Chicken and Avocado Salad with Cilantro Dressing
Chicken and Avocado Salad with Cilantro Dressing is a fresh and delicious main dish salad. Even though it’s still winter here in New York, I still love serving cold salads for lunch and dinner. Often, I serve my main course salads along with a cozy bowl of warm soup. Or, I serve my salads with a light pasta dish. To start the recipe, I bake some well-seasoned chicken breasts. I love baking my chicken, and find it so much easier than grilling it. I just love sticking it in the oven and not having to worry about babysitting it on the stove. While the chicken bakes, I make the yummy cilantro dressing in my food processor. Also, I tossed all the vegetables together in a big bowl.
The Equipment I Used to Make my Salad
- A Food Processor- You’ll need this to combine all the salad ingredients.
- A Salad Spinner- I use this to dry my lettuce.
- A Baking Sheet- Use this for baking your chicken.
- A Big Bowl- You’ll need this toss together all your salad ingredients.
The Ingredients Needed for Chicken and Avocado Salad with Cilantro Dressing
- Chicken- I used boneless, skinless chicken breast in this recipe.
- Mayonnaise- Hellman’s is the only brand I buy.
- Buttermilk- For the best flavor, use whole milk buttermilk.
- Lime Juice- Fresh lime juice is a must for this recipe.
- Black Beans- I always cook dried beans and then store them in my freezer for recipes like this.
How I Made my Salad
- First, I baked my chicken. Make sure your chicken is fully cooked, before your slice it.
- Next, I mixed up the dressing in my food processor.
- Then, I mixed together all the vegetables in a big bowl.
- Finally, I add the chicken and dressing to the bowl and mixed everything together.
We really enjoyed this Chicken and Avocado Salad with Cilantro Dressing. And, it was great to end dinner and not feel overly stuffed and full, since the salad was nice and light.
Chicken and Avocado Salad with Cilantro Dressing
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp. each chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika
- 2 tsp. brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cups romaine lettuce
- 1 cup grape tomatoes
- 1 sliced jalapeno
- ½ cup cooked black beans
- 1 sliced avocado
- 1 lime, cut in wedges
For the Creamy Cilantro Dressing:
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 tbsp. minced jalapenos
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp. whole milk buttermilk
- 1 tbsp. lime juice
Instructions
- Begin by baking the chicken: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the olive oil and all of the spices and brush it all over the chicken. Place the breasts on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes., or until it's no longer pink inside. Slice the chicken.
- In a large bowl, toss together the rest of the salad ingredients, along with the sliced chicken.
- To make the Creamy Cilantro Dressing: Place the cilantro and a jalapeno into a food processor and process until finely minced. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until well blended.
- Toss the dressing with the salad and serve.
