapenos next time to give it some kick!!!
This is my 4th recipe in a row that I have made from your website. I have loved them all! Barbacoa(holy heck-mine was spicy, but good), smoky bacon chili, creamy chicken casserole, and now this. Your recipes rock! I haven’t even bothered looking anywhere else. I’m doing the 8 week Whole Life Challenge, so I’ll be making many more of your recipes- thanks!!!
I made this recipe tonight and my husband and I were pleased. I added the juice of a whole lime because I didn’t want half a lime lying around going to waste. I also toasted the almonds in the oven and that was the best. Next time I make it, I’m going to kick it up a notch with some red onion and maybe more garlic in the dressing mixture. I like the idea of adding some fresh jalapeños to it as well for a kick. I’m so glad I discovered your blog since my crossfit husband has been doing the paleo thing and I want to be supportive.
I made this tonight and it was fantastic! The whole family enjoyed it, and it was super easy/quick! I served it with a sweet potato topped with a little honey and cinnamon! Such a delicious meal, can’t wait to make more of your recipes! 🙂