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Avocado Bacon Chicken Salad with JalapeƱo Honey Mustard. The chicken is seasoned with a mix of spices and roasted until lightly charred and delicious. Everything is tossed together with my creamy jalapeƱo honey mustard dressing, fresh cherry tomatoes, crispy bacon, and then lots of crumbed feta cheese. The spicy honey mustard is quite possibly one of my favorite dressings, itās delicious!
Iām on a roll with the salads right now. Monday brought us crunchy Thai peanut chicken salad. Yesterday, we shared an Italian pasta salad (that Iām so into right now). And today, weāve got the perfect spring/summer chicken salad.
I feel like Iāve shared this story before, but as you all know, I spent a good chunk of my summers as a kid hanging out with my Nonnie. Sheād have me over to her house. Weād shop for flowers, hit up the mall, and then grab lunch. When we returned, sheād take a little nap while I watched a movie. Later, weād start setting the table for dinner.
My Nonnie was my best friend growing up, especially since I didnāt have a sister. We did so much together!
Some of my favorite memories of spring breaks and summers were those spent hanging with Nonnie. And especially our lunch dates. Nonnie loved to go out to lunch!Ā She was a lunching pro and knew all the best places.
I was kind of an odd kid and remember ordering a lot of chicken and bacon salads. I think back to those memories a lot. Those salads I shared with Nonnie really stuck out. So I decided it was time to recreate it but make it even better!
These are the details
Step 1: letās make the chicken
I wanted the chicken crispy and with a little more spice. I seasoned the chicken breasts with smoked paprika, chipotle chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili flakes. Nothing fancy, but a combination I often use.
Toss the chicken with olive oil, then roast it in the oven until it starts to get crisp.
Step 2: mix the salad
While the chicken is roasting, grab a giant salad bowl. Add all the salad greens, tomatoes, and pickles.
For the greens, I love to use shredded romaine, but I like to mix in some spinach too!
Step 3: the honey mustard dressing
Most of us love creamy honey mustard dressingāyou canāt go wrong with it. But as I was making my go-to dressing, I started to wonder how I could make it better, a little more different.
I loved the sound of pickled jalapeƱos together with the bacon in this recipe, so I tried blending a few into the dressing. It could not have been more delicious. The spice from the jalapeƱo is a really nice balance to the sweetness of the honey.
Step 4:Ā toss the salad
Combine all the ingredients. First, toss the greens with some of the dressing to ensure they are evenly coated before adding everything else.
Then, add the hot chicken to the greens. Throw on the avocado, tomatoes, feta cheese, and fresh herbs. Next, take the honey mustard dressing and add spoonfuls over the chicken and greens. The last ingredient I love to add is the crispy bacon. You can chop it up or simply break it into pieces.
Step 5:Ā eat
Serve the salad warm or cold. Itās great for lunch and dinner. You could even serve it this weekend for Easter. Either way, it will be delicious. Itās a great salad for the summer months too.
It never disappoints!
Looking for other fun recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Everything Cheddar Tomato Bacon Grilled Cheese
Picnic Style Brie and Prosciutto Sandwich
Grilled Vegetable Burrata Sandwich
Spinach and Artichoke Pita Grilled Cheese
Chicken Cobb Salad with Avocado Ranch
Lastly, if you make this Avocado Bacon Chicken Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, donāt forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Avocado Bacon Chicken Salad with JalapeƱo Honey Mustard
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 524 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed
- 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- chili flakes, salt, and black pepper
- 6 cups shredded lettuce or mixed greens
- 1-2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/2 cup sliced dill pickles
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 6 strips cooked bacon, chopped
- 1 cup mixed herbs: basil + cilantro
- 1 avocado, chopped
JalapeƱo Honey Mustard
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup pickled jalapeƱos, use to your taste
US Customary ā Metric
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 425Ā° F.2. On a baking sheet, toss the chicken, olive oil, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and season to taste with chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Toss well to evenly coat. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until lightly charred.3. Add the lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles to a large salad bowl.4. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend/whisk until smooth. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water to thin the dressing. Taste and season with additional salt.5. Pour some of the dressing over the salad. Add the chicken, avocado, feta, herbs, and bacon. Top the salad with lots of extra dressing. Lightly toss. Serve and enjoy!Ā
This post was originally published on March 28, 2024
This was absolutely one of the best salads Iāve ever had! My husband loved it, even wanted the left overs for lunch today. He made sure I tagged it as a favorite recipe. Thank you so much for providing so many wonderful recipes and for keeping our meal plans exciting and fresh.
Hey Sarah,
Amazing! Love to hear this salad was a hit, I appreciate you making it and your comment!
Delicious! Spicy dressing was hot, but super fun.
Hey Kathryn,
Iām grateful you tried this recipe and took the time to comment. Delighted it turned out!
I havenāt made yet but just to clarify, the dressing calls for āpickled jalapenosā and not āpicklesā correct? I have read a couple of comments referring to pickles.
Hey Jamie,
Yes, that is correct:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
This salad is delicious! I subbed the pickles for pickled jalapeƱos and it went very nicely with the dressing. Will be adding this to the regular rotation, thank you!
Hi Terra,
Love to hear this! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment! Happy Thanksgiving! XxT
This was delicious! So many great textures and flavors supporting each other. The honey in the dressing tempered the spice in the chicken. Yum! The only thing Iād do different next time is not put the olive oil in the blender with the rest of the dressing ingredients as it got too thick. It will be better to whisk that in by hand.
Hey Amy,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx
Made this tonight and it is sooo good! I love your recipes!
Thanks so much, Sheri!! Love to hear that this salad was enjoyed! xT
So I make a lot of your recipes. . . my wife is in love with your havarti avocado sandwich and it is on regular rotation in our house. . . . this salad was good however, I think the salad dressing needs more zip (Iāll add jalapeƱo powder next time) and the pickles were, in my opinion, sooooo out of place in this salad. The brightness that came from the cilantro/basil was amazing and then youād get a bite with the pickle and it was just weird and somewhat off-putting.
I will absolutely make this again, but will be making it without the pickles and will absolutely add some jalapeƱo powder to the dressing.
Hey Tristan,
Thanks so much for your comment and sharing your feedback! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and I hope itās even better with your adjustments next time around! xx
Hello, I could not find Tahini, is there something that you would recommend using in place of Tahini. Thank you Love all of your recipes
Thanks so much, Suzanne:) You could use another nut butter in place of the tahini. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
This might be the best salad Iāve ever eaten, let alone made at home! Iām already craving it again. All the ingredients work so well together and that dressing is unreal. Another winner!
Hey Maggie,
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for giving it a try and your comment! Xx
This salad was SO delicious! Adding the basil & cilantro really took it to the next level! I wasnāt sure how to feel about adding pickles to the salad, but that was a pleasant surprise and also really added something special to the salad. My husband loved it too!
Hey Audrey,
Awesome! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xT
I make so many of your recipes and theyāre all winners but i always struggle with getting chicken crispy in the oven. Help!
Hi Brenda,
Thanks so much for making so many recipes:) Are you by chance over crowding your pans when making chicken? That really tends to just steam the chicken rather than crisp it. Otherwise, I would just pop the broiler on at the end of a recipe to get the chicken crispy. I hope this helps! xT
Thank you, Tieghan, for the advice. Overcrowding is my issue I think. Itās still delicious though!