When the weather is hot, I crave salad for lunch. It’s gotta be light and it’s gotta be tasty.
For me, I crave protein and crisp lettuce. I feel that I need protein so that I do not have that 3pm snack craving (which is usually chocolate). I like chicken in my salads, but you can substitute any protein you have on hand. Vegetarian? have a hard-boiled egg. Have some leftover steak or pork tenderloin in the fridge? Throw that in!
When I am doing my meal plan, I actually map out the days I am having chicken in my salad (as chicken is my go-to protein) and I pull out the breasts ahead of time in order to BBQ a bunch in one shot. I chop them up when they are still warm and store them in the fridge for when I want them. Heck, when I have my salad craving, I even chopped lettuce, added shredded chicken, chopped up a few peppers and tomato, and called that lunch!
However, sometimes, I really do enjoy a salad that has specific ingredients that gel together. You know, when you take a bit of everything on your fork and you salivate when it touches your tongue? This salad has that combination of smooth avocado, salty bacon, and crisp lettuce with a hint of sweetness from the honey. It’s not too mustardy, but just enough to give it a bit of a bite.
Looking for a new salad? Give this one a whirl and let me know what you think.
Stay sassy friends.
Honey Mustard Chicken Avocado and Bacon Salad
Ingredients
Dressing/Marinade
- 1/3 cup Honey
- 3 tbsp Mustard
- 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar can subsitute white vinegar
- 1 clove Minced Garlic
- Salt to taste
- 4 Skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs
Salad
- 1/4 cup Bacon diced
- 4 cups Romaine lettuce
- 1 cup Cherry or Grape Tomatoes sliced
- 1 Avocado sliced
- 1/4 cup Red Onion sliced
Optional-1/4 cup corn
Instructions
- Whisk marinade ingredients to combine. Pour half in a bowl to marinade the chicken, the other half to use as dressing.
- Marinate chicken up to 2 hours. I have marinated for 15 minutes, because of lack of time, and that is just fine. * If I am pan frying, I have chopped my chicken into bite sized pieces to make the cooking time go faster. If I am doing on the BBQ I will keep the chicken as one larger piece.
- While the chicken is marinating, cook the bacon in a pan until crispy or to your liking.
- If I am pan frying my chicken, I will keep the pan at medium heat and use the fat from the bacon, but you can wipe your pan and add a smidge of oil. If BBQ'ing, grill chicken on each side until crispy and cooked through. About 4 minutes per side.
- Add 2 tbsp of water to your remaining dressing.
- To assemble: slice chicken into strips (or use your bite sized pieces if you pan fried). In your bowl, add lettuce, tomatoes, avocado slices, corn (optional), onion and add your chicken.
- Drizzle dressing over top of salad and top with bacon.