Sweet honey with spicy cayenne pepper, let me introduce you to my crispy & spicy honey lime chicken avocado salad. It’s inspired by my love of sweet and spicy flavors, crispy chicken, and super easy meals. I have made this chicken salad no less than 10 times in the last month and I already can’t wait to make it again!
Table of Contents
why you need this salad in your life!
I once had someone tell me I've never thought to have avocado on a salad". And as someone who eats an avocado a day, I was dumb founded. Avocado on salads is one of the original uses of avocado in modern and mainstream recipes.
I mean yes, I've since discovered avocado omelettes and desserts, but besides guacamole avocado in salads is a staple on many menus. Now after making this chicken avocado salad, I wish I could have that person try it so their eyes can be opened to the wonderful world of avocado salads and this honey-lime chicken salad in particular.
So, here's why you need to make it asap!
- Fast: this salad is ready in 15 minutes and serves a crowd!
- Great for meal prep: just follow a few simple steps to take this salad for lunch all week!
- FLAVORFUL: It's a rainbow of exciting and fun flavors that will keep you going back for bites.
ingredients and substitutions
All substitutions are a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted. See recipe card for quantities.
- Avocado oil: We are big fans of avocado oil but olive oil will work too.
- Red Onion: Red onion has the most tang of the onion but a white onion will work if you don't have red.
- Honey: If you are using hot honey, you can omit the cayenne pepper
- Corn: I use canned corn for the ease of it, but frozen corn or diced green, yellow, or red bell peppers will work too
- Avocado: Slightly underripe or perfectly ripe avocados are preferred for this salad. We like to get ours from Avoha Avocados for the best quality!
- Chicken tenders: I like tenders because there is less breading and more meat while still having that delicious crunch, but you can use grilled chicken strips, rotisserie chicken, or 24 chicken nuggets. You can also make your own crispy chicken using chicken breasts, skinless chicken thighs, wings, etc or use leftover grilled chicken.
- The creamy dressing: I love using Primal Kitchen avocado cilantro lime dressing for a healthier option but any creamy ranch, green goddess, or similar will work.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
recipe testing notes
Throughout our testing of this chicken and avocado salad, we learned what worked and didn't work. Here are the key takeaways!
- Using sriracha: My first rounds of testing used sriracha and hot sauce and while it was ok, it was flat but also too in your face. The chili powder and cayenne are the perfect mild heat to deliver spicy flavor.
- Roasted versus not roasted corn: It ested this recipe both with roasting the corn and not. The taste difference was not enough to justify the additional step of sauteing corn.
how to make this - step by step
Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full salad recipe!
Step one: prep & dice
Make the chicken in the oven or air fry. While it cooks, chop and dice everything else, placing them into a large bowl.
Step two: keep adding
Add all the other vegetables to the salad bowl.
Step three: make the spicy honey chicken
Mix the honey sauce ingredients in a medium bowl. Dice the cooked chicken and add it to the bowl. Toss to coat completely.
Step four: combine
Add the chicken to the giant salad and then drizzle with your favorite creamy dressing (cilantro lime works great!) of choice and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
watch how to make this - step by step
expert tips
To make sure this recipe goes off without a hitch, here are a few key tips!
- Don’t complicate it: Use whatever lettuce or crispy chicken you already have. Have dino nuggets - use those. Have a bag of half lettuce and some spinach - use that.
- Fully coat the chicken: This is where this recipe stands out. We don’t drizzle it over the salad, we fully coat the chicken so every bite of chicken is bursting with flavor.
- Dice everything really small: even smaller than you think is small. This is the key to a really great salad - every bite has a little bit of everything.
- Use all of the herbs and spices: Each and every one adds so much flavor so please use them all!
- If you wash your lettuce, fully dry it with paper towels or a dishcloth before making the salad to make sure it doesn't turn everything soggy.
common questions
This chicken salad really is not spicy, it has spicy flavor. You can taste the heat but it won’t burn your mouth.
No, but it can be by using gluten free chicken tenders or nuggets.
No, but it easily can be. To make it kid friendly, leave out the jalapenos, split the salad into two batches, and separate some of the chicken out prior to adding the sauce. Then use half of the sauce of the chicken and salad for the adults and the other half can be offered to your kids as a dressing in case they don’t like the spices.
Crispy chicken might not be as healthy as grilled chicken. But by making your own dressings and including a ton of fresh healthy ingredients, this salad is quite healthy with protein, fiber, and healthy fats in one meal.
How to store & meal prep it
Storing a salad with dressing already on it will be ok but the texture will not be the same. If everything is stored together, the salad will keep for 2 days in the fridge. Just a warning, the chicken and lettuce will be slightly soggy. You can also use rice to make spicy lime chicken rice bowls with the leftover chicken and sauce.
The key to meal prepping a salad is don’t put the chicken, salad, and dressing together. So, to store it.
- Make the chicken and toss it in the honey sauce. Store this in an airtight container.
- Dice all the salad ingredients and store in an airtight container.
- When ready to eat, combine the serving size you want of all the ingredients.
The chicken will keep for 3 days in the fridge and the salad for 5 days.
How to make mason jar salads
If you want to meal prep this salad, you can store it in a large mason jar using the following layering. Just be aware the salad makes much more than what will fill 4 mason jars so you will still have extra.
- Dressing goes on the bottom of the jar
- Then coated chicken
- Then the chopped vegetables (not the lettuce)
- And finally, the lettuce.
This order keeps the salad from going soggy but stores everything in one container!
more avocado recipes
Recipe
crispy & spicy honey lime chicken avocado salad
Equipment
- 1 large bowl
Ingredients
Chicken
- 8 breaded chicken tenders ( or 24 chicken nuggets)
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup avocdo oil (or olive oil)
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt ( and pepper to taste)
Vegetables
- 2 stocks romaine lettuce (chopped)
- ½ red onion (diced)
- 1 avocado (diced)
- 2 stocks green onions (diced)
- 1 handful cilantro chopped (about ¼th cup chopped)
- ½ cup shredded carrots (about 6 baby carrots)
- ¼ jalapeno ( finely chopped and deseeded)
- juice from ½ a lime
Dressing
- ⅓ cup cilantro lime dressing ( or similar creamy dressing)
Before you begin!
If you make this recipe, please take a minute to leave a review. I love to hear how it went!
Instructions
- Cook the 8 breaded chicken tenders in the oven or air fryer. While it cooks, dice and chop the 2 stocks romaine lettuce½ red onion, 1 avocado, 2 stocks green onions, 1 handful cilantro chopped, ½ cup shredded carrots , and ¼ jalapeno Put these into a large bowl.
- Make the hot honey sauce by mixing ¼ cup honey, ¼ cup avocdo oil, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder, 2 teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Dice the crispy chicken and add it to the sauce. Toss to completely coat.
- Combine the salad with the chicken and ⅓ cup cilantro lime dressing. Finish with a squeeze from the juice from ½ a lime. If making this salad as meal prep, see notes below, and don't put the dressing on!
Video
Notes
- Don’t complicate it: Use whatever lettuce or crispy chicken you already have. Have dino nuggets - use those. Have a bag of half lettuce and some spinach - use that.
- Fully coat the chicken: This is where this recipe stands out. We don’t drizzle it over the salad, we fully coat the chicken so every bite of chicken is bursting with flavor.
- Dice everything really small: even smaller than you think is small. This is the key to a really great salad - every bite has a little bit of everything.
- Use all of the herbs and spices: Each and every one adds so much flavor so please use them all!
- If you wash your lettuce, fully dry it with paper towels or a dish cloth before making the salad to make sure it doesn't turn everything soggy.
- Make the chicken and toss it in the honey sauce. Store this in an airtight container.
- Dice all the salad ingredients and store in an airtight container.
- When ready to eat, combine the serving size you want of all the ingredients.
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.
Additional notes and substitution information can be found in the post above.
Drop a note!