Keto Chicken Salad with avocado is a perfect summer lunch in one bowl. Packed with flavors, rich in protein and healthy fats, this low carb chicken salad is an ideal meal. It is gluten-free and dairy-free as well. The avocado dressing takes it to the next level. You won’t miss bread and feel satisfied for a long time with an easy chicken salad like this.
As the weather gets warmer, one of our favorite lunch is lettuce wraps with low carb chicken salad or tuna salad without mayo. No more comforting stews or soups please. Eating light is one of the great things I love about summer, which also means easy cooking or no cooking at all. For a salad to be satisfying, we need some healthy fats and protein. Right? This keto chicken salad recipe contains all of those things too.
How to make keto chicken salad
I prefer using boneless chicken thigh fillets for this salad because they have more fat and we find them tastier than breast fillets. Cook the chicken fillets covered in a skillet with about ¼ cup water over medium low heat until they release water and then absorb almost all of it. Drizzle a little olive oil, season with salt, thyme and black pepper. Fry both sides until golden.
If you have easy roasted chicken leftovers, it takes no time to prepare this keto chicken salad. Just heat it up and combine with other ingredients.
To get the most benefit out of the healthy oil in avocado, I use an amazing Avocado Dressing over my salad. I shared the recipe for it here last week. Remember? It enriches all the flavors and you end up with the healthiest and tastiest salad ever!
If you want to use mayonnaise instead of that super tasty avocado dressing, I don’t suggest store bought ones because they might not contain good oils. Make your own mayo using Joanne’s homemade mayonnaise recipe.
If you want some superfood in your salad, add some cooked buckwheat groats or quinoa.
Also, if you want to take your salad to next level, throw some oyster mushrooms roasted in oven onto the greens.
Is chicken salad keto friendly?
Chicken is a healthy source of protein, but doesn’t have enough fat, which is needed on a ketogenic diet. Therefore, we prefer buying chicken thighs because they have more fat and flavor. Combining the thighs with some healthy oils and vegetables, you can create wonderful ketogenic meals like this salad.
Carbs in chicken thighs
Chicken thighs don’t contain any carbohydrates, which makes them a good ingredient for a low-carb diet. On the other hand, you need to be careful if you are preparing a marinade. If you use something like BBQ sauce or anything sweet in the marinade, the carbs increase. I don’t use any marinade when cooking the chicken thighs in this easy chicken salad recipe to keep them totally keto friendly.
Below are more easy-to-make salad recipes from our fellow bloggers:
More Chicken Salads
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Keto Chicken Salad with Avocado
Keto chicken salad that is loaded with flavors makes a healthy and satisfying summer lunch.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2
- Category: Salad
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 boneless chicken thigh fillets
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cloves garlic
Salad:
- 2 cups arugula
- 1 cup purslane leaves
- Basil leaves
- ½ cup fresh dill
- A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tablespoon olives
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon nigella seeds
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Avocado Dressing (or more depending on your taste)
Instructions
- Place the chicken fillets on a skillet. Pour ¼ cup water and cook them covered over medium low heat until they release water and then absorb almost all of it. Flip them over a few times during this time.
- Uncover and drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over the chicken thighs. Add in garlic cloves. Season with salt, black pepper , sweet chili powder and thyme. Cook them covered until golden, flipping them over a few times.
- Arrange all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Sprinkle sesame seeds and nigella seeds over them. Drizzle olive oil and avocado dressing over the salad.
Notes
I didn’t add any water to the avocado dressing this time so that I could have a thicker result and place it on the side of my salad.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 1093
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 2741.7 mg
- Fat: 80.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.4 g
- Protein: 67.8 g
- Cholesterol: 280.1 mg
Keywords: chicken, keto, avocado, low-carb, salad
Jennifer says
What are the net carbs for this recipe? The Carbs are high and I don't see fiber listed (Carbs minus Fiber = net carbs). Sounds great, but I am not sure this is totally keto friendly.
Don says
There are almost no carbs in the recipe, but the sugars are high. Where do they come from? I’m reading the ingredients list and I don’t see anything that would be considered sugars. Some carbs, sugar, but sugars? Also, it says serving is for one person, but for keto, this is way too much protein and fat for that matter, sugars and carbs aside. I think it supposed to be for at least 2 to 3 people and that would make more sense.
Sim @ Sim's Life says
This looks delicious! I do make a lot of meat salads, especially chicken but they become very bland after a while - this looks so tasty and super colourful too! Will be giving this a try! Sim x
Rosamonde Simone @ KetoBotyToneAvis says
Your recipe of 'keto-chicken-salad-with-avocado' looks very delicious I love it, I will try it soon. Thank you for sharing it.
★★★★★
Bella Hardy @ Healthnerdy.com says
Oh my! This keto chicken salad with avocado was delicious and so easy to make! Will have to try this for my family. Thanks so much, Zerrin!
★★★★★
Amber L Jones says
Doesn't seem keto to me with 17g of sugar for one bowl and 33.4 carbs that's way over the limit, very misleading
Joanne says
This salad is equal parts dreamy and healthy!
★★★★★
Zerrin says
Thank you Joanne! It's our favorite this summer.
Carol R says
I am just getting into keto diet and this looks like an incredible recipe. Avocado is such a healthy fat and you used it beautifully. This will be my new go-to summer salad recipe.
Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
Zerrin says
Glad you like it Carol! We will be having this salad for lunch very often this summer. I love how easy yet tasty this salad is.