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Lemon Herb Avocado Chicken Salad Recipe With Crispy Bacon & Creamy Feta Cheese is the ultimate salad recipe! Grilled or pan seared chicken!

This loaded up chicken salad is not just any boring salad. With a crazy good lemon herb dressing slathered on the chicken as a marinade for intense flavour, this meal-in-a-salad is delicious to the extreme! Minimal ingredients means it’s a quick to throw together salad to have on the table in no time!

Lemon Herb Avocado Chicken Salad Recipe with crispy bacon & creamy feta cheese on a plate

Best Chicken Salad Recipe For Dinner

Or lunch really! This site is the wrong place to be looking for rabbit salads consisting of celery sticks on 2 lettuce leaves. The home of incredibly BIG salads to satisfy everyone around the dinner table, it was time to give you another one!

Salad Dressing

In typical Cafe Delites fashion, I’m giving you a dressing that does double duty as a marinade. WHAT AM I SAYING?

As we do with all of our salads, you’re going to make up the dressing, divide it in half, reserve half into the refrigerator to use later, and use the other half as a marinade. Once the chicken is done marinating, you are going to DISCARD that marinade. The dressing is still sitting in your refrigerator, nice and clean, ready to be used when you’re ready!

The stuff of geniuses…

Before and after image of Chicken Salad Recipe with avocado, bacon & feta

What goes in THIS chicken salad?

Only FIVE main ingredients make up the base of this salad recipe to sit your chicken on and slather it with the best salad dressing of your life.

  • Lettuce — I always use Romaine (or Cos in Australia) for that refreshing crunch factor. You can also use butter lettuce or ice berg if you wish!
  • Crispy bacon — I fry the bacon up while the chicken is marinating to save time.
  • Avocado — Hass is our favourite, but any variety you find is good.
  • Tomatoes — Grape or cherry tomatoes.
  • Feta — I use Danish feta marinated in oil because it is super creamy. You can use any, but I do recommend buying fresh from a deli.

Optional Add-Ins

  • Boiled egg slices
  • Radish slices
  • Asparagus
  • Cucumber
  • Olives

Top vie image of Lemon Herb Avocado Chicken Salad Recipe!

Seared or Grilled Chicken Salad

The recipe includes both options.

For Searing – I recommend a cast iron skillet or heavy based frying pan for the best crisp-charred results.
For Grilling – A barbecue for outdoor grilling; a grill pan or electric grill can be used for indoors.

Looking for more salads? Try these!

Honey Mustard Chicken Salad With Bacon & Avocado
Greek Lemon Garlic Chicken Salad
Chicken Avocado Caprese Salad

You might also like

Karina in a white and black dress with her hair blowing back, standing in front of her cooktop, cooking salmon in a pan

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Lemon Herb Chicken Salad Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Lemon Herb Avocado Chicken Salad Recipe with crispy bacon & creamy feta cheese is the ultimate salad recipe! Not just any boring salad, with a dressing that doubles as a marinade!
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Ingredients 
 

Marinade/Dressing:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice fresh
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
  • 2 teaspoons garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper or to taste
  • 1 pound skinless boneless chicken thigh fillets or chicken breasts

Salad:

  • 4 cups Romaine lettuce leaves washed and dried
  • 1 avocado large, pitted, peeled and sliced
  • 8 ounces feta cheese
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
  • 1/4 red onion sliced, optional
  • 1/4 cup diced bacon trimmed of rind and fat
  • 4 lemon wedges to serve

Instructions 

  • Whisk together all of the marinade/dressing ingredients in a large jug. Pour out half of the marinade into a large, shallow dish. Refrigerate the remaining marinade to use as the dressing later.
  • Add the chicken to the marinade in the bowl; marinade chicken for 15-30 minutes (or up to two hours in the refrigerator if time allows). While waiting for the chicken, prepare all of the salad ingredients and mix in a large salad bowl.
  • Once chicken is ready, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet or grill over medium-high heat. Sear chicken on both sides until browned and completely cooked through (about 7 minutes per side, depending on thickness).
  • Allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes; slice and arrange over salad. Drizzle salad with the remaining UNTOUCHED dressing. Serve with lemon wedges.

Notes

Tip: For a touch of extra freshness, try throwing in some chopped cucumber.

Nutrition

Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 158mg | Sodium: 1.636mg | Potassium: 833mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 4.928IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 334mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this? Leave a comment below!
Karina eating butter chicken from a gold fork out of a bowl with a nann bread on the side.

Hey Good Food Lovers! It’s nice to see you! My name is Karina. Welcome to Cafe Delites, my beloved space for the last 10 years where my passion for food has flourished and connected millions!

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2 Comments

  1. Nona McCown says:

    Do you think I could sub salmon for the chicken and leave the rest of the recipe as is?

    1. Karina says:

      Yes, of course! You are welcome to change or make any of my recipes your own! It may alter or change the texture and taste of the meat but it sounds delicious! Thanks so much for following along with me! XO