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–+ servings
Salad on a platter on a white background with avocado next to it.
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5 from 1 vote

crispy & spicy honey lime chicken avocado salad

Mika Kinney
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.
Servings: 4
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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.
    A platter with the vegetable salad ingredients on it.
  • 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.
    Crispy chicken mixed with the honey sauce.
  • 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

Helpful 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 dish cloth before making the salad to make sure it doesn't turn everything soggy.
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.
  1. Make the chicken and toss it in the honey sauce. Store this in an airtight container.
  2. Dice all the salad ingredients and store in an airtight container.
  3. 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. 
1. Dressing go on the bottom of the jar
2. Then coated chicken
3. Then the chopped vegetables (not the lettuce)
4. And finally, the lettuce. 
This order keeps the salad from going soggy but stores everything in one container!

Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.

Additional notes and substitution information can be found in the post above.

Nutrition

Calories: 398kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 440mg | Potassium: 742mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 3220IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Leave a review below or tag #avocadofoodie!