Mediterranean Avocado Chicken Salad.

Sunshine in a bowl or between two slices of toasted bread —juicy chicken, creamy avocado, briny olives, and a lemon-herb dressing that wakes everything up. It’s fresh, fast, and endlessly versatile. Scoop into warm pitas, pile over greens, or spoon into grain bowls.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• It’s a pretty simple concept, mash a little avocado, stir in some shredded chicken, hard-boiled eggs, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, and plenty of fresh herbs. Toast up some really good bread, assemble, and eat!
• Bonus…this is one of those recipes that really isn’t a recipe. Meaning, you can add whatever you want and you really can’t mess it up. Use what’s in your fridge, what you love or are craving, maybe add a handful more of cheese, and you’re golden. Have some bacon on hand? Throw that in. Don’t like feta cheese? Maybe try some crumbled blue cheese or goat cheese. Vegetarian? Stir in chickpeas in place of the chicken.
• The avocado creates the creaminess so you don’t need to use mayo

Ingredient Notes

Mediterranean Add-ins: Cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onion, Kalamata olives, feta, and plenty of herbs (parsley, dill, oregano, basil)

Chicken: Shredded rotisserie is the fastest; grilled chicken is always delicious. If you are cooking fresh chicken, I like to grill mine with a little olive oil, smoked paprika, lemon zest + juice, salt and pepper. Shred the chicken while it’s still warm and then toss it in the salad so that it’s a warm chicken salad, which is my personal favorite, but then I just love hot food.

Avocado: Be sure to use ripe avocados. There’s nothing worse than eating an under ripe avocado..the flavor and creaminess is just not there, and I promise, that’s going to ruin your chicken salad. Extra ripe avocados only guys! Also, try to use an avocado that is at room temperature. I’ve found avocados to have more flavor when they are not cold out of the fridge. Lightly mash some to coat the salad, leave some chunks for texture

Use really good bread: Meaning no white sandwich bread. I like a crusty whole grain seeded sourdough.

The inspiration

When I first started cooking, I’d make these smashed avocado and cheese sandwiches for lunch almost every single day. They were quick, easy, and so delicious. I’d use whatever we had in the fridge at the time, but typically it was smashed avocado, crumbled cheese (a lot of times I’d melt the cheese too…yummmm), and deli turkey. I used to make a ton of weird combos (think fruity jam + turkey + avocado + cheese), but everyone’s favorite was always the mediterranean style with plenty of basil, sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese.

I kind of forgot about these salad sandwiches until I came across the avocado tuna salad recipe I have in the cookbook the other day (remember, it’s been a while since I wrote it!) and it got me thinking again. With the theme of the month being back to school, I thought it was time to break out this oldie, but goodie, of a recipe.

It’s literally a lunch you can make in ten minutes and it’s healthy and delicious. Yeah!! I love when such healthy things can also be crave worthy and just really really good.

Make-Ahead

If you’re looking to pack this salad for lunch on the go, you can make it the night before and keep it in the fridge. Because of all the lemon juice, the avocado doesn’t turn horribly brown and stays fairly fresh looking. It helps if you wrap the sandwiches tightly in plastic wrap though.

Variations & “Make It Yours”

No-olive crowd: Use sun-dried tomatoes or marinated artichokes.

No-dairy: Skip feta; add capers for extra briny pop. A drizzle of tahini can add creaminess.

High-veg: Add chopped roasted red peppers or artichokes.

Legume boost: Add chickpeas for extra fiber; texture gets heartier.

Grain bowl: Spoon over quinoa, farro, or couscous; thin the dressing with a splash of warm water to coat grains.

Serving Ideas

• Stuff into warm pitas with crisp lettuce.
• Pile over mixed greens with extra herbs.
• Spoon onto sourdough toast with a sprinkle of chili flakes.
• Serve mezze-style alongside hummus and roasted veggies.

Happy almost Friday everyone. Have a great day!

ps. thank you all so much for your kind words on yesterday’s post. My grandma is sadly not doing much better and my mom is going to be heading to Cleveland tomorrow. I will keep you all up to date. Thank you again for the support, it means so much to my entire family.