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This Chicken Avocado Corn Salad is full of seasoned grilled chicken, creamy avocado, sweet corn, cilantro, jalapeño, and red onion. Toss it in a chili honey lime vinaigrette and serve it as a side dish or main dish.
Love salads with corn? Try this tomato avocado corn salad!
Why I love this salad
Quick and easy – This salad can be ready to eat in about 30 minutes. While the chicken is grilling you’ll have enough time to make the vinaigrette and chop the vegetables for the salad.
Side dish or main dish – This corn salad can be served as a side dish, but also works great as a main dish thanks to the protein from the chicken and fat from the avocado.
Great for summer entertaining – This is a great salad to take or serve at barbecues or picnics during the summer. Pair it with my strawberry watermelon feta salad this Memorial Day or 4th of July!
The ingredients
- Chicken breasts – Hearty, lean, and full of protein. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- Chili powder, cumin, garlic powder – The spice blend for the chicken.
- Corn – You can use fresh and grill it if it’s in season or use defrosted frozen corn or fire roasted corn for extra flavor.
- Avocado – Use ripe avocados, but not overly ripe or they’ll fall apart when you toss the salad together.
- Red onion – Has a sweeter and milder favor compared to yellow onion and adds a sharp bite to the salad.
- Cilantro – Adds fresh flavor to the salad. If you don’t like cilantro omit it.
- Lime – Use fresh squeezed lime juice for the vinaigrette.
- Honey – Used to sweeten the vinaigrette.
How to make chicken avocado corn salad
Grill the chicken – Coat the chicken breasts in the dry rub and season with salt and pepper. As a rule of thumb I generally use about 3/4 teaspoon of kosher or sea salt per pound of chicken.
Grill the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165° F. Before cutting it, let it rest for 5-10 minutes. This will also give it a chance to cool so it isn’t going into the salad hot.
Make the vinaigrette – Combine the lime juice, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, honey, and olive oil in a measuring glass or jar with a lid. Whisk or shake until well combined.
Assemble the salad – Add the corn, diced avocado, red onion, jalapeño, chicken, and cilantro to a large serving bowl. Pour on the vinaigrette and gently toss the salad together. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
Tips and variations
- Save time and grill the chicken up to 2-3 days in advance.
- In a hurry? Use shredded rotisserie chicken instead of grilled chicken.
- Make the salad vegetarian by omitting the chicken. You could replace it with a can of chickpeas or black beans if you’d like.
- Add crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese for a salty bite.
- Grill fresh corn if it’s in season.
How to serve chicken salad
This avocado chicken salad is hearty enough to stand on it’s own, however there are many possibilities when it comes to serving it.
- As a filling for lettuce wraps or on top of romaine lettuce.
- Stuffed inside a pita or in a wrap.
- On top of rice.
- Use tortilla chips to scoop it up like a dip.
How long will the avocado corn salad keep?
This salad will keep for up to 3 days. It’s best the day it’s made as the avocado will brown the longer it sits. Aside from that, the flavor and texture are still good for a couple more days.
More salad recipes
- Grilled Chicken and Peach Salad
- Blueberry Peach Feta Salad
- Tomato Corn Pasta Salad
- Southwest Chicken Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing
- Summer Chickpea Salad
Did you make this chicken avocado corn salad? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Chicken Avocado Corn Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cups corn
- 2 medium avocados diced
- 1 Jalapeño seeded and diced
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Vinaigrette
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat, or approximately 400-425° F. Combine the dried spices then sprinkle them evenly over the chicken along with salt and pepper. Oil the grill grates and grill the chicken flipping it halfway through the cooking time. The chicken should have an internal temperature of 165° F. When it is fully cooked. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting it into bite sized pieces.
- While the chicken is grilling combine all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a jar or measuring cup. Shake or whisk until well combined.
- Add the corn, avocado, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, and chicken to a large serving bowl. Pour the vinaigrette on top and gently toss everything together until combined. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
