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Avocado Chicken Salad (Sandwiches)

This Avocado Chicken Salad recipe is my favorite way to use leftover chicken!  It is quick, easy, creamy, flavorful, and refreshing!  This Avocado Chicken Salad is made with chicken, mangos, corn, and black beans enveloped in a tantalizing blender avocado dressing spiked with robust Mexican spices.  You can eat the Avocado Chicken Salad alone, or make lettuce wraps, tortilla wraps, sandwiches, on toast, or my favorite way is cocooned in Flatout Foldits Flatbreads!  This Avocado Chicken Salad is the perfect lunch, light dinner or for any day on the go! 
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 5 sandwiches

Ingredients

Chicken Salad

  • 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
  • 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
  • 1/3 cup sweet corn cut fresh from the cob
  • 1/3 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1-2 mangoes, chopped
  • 1 medium avocado

Blender Avocado Crema

  • 1 avocado peeled and pitted
  • 1/3 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves and stems
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 tsp EACH ground cumin, chili pwdr, smoked paprika, salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Sandwiches

Instructions

  • Add all of the Avocado Blender Crema ingredients to your blender then chop then puree until smooth, scraping sides down as needed.
  • Add all of the Chicken Salad ingredients to a medium bowl followed by Avocado Crema. Stir until combined. Chill for at least 1 hour up to overnight.
  • When ready to serve, toss Chicken Salad with 1 tablespoon lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste (I like extra salt and lime to really enhance the flavors). Top Foldits with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, Chicken salad, bacon (optional) and tortilla strips.

Notes

TIPS & TRICKS 

  • Prep Ahead:  you can chop all of your Avocado Chicken Salad ingredients ahead of time except the avocados.  This makes assembling the chicken salad a snap.
  • Other Proteins:  This Avocado Chicken Salad is CHICKEN salad, but it also works well with other proteins, particularly shrimp.  It is also delicious with the addition of hard-boiled eggs.
  • Vegetables and Fruit:  I kept with the Baja theme, but feel free to mix up the veggies with your favorites such as cucumber, celery, asparagus, mushrooms, apples, craisins, pineapple, etc.
  • Seasonings: You can mix up the flavor profile and go Italian by swapping the cilantro for basil and parsley, swapping the lime juice for lemon, adding Parmesan cheese, and swapping out the Mexican seasonings for Italian seasonings.
  • Use your Blender!: a blender is a must for the creamiest avocado dressing.  It purees the avocados whereas a food processor will leave you with chunky dressing.  Note that some blenders blend to the point the sauce will become liquidy instead of creamy – don’t puree to that point.  Stop blending when your avocado dressing is thick and creamy.
  • Adjust consistency:  Depending on actual liquid in your sour cream or Greek yogurt, size of avocados,  and the way your blender blends, you may need to add a tablespoon or so of milk.
  • Scrape down sides.  After you’e blended your avocado dressing, stop and scrape down the sides, then blend some more to make sure your sauce is completely smooth.
  • Serve hot or cold: You can serve this Avocado Chicken Salad cold or warm.  If serving warm, gently warm on the stove - never boil or the sour cream/Greek yogurt can curdle.

How to Serve Avocado Chicken Salad 

Avocado Chicken Salad can be enjoyed SO many different ways!  You can eat it plain, OR:
  • Avocado Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps.  You can either fill butter lettuce with chicken salad to create low carb lettuce wraps or pile it on top of lettuce to create a green salad base.
  • Avocado Chicken Salad Wraps.  Fill a tortilla with chicken salad along with lettuce, fresh tomatoes, bacon, etc..
  • Avocado Chicken Salad with Grains. I love my chicken salad on top of brown rice or wild rice.  It would also be delicious with quinoa, cauliflower rice or broccoli rice.  I could even see it gently warmed and served over Spaghetti Squash. 
  • Avocado Chicken Salad Toast.  Toast some bread and create an open faced sandwich by piling on chicken salad along with tomatoes and optional sprouts and/or lettuce.
  • Avocado Chicken Salad Pita. Pile the filling in a pita with all your favorite topping such as cheese, tomatoes, bacon, etc.
  • Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwich. And now my FAVORITE way to eat Avocado Chicken Salad, in a Flatout's Foldit Flatbread!  To assemble, line flatbread with juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce, tangy cheese and crispy tortilla strips and top with Chicken Avocado Salad.

STORAGE

This Avocado Chicken Salad can be made and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.  The lime juice will prevent the salad  from discoloring too much, but it will darken slightly.  A change in color of  color doesn’t mean it’s going bad, it simply means the sauce is oxidizing.