By Lidey Heuck
Published Jan. 18, 2024
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- 4(428)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Avocado forms the base of creamy green goddess dressing in this everyday chicken salad recipe. Made with lots of green herbs, capers and scallions, it’s tangy, vinegary and luxuriously creamy without the addition of any dairy or mayonnaise. Feel free to substitute other tender herbs you have on hand — chervil, chives and tarragon would all nod to classic green goddess dressing. For the chicken, you can roast bone-in, skin-on breasts, use leftover chicken or purchase a rotisserie chicken. Breast meat is more traditional for a chicken salad, but if you love thighs, by all means use them here.Pile the chicken salad onto toasted bread with lettuce and tomato for a standout sandwich, or eat it straight from the bowl with salted crackers or pita chips.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- ½cup chopped scallions (from 3 to 4 scallions)
- ½packed cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
- ⅓packed cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
- ⅓packed cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
- 2tablespoons drained capers
- 1large garlic clove
- 1ripe Hass avocado, halved and pitted
- 2tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 2tablespoons white wine or Champagne vinegar
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3½cups cooked shredded chicken breast (from a 3-pound rotisserie chicken)
- Toasted bread, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
442 calories; 20 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 48 grams protein; 743 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the scallions, parsley, dill, mint, capers and garlic and process until finely chopped.
Step
2
Add the avocado, lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until smooth, thick and creamy. Taste for seasonings and add more salt and pepper to taste.
Step
3
Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add about 1 cup of the dressing and toss well, adding more to taste. Serve immediately, sandwiched between slices of toast, with the rest of the dressing on the side, or cover, placing plastic wrap directly on the surface of the chicken salad to prevent browning, and refrigerate for up to 2 days before serving.
Ratings
4
out of 5
428
user ratings
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Karen
This was delicious! I used parsley, dill, and chives (I find mint overwhelming), leftovers from the NYT recipe for slow cooker whole chicken, and made my sandwich with whole grain bread, lots of romaine leaves, and some small cut-up baby tomatoes. It was so good I had a second sandwich - and I never have more than one sandwich! And it's wonderful that it's much healthier than my usual chicken sandwich with mayo.
Hannah
Subbed chickpeas for chicken to keep this vegan and it turned out delightful. The green mixture itself would also make a lovely dip with crackers or pita chips.
Patrick
Canned chicken also works great for chicken salad. It's my go-to.
Hiliry Harvey
It seems like this would be good with tuna as well.
Wm
Wonderful!Goes as well on a bed of romaine or arugula or somesuch for those who don't want or like bread.
tb
Delish! Cut back on the mint, added some Aleppo pepper and a smidge kewpie because I couldn’t control myself. Brightened up this dreary day
Lee
Made as written with all fresh herbs from the garden and it was absolutely delicious! I was worried the leftovers would go brown since avocados, even when I wrap them in plastic, do so after only a half day but this did not. I'm a Kewpie-holic but did not miss the lack of mayo one bit and I felt so healthy! You could put so many things in this dressing and it would work. Can't wait to make it again.
min
Absolutely delicious! Used an extra garlic clove just because. Only had rice wine vinegar so used that. Only had mint which was great as I don’t love dill. Would add parsley next time. Used some roasted chicken breasts from Asda in the UK. It wasn’t creaming up so added a bit more oil which did the trick! Don’t be afraid to drizzle more olive oil to get that creamy texture as you blitz it.
Rufus
I tried to cut the recipe in half but had a hard time processing, as it just splatted against the wall of the processor and the blade couldn’t reach it. Ended up using the entire avocado and was not sorry. Oh, I also used prepared chicken breast chunks from the deli. Turned out great! My 16-year old, who is just beginning to appreciate foods other than cheeseburgers, grudgingly admitted enjoying it. When I make it again I might add black olives with the chicken.
Ian
Absolutely delicious, highly recommended.
Michael
The lemon juice and vinegar should prevent that.
Karen L Davis
Yummy, even if you don't use it in a sandwich but as part of a salad instead, as we did. I have to admit that I cheated and used a guacamole that I had on hand, because it had big chunks of avocado in it, saved me some time and offered a texture that worked better in a salad than smooth. Subbed fresh basil, because I didn't have anything other than dried mint on hand (tossed a little in). Hannah was right that this would also make a dandy dip with tortilla chips. Will definitely make this again.
Laura in NH
Made as written - so bright, fresh, and delicious!
my version
Made it as written using leftover spatchco*ck chicken from the weekend. Husband thought it was great. Served it on whole grain toasted bread, added Swiss cheese and romaine lettuce leaves. Unfortunately I was out of tomato, I think that would have been great!
jcs
Delicious and super easy--fit perfectly in a mini cuisinart. I felt the capers were overshadowed, which is hard to do. But otherwise all the flavors were nicely balanced.
Judy Forkner
This would be good to serve Nathan, since he is not a fan of mayo! Also would probably work well with tuna when Kirsten is around!
Faith
Made as written.
AHW
If you are concerned about the dressing browning use a couple of hacks to keep left over avocado in the shell. Spray a thin layer of olive oil on the exposed surface and cover with plastic wrap so the wrap is touching the surface. Works great with guacamole.
Connor
Works great as a wrap too! I added some pickled onions.
Stephanie
Living down-under, a lot of the recipes published by NYT are for the opposite season, but alas, a perfect recipe for RIGHT NOW, when we're suffering days of excessive heat in the hottest February ever. (Truly!)As a lazy vegan, I made a few tweaks: I hand-mashed chickpeas and added celery for crunch. Instead of a food processor, I threw everything else (except scallions) in my blender.Such a vibrant, refreshing, and cooling meal for these hotter than hot summer days!
Mark
Best chicken salad ever. Subbing avocado for mayo is brilliant.
Chuck
The mixture of greens may not be to everyone's taste
Raleigh
This was wonderful with tofu torn into bite sized chunks and air fried at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes
Sarah
Yum! So so good. Made chicken in the slow cooker and whipped up the dressing. So tasty and no mayo. Yay!
Chris Hewitt
I loved this. I can't imagine why it is showing only four stars.
wuchmee
Love it, but halved the lemon.
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