Chicken Avocado Tomato Salad

Chicken Avocado Tomato Salad recipe is made with ripe juicy tomatoes, buttery fresh avocado and chicken (either grilled, rotisserie or poached), then drizzled with a delicious Meyer lemon dressing. This chicken avocado and tomato salad is perfect for busy weeknights, light summer meals, and quick packable lunches.

This healthy Chicken Avocado and Tomato Salad checks all the boxes. It’s a delicious simple-to-make protein-rich meal that’s loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.

If you’re looking for a sturdy salad to pack for lunch, this Chicken and Avocado Salad does the trick.  You can pour the dressing in the bottom of a container (with a lid) then add in the tomatoes, chicken and then the avocado. Drizzle lemon juice over the avocado slices to prevent them from browning, then garnish with basil, celery leaves and pistachios. The tomatoes will marinate in the dressing which is sooo yummy.

Chicken Avocado Tomato Salad Recipe

• Tomatoes, cut into wedges
• Fresh avocado, seeded, peeled and sliced
• Cooked  boneless and skinless chicken (grilled, roasted or poached chicken) sliced or shredded
• Fresh basil and celery leaves
• Pistachio nuts

Find printable recipe with measurements below.

Variations

• Sprinkle salad with Feta cheese
• Toss in slices of cucumber
• Add fresh cilantro instead of basil
• If you’re just making the salad for  yourself and don’t want to bother with making a lot of dressing, try this simple single serving vinaigrette for your individual salad: 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon orange juice and 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or honey

How to Make Chicken Avocado and Tomato Salad

• Cut or shred chicken into large pieces.
• Slice tomatoes and fresh avocado into wedges.
• Finely chop celery leaves and slice basil into ribbons.
• Chop pistachio nuts.
• Arrange chicken, avocado and tomato on plate.
• Drizzle with vinaigrette.
• Sprinkle the top with celery leaves, basil ribbons and chopped pistachio nuts.
• Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Easy Lemon Vinaigrette Recipe

• 2-1/2 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice (you can use regular lemons if Meyer lemons aren’t available)
• 1 teaspoon grated lemons zest
• 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons honey or pure maple syrup  (taste-test for desired sweetness)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

How to Make Lemon Vinaigrette

1. Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl until well blended. If you prefer, you can add the ingredients to a mason jar, seal the lid and shake vigorously to blend well.

How to Choose Avocados

There are so many benefits of eating avocado, so here’s a few tips on choosing avocados so you can incorporate more of them into your diet, and of course for making this Chicken Avocado Tomato Salad.

• When applying fingertip pressure to an avocado, the avocado should still be somewhat firm. After a day, maybe two, it should be perfectly ripe for use.
• Remove the stem from the avocado. If it’s light green underneath, the avocado is green on the inside, meaning it’s a good avocado. If it’s dark or has a little mold, then the avocado is likely to be bruised and over-ripe under the skin.

Benefits of Eating Avocado

There are so many benefits of eating avocado! Did you know that avocados contain more potassium than bananas? And they’re loaded with heart-healthy oleic acid, a fatty acid that is a major component of olive oil and associated with reduced inflammation. Let’s unpack all the benefits of eating avocadoes.

• Fiber in avocado.  Avocados are a rich source of fiber.
• Excellent source of potassium.  Avocados are rich with potassium (which is good for your heart and helps to reduce blood pressure).  (1)
• Lowers cholesterol and triglycerides. Avocados may help lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. (2)
• Vitamins. Avocados are a rich source of folate, B5 and B6
• Healthy fat. Avocados is rich with healthy monunsaturated fatty acid  (oleic acid)  – the good kind – more commonly found in olive oil.  Oleic acid has been associated with reduced inflammation. (3)
• Antioxidants. Avocados also provide antioxidant benefits and contain carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which are beneficial for eye health (reduction in cataracts and macular degeneration).
• Cardiovascular health.  Avocado consumption is associated with lower body weight and a lower risk factor for heart disease and diabetes (4)

Benefits of Eating Tomatoes

• Antioxidants. Tomatoes a an excellent source of lycopene, an antioxidant linked with reduced risk of heart disease.  (5)
• Great source of vitamins. Tomatoes are a good source of vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin K. 
• Heart healthy. Consuming  beta-carotene and lycopene rich tomatoes may lower risk of heart attacks and strokes. (6)
• Lowers cholesterol. Consuming lycopene rich tomatoes may help lower LDL cholesterol levels (bad kind). (7)

Looking for more healthy salads to serve?

If you like this Chicken Avocado Tomato Salad, here’s a few more of my favorite chicken salad recipes you’ll want to try.

• Everyday Mediterranean Salad
• Grilled Chicken Salad
• Basil Pesto Chicken Salad
• BBQ Chicken Salad
• Chicken Avocado Chopped Salad
• Fried Chicken Salad
• Blueberry Chicken Salad

Want more ideas? Check out all my healthy salad recipes.