This hearty Rosemary Chicken Salad with Avocado and Bacon is HUGE – perfect when you want a low-carb meal that will fill you up! I actually split this between three people, and felt completely satisfied.
Rosemary Chicken Salad with Avocado and Bacon
Rosemary and chicken are such a wonderful combination in this dairy-free salad which also happens to be whole30 friendly. It’s one of my favorite salads for dinner! More hearty salads I love are Zesty Lime Shrimp and Avocado Salad, Carne Asada Salad and this California Grilled Chicken Avocado and Mango Salad.
This delicious recipe is from Heather Christo’s first cookbook Pure Delicious. A cookbook filled with 150 Allergen-Free recipes including gluten, dairy, soy, nut, shellfish and cane sugar. But don’t be fooled, the recipes are amazing and her photography is stunning!
For this recipe, I modified the ingredients slightly to lower the calories by reducing the olive oil a bit, and using skinless thighs instead of using the skin. If you want to further reduce the calories you can use chicken breast instead and use 1/2 of an avocado. This recipe was a keeper, also great for the summer if you want to make the chicken on the grill.
Rosemary Chicken Salad with Avocado and Bacon
Ingredients
- 3 slices center-cut bacon, diced
- 2 boneless, trimmed skinless chicken thighs (4 oz each)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
- 3 cups chopped romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1/2 cup baby arugula or watercress
- 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons chopped red onion
- 4 oz avocado, sliced (1 small)
For the rosemary vinaigrette:
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 4 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp fresh minced rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a large heavy nonstick skillet until crispy, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel to drain and set aside.
- Drain the fat but don’t wipe the skillet, leaving any excess oil in the pan to cook the chicken.
- Season chicken with salt and rosemary, cook in the skillet over medium-high heat until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side.
- Make a bed of the romaine and arugula (or watercress) in a large serving bowl or platter (or divide between 2 plates). Scatter the cherry tomatoes, red onion and bacon on top.
- Slice the avocado, sprinkle with pinch of salt and arrange on salad. Slice the chicken thighs and add to the salad.
- To make the rosemary vinaigrette, in a small bowl whisk the ingredients. Pour over the salad and serve right away.