Mexican Chicken Salad with Avocado

This Mexican Chicken Salad is healthy and crisp with bibb lettuce and savory with kidney beans and chicken breast. Incredible with flavor, and special enough for entertaining.This unique chicken and avocado salad recipe features a very special sweet and spicy dressing drizzled over a great line-up of ingredients.

In life there are salads and then there are salads. The second being a satisfying meal that you never want to stop eating. This recipe falls into that category. Some of our favorite main course salads are Taco Salad with Doritos, Creamy Tangy Chicken Avocado Salad, and Chopped Chicken Salad with Sweet Chili Dressing.

This Mexican chicken salad is made with sweet corn, kidney beans and black olives is tossed with a unique creamy, sweet spicy dressing that is simply stated – addictive.

Ingredients for the dressing include mayo, chili sauce and cider vinegar. This creamy dressing is then kicked up with chili powder and your favorite hot sauce. It’s really a flavorful treat.

My post has all the process shots, hints and tips for you to make the very best salad with chicken and avocado in your home. Let’s get started.

Why You’re Going To Love This Recipe

• It’s festive and colorful.
• It’s fresh and healthy. And it’s naturally gluten free.
• Great textures.
• It’s a make-ahead salad recipe.
• It’s easy.
• It’s flat-out scrumptious, everyone will be asking for seconds.
• It’s got that WOW presentation factor.
• Not only is this an easy weeknight dinner recipe, but I’d feel very comfortable serving this entree-style Mexican chicken salad to dinner guests.

Ingredients Needed

• Bibb Lettuce: Bibb lettuce is a tender green lettuce that almost melts in your mouth like butter. It’s a rich tasting and can be found in the produce section in a clam shell with roots still attached.
• Chicken Breast: Cooked and diced into bite-sized pieces.
• Avocado: Makes any salad luscious and creamy.
• Corn: You can use canned yellow corn, but I’d suggest using frozen. Frozen corn gives you that little extra crunch that adds to the beautiful textures of this salad. Just heat it enough to warm and thaw and mix it into the salad. Or let it sit at room temperature until thawed.
• Kidney Beans: I try to use dried beans soaked overnight as often as I can, but make it easy on yourself and grab a can of Red Kidney Beans at the store. Just let them drain, give them a quick rinse and you’re in business.
• Black Olives: Sliced. I like to buy whole olives and simply half them. They seem to be a better presentation and texture choice than the very thin canned pre-sliced olives.

Ingredients For The Dressing

• Mayonnaise: Full fat or reduced fat will work.
• Spices: Chile Powder and Onion Salt
• Green Onion: Sliced
• Hot Sauce: Use your favorite brand, as you can see, we like Cholula. I’ve not been given any incentive to mention Cholula sauce, we just like it.
• Vinegar: Cider Vinegar works well here.
• Sweet Asian Chile Sauce: Make sure you purchase chile sauce labeled sweet. Asian chile sauces labeled garlic sauce are not sweet and very spicy hot.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Lettuce: Any tender lettuce will work for this salad. Butter lettuce and red-leaf lettuce are good examples.
• Chicken: Feel free to substitute cooked chicken thighs for this salad. Left-over rotisserie chicken meat is also a good choice here.
• Vinegar: Red wine vinegar is an excellent substitute for cider vinegar. They both have a sweet note to their flavor. If you don’t have either, white vinegar will work just fine.
• Green Onion: You can also use chopped sweet or yellow onion. You can use red onion for a stronger bite of onion flavor.
• Mayonnaise: If you like the flavor of Greek Yogurt, substitute it for the mayonnaise. You’ll have a healthier salad. You may need to add more salt, so taste once mixed.

Step by Step Instructions

Be sure to see the recipe card below for complete ingredients and instructions.

• Step 1: Combine all of the salad dressing ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.

• Step 2: Using a whisk, stir the ingredients until well blended. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavors marry.

• Step 3: Add all of the salad ingredients (minus the lettuce and avocado) in a large bowl. Side note: I like to roast chicken breasts in the oven. Just rub with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and chile powder and cook in a low sided casserole dish until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Let cool and cut into cubes. You can also use grilled chicken to add a bit of smoky flair.

• Step 4: Using a large spoon, gently stir the ingredients to mix them together.

Step 5: Add the dressing to the salad ingredients and gently stir to blend and coat. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

• Step 6: Lay a few leafs of the lettuce on a place. Scoop on a good helping of the Mexican chicken salad ingredients. Sprinkle on some chopped avocado and provide a wedge of lime to squeeze over the salad.

Frequently Asked Questions

Recipe for Mexican Chicken Salad with Avocado

If you’re having a Mexican Buffet party, this chicken salad recipe with avocado would make an easy addition. Offer a stack of tortilla taco shell bowls, or a platter of Bibb Lettuce. Place a bowl of the chicken salad ingredients next. And lastly, bowls of chopped avocado and lime wedges. Let guests spoon the chicken salad over the lettuce.

Place your entree, such as this Baked Chicken Enchiladas with Tomato Cream Sauce next. This is a very easy way for guests to serve themselves.

Riffs on this Chicken and Avocado Salad:

• Substitute chili flavored pinto beans for the kidney beans.
• Add some chopped sweet red bell pepper for a splash of color.
• Omit the chicken for a vegetarian Mexican salad.
• To add some heat, add diced jalapeno pepper.
• Serving ideas: Top with Sour cream. Grated Mexican Cheese. Chopped cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for a squeeze of citrus to brighten flavors.

Pro Tip: Using tortilla taco bowl shells would ramp up the presentation factor even more. For this, shred or tear the lettuce into bite sized pieces, line the molded taco bowls with the lettuce then add the salad ingredients. Premolded taco shell bowls can be purchased at the grocery store.

I hope you give this beautiful Mexican Chicken Salad recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating. And if you have a favorite avocado chicken salad recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.

If you’re making this for a crowd, be sure to make plenty. You’ll notice everyone returning for seconds for this one.

More Mexican Salad Recipes

• Skirt Steak Salad with Wilted Greens and Chipotle Dressing
• Southwestern Salad Recipe with Black Beans
• Mexican Christmas Salad

And if you love Mexican food as much as we do, don’t miss my Mexican Food Category. You’ll find lots of delicious recipes, including the most popular on my site for New Mexico Carne Adovada.

And speaking of New Mexico, don’t miss my article that includes a line up of Hatch Green Chile Recipes.

Creamy Mexican Chicken Salad … It’s Whats for Dinner

This recipe was first published April of 2018 and updated February of 2022 with step by step instructions.