Crispy Chicken with Simple Avocado Dressing Salad

This delicious salad makes use of a simple avocado dressing along that is topped with crispy chicken to create a quick and healthy lunch recipe that is easy to make. It’s a delicious mediterranean diet friendly crispy chicken salad! Packed with protein and fresh vegetables, this Mediterranean-style salad is perfect for a busy day.

Why I Love This Crispy Chicken Salad

• Healthy: This salad is packed with chicken breast, fresh vegetables, and a flavorful green dressing. It’s the perfect lunchtime meal when you want to eat something healthy and flavorful.
• Quick and Easy: This salad comes together in just a few minutes. Simply cook the chicken, chop the vegetables, and mix the simple avocado dressing. It’s that easy!
• Versatile: This salad is easy to customize based on your preferences. Add or subtract vegetables, use a different greens for the dressing, or swap out the chicken for another protein source.

Core components

• Fajita Seasoning: this blend of spices that typically includes chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, and salt compliments this salad perfectly.
• Walnuts: rich in healthy fats, protein, and fiber. They add crunch and flavor to the salad.
• Avocado Dressing: avocado dressing is a creamy and flavorful dressing made by blending avocado. It’s a healthy alternative to traditional creamy dressings.
• Mayonnaise Marinade: the mayonnaise helps to keep the meat moist and adds flavor, but if you want a healthier alternative then feel free to replace it with extra virgin live oil

Instructions for this Crispy Chicken Salad

1. Butterfly the chicken breast and make the marinade by mixing lemon zest, 1/2 tsp of mayo (or EVOO), and 1 tsp of fajita seasoning per chicken breast. Massage the marinade into the chicken and store it in the fridge until ready to cook.
2. Preheat a cast iron pan on medium heat and add a small amount of oil. Fry the chicken for about 7 minutes per side.
3. In the meantime, chop the radishes, English cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and red onion. Add them to a bowl followed by 20g of chopped walnuts.
4. For the green dressing, place 6 springs of parsley, 1 chopped avocado, the juice of one lemon, 1 large clove of garlic (or two smaller ones), 1 tbsp of olive oil, 4g salt into a small food processor or blender. Mix and add water to keep it more liquid. Start with 50ml of water and add more until the desired consistency is reached.
5. Once the chicken is cooked, cut it into strips and add it to the bowl with the vegetables. Mix in the dressing and plate the salad in a flat salad bowl.

This salad is perfect for a busy day when you don’t have a lot of time to cook. The ingredients are easy to find and the dressing is incredibly flavorful.

Variations and Substitutions

• Add More Veggies: Feel free to add more veggies to this salad based on your preferences. Chopped bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, or artichoke hearts would all be great additions.
• Skip the Walnuts: If you have a nut allergy or simply don’t like walnuts, you can leave them out or replace them with another type of nut such as almonds or pecans.
• Swap the Dressing: If you’re not a fan of the simple avocado dressing, you can try a different dressing such as a lemon vinaigrette or a balsamic vinaigrette.
• Use Different Seasonings: If you don’t have fajita seasoning on hand, you can use a different blend of spices such as chili powder, cumin, and paprika.
• Make it Vegan: To make this salad vegan, simply skip the chicken and add more veggies such as chickpeas or roasted sweet potatoes.
• Gluten-Free Option: Replace the chicken with a gluten-free protein such as shrimp or tofu, and use gluten-free bread for the croutons.

Crispy Chicken Salad

A mediterranean diet crispy chicken salad with a tangy green dressing, juicy tomatoes, crunchy walnuts, and fresh veggies. Healthy and satisfying lunch in just 20mins!

Servings 2

Ingredients

Crispy Chicken

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1/2 lemon's zest
• 1 tsp mayonnaise sub for EVOO for a healthier alternative
• 1 tsp fajita seasoning
• 1/2 tsp salt

Salad

• 1/2 English cucumber
• 2 small radishes
• 1/2 medium red onion
• 100g (4 oz) cherry tomatoes
• 20g (1 oz) walnuts

Green Dressing

• 6 sprigs parsley
• 1 medium avocado
• 1 lemon's juice
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
• 4g (1 tsp) salt
• 100ml (7 tbps) water add half of it 1st

Instructions

• Butterfly the chicken breasts and make the marinate with lemon zest, mayo, and fajita seasoning. Massage the marinade into the chicken.

  To cook, preheat a cast iron pan. Add a small amount of oil and fry the marinated chicken for about 7 minutes per side.
• While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

  Chop radishes, half of an English cucumber, cherry tomatoes, half of a red onion, and roughly chop walnuts. Add them to a bowl
• Check and flip your chicken, then, prepare the green dressing.

  Chop parsley and place into a blender/small food processor along with a chopped avocado, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and half of the water.

  Mix in the blender to combine and adjust consistency with more water if necessary. I usually add all the water.

  Mix the dressing with the veggies
• Once the chicken is cooked, plate the salad on a flat salad bowl followed by the crispy chicken cut into strips.

Yogurt Tuna Pasta Salad

a quick 15-minute pasta salad using cheap pantry stables such as corn, tuna and pasta.

Check out this recipe

Smashed Chickpea Toast

This chickpea toast is a quick and easy Mediterranean-inspired lunch. With just a few simple ingredients like chickpeas, spices, and a boiled egg, you'll have a filling and flavorful meal in no time

Check out this recipe

I’d love to hear how it turned out! Leave a comment below, or tag me with @solozaurcooking on Instagram and hashtag it #solozaurcookin.