Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro is a great low-carb year-round salad with the perfect combination of flavors. And if you’re not a cilantro fan, see my suggestion for making this without cilantro!
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It was my sister Pam who discovered this recipe for Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro on Pinterest, and this is a recipe I’ve made over and over since she first told me about it. The e-mail Pam sent me had just a list of ingredients, so when I made the salad I made up my own amounts and directions.
My version of the salad has chunks of chicken and avocado, and I make the lime and mayonnaise into a dressing. And my family has some cilantro avoiders, so I often make an equally-delicious version without cilantro. Through the years I’ve made this favorite chicken avocado salad for so many parties, and if you like these ingredients, I promise this salad is going to be a keeper for you too!
The salad became so popular on the site that a few years ago I decided I really should try to improve the photos. And I also realized that now I usually make a slightly larger amount than the original recipe. So the recipe here is the new-and-improved version of this salad, with just slightly more chicken, avocado, and cilantro. Feel free to adjust ingredients and amounts any way that suits your fancy; I think this combination will be good no matter how you switch it up!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- cooked chicken
- avocados
- fresh squeezed lime juice; I used my fresh-frozen lime juice
- salt, to taste
- green onion
- chopped fresh cilantro (optional, see notes)
- mayo
How can you make the chicken and avocado salad without Cilantro?
If you’re one of those people with the anti-cilantro tastebuds, simply triple the amount of green onion and skip the cilantro. This salad will still be amazing without cilantro, I promise!
Can you make this salad with rotisserie chicken?
Yes, I highly recommend using rotisserie chicken for this salad if you don’t want to take time to poach some chicken breasts. I’ve made this with rotisserie chicken I cut up myself and also with the pre-cut rotisserie chicken that comes in a big pack at Costco!
Will the Chicken and Avocado Salad keep in the fridge?
I’ve enjoyed this salad for lunch when it had been in the fridge overnight. But the avocado is a fragile ingredient and I don’t think it would last in the fridge for more than a day or two, and it is always best freshly made.
How low in carbs is the Chicken and Avocado Salad?
This amazing salad is not only extra flavorful but the salad only has 2 net carbs per serving!
More Salads with Chicken or Avocado:
- 20 Keto Chicken Salad Recipes
- 26 Amazing Salads with Avocado
How to make Chicken and Avocado Salad:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- I used three cups of diced chicken rotisserie chicken from Costco, and we cut it into chunks of chicken that weren’t too small.
- Dice up 2 medium avocados, and toss them with fresh-squeezed lime juice.
- Slice the green onion. (Use about 3/4 cup sliced green onion if you’re skipping the cilantro.
- Chop up fresh cilantro. (We chopped the cilantro very fine so the cilantro flavor would be all through the salad.)
- I mixed mayo and fresh squeezed lime juice to make the dressing; use more or less dressing to taste. (Remember there is already some lime juice on the avocado, so if you’re not that crazy about lime you could use a bit less.)
- Put chicken in a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients, add sliced green onions and dressing and mix well, so all the chicken is coated with dressing.
- Add avocado with the lime juice that’s in the bottom of the bowl and mix gently to combine.
- Then add finely chopped cilantro and gently mix again, just until it’s barely combined. Season with salt to taste.
- Serve the salad right away or chill for a few hours before serving.
- This salad will keep in the fridge for a day, although the avocado is best when it’s freshly made.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro could be a nice side salad, but if you wanted to make it a complete meal just serve with something like Olive Bread, Savory Almond Flour Bread, or Low-Carb High-Fiber Savory Muffins on the side.
More Favorite Salads with Avocado:
- Lemony Shrimp Salad with Avocado, Heart of Palm, and Feta
- Heart of Palm Salad with Tomato and Avocado
- Tomato Salad with Cucumber, Avocado, and Cilantro
- Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad
- Chicken Salad with Avocado, Radishes, and Lime
Yield: 6 servings
Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro
Prep Time15 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Thislow-carb Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro has a perfect combination of flavors; make the salad with more green onion and skip the cilantro if you prefer.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chicken, cut into large pieces
- 2 medium avocados, diced
- 3 T fresh squeezed lime juice, divided
- salt, to taste
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (see notes)
- 3 T mayo (see notes)
Instructions
- Cut up enough chicken to make 3 cups of chopped chicken. I like it cut into fairly large chunks.
- Dice the avocados into medium-sized pieces, put in small bowl, mix with 1 T of the lime juice, and season avocado with salt to taste.
- Thinly slice the green onion and finely chop the cilantro (if using).
- Mix 3 T mayo and 2 T lime juice to make the dressing. (If you're not a huge lime fan like I am, you might want to start with less lime and taste, adding more until it seems sour enough for you.
- Put the chicken into a bowl large enough to hold all the salad ingredients.
- Add the sliced green onions and dressing and toss until all the chicken is coated with dressing.
- Add the avocado and any lime juice in the bottom of the bowl and gently combine with the chicken.
- Then add the chopped cilantro and gently mix into the salad, just until it is barely combined. Season with salt to taste.
- Serve right away or chill for a while before serving. This could be served inside pita bread or sandwich bread, or inside crisp lettuce cups, but we just ate it as a salad.
- This will keep in the fridge overnight, but the avocado is best when it's freshly made. When I make it I rarely have leftovers, but if you're only making for one or two people you might want to cut the recipe in half.
Notes
If you're not a cilantro fan just triple the green onion and skip the cilantro completely. If you like a lot of dressing on your salads, you might want to slightly increase the dressing amounts.
Recipe wasadapted from Avocado Chicken Salad from Becoming Betty, which my sister Pam's friend found on Pinterest.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1
Amount Per ServingCalories 306Total Fat 24gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 17gCholesterol 66mgSodium 195mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 5gSugar 1gProtein 18g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro would be good for low-carb eating plans, including Keto. The salad would be approved for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, but remember that avocados and mayonnaise are both a limited food for South Beach.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
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Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This mega-popular recipe for chicken and avocado salad was first posted in 2012. It was updated with new photos and more information in 2021 and was last updated with more information in 2024.
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