A few weekends ago, Adam and I went to a cookout for his grandpa’s birthday.  It was great, full of family, friends, and food.  Oh was there food.  Now let me say that Adam has quite a large family.  Nine aunts and uncles, plus their spouses/significant others, plus all their children so there needs to be a lot of food.  Along with all the appetizers and side dishes, there was a mountain of chicken.  I am not exaggerating.  There were three different kinds of wings, grilled chicken, marinaded chicken, smoked chicken, chicken chicken… You get the idea.  Long story short, we were sent home with a bag of chicken.  After adding chicken to stir frys and frittatas, I wanted to come up with a simple and tasty chicken dish.  Because it was uber hot, I went with a chicken salad.  It came together quickly and hit the spot on a hot summer night, plus it’s healthy!  So if you are loaded down with chicken, give this recipe a try!

 

Avocado Chicken Salad

• 2 to 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 1 tbsp mustard (I used spicy brown mustard)
• 1 tbsp tahini (sunflower seed butter would work well too)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp almond milk
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste
• corn kernels/celery, optional (but they add a nice crunch!)

 

1.  Shred your chicken and set aside.  In a large bowl, mash up your avocado pieces.  You want this to be fairly smooth, so make sure there are no large chunks.  Add in the rest of the ingredients, except corn/celery and chicken.  Mix together well.

2.  Add in chicken and corn/celery and stir to coat everything with the avocado.  Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.  You can serve this right away or let it cool in the fridge.

Pretty easy, right?  This goes well over lettuce, in tortilla shells, or on your favorite type of bun.  Don’t like chicken?  Try it with canned tuna or salmon.  Don’t eat meat?  Make it with chickpeas or your favorite kind of bean.  It’s a pretty easy recipe to adapt to your tastes.  It is also a good one to make a big batch of and share at a party or gathering.  Enjoy!