Hold onto that summer vibe!
It’s the middle of August and fall may be on your mind. I personally love fall! In the blogger world, we’re always a season ahead with content creating, testing and photographing recipes for the the next season, BUT that doesn’t mean we still can’t enjoy the flavors of summer. After all, fall doesn’t officially begin until September 23, so we’ve got time to hold onto that summer vibe. Today I’m sharing a Mango Chicken Salad with Avocado recipe that’s tossed in a simple lemon-lime vinaigrette and loaded with healthy fats, veggies and delicious flavors. It also makes for quite a pretty plate and makes for the perfect lunch on a sunshine-y summer day!
All salads deserve a dose of healthy fats!
The extra virgin olive oil and avocados provide an abundant source of healthy fats. Remember, don’t fear fat. Healthy fats are necessary for optimal health, nutrient absorption and provides fuel for your metabolism. I recommend including healthy fats at every meal! Yes, that’s right…every meal!
Let’s talk about avocados and why they’re so great!
Avocados are abundant in healthy, monounsaturated fats with about 80% of the calories coming from fat, surprisingly high in fiber, antioxidant-rich, and contain nearly 20 different vitamins and minerals. And did you know, avocados are a fruit?! A creamy, oh so satisfying fruit that’s also known as an “alligator pear.”
You’re definitely “eating the rainbow” with this Mango Chicken Salad with Avocado.
Bright yellow mango, beautiful purple cabbage, deep green kale, and a touch of red from the bell pepper makes this salad not only appealing to the eye, but full of fiber and a variety of antioxidants and nutrients, too. Leftover chicken breast works great in this salad as well as leftover Instant Pot Shedded Chicken or Instant Pot Whole Chicken. And if you’re wondering about allllll of the confusing poultry labels on the packaging of chicken at the grocery store and what they heck they mean, you’ll want to read our Understand Poultry Labels blog post which is part of our Real Food 101 series. Oh and there are a couple of substitutions you can make to this recipe. Although I love the flavor of champagne vinegar, you can certainly substitute red wine or white wine vinegar (even apple cider vinegar) if that’s what you have on hand! Instead of the mango, try peaches or pineapple – so special trips to the grocery store needed.
This Mango Chicken Salad with Avocado is simple to make and allergy friendly.
I say allergy friendly because this recipe is grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free, nut-free, paleo and Whole30 friendly! And no, it’s not “taste-free,” I promise. A prep-friendly recipe! Here are a few prep-ahead tips that you can tackle up to 2 days in advance:
Make the vinaigrette. Cube or shred the chicken. Cook chicken if needed. Chop all of the ingredients except for the avocado. Save the avocado to prevent browning until just before serving. Refrigerate all of the prepped ingredients until you’re ready to toss the salad together.
When you’re ready to eat, simply toss the salad together which will take a matter of a few minutes! Pin now, make later! **Leftover chicken breast works great in this salad as well as leftover Instant Pot Shedded Chicken or Instant Pot Whole Chicken.
Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter. This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!
