Harvest Chicken Salad With Beets And Avocado Dressing
This protein-rich chicken beet salad recipe features cooked beets, roasted chicken, chickpeas, crunchy bell pepper with fresh leafy greens and finished with a healthy creamy avocado dressing. This harvest chicken salad with beetroot can be enjoyed as side dish or as a super filling meal for lunch or dinner.
Harvest Chicken And Beet Salad Recipe
This hearty chicken and beet salad recipe is simple and customizable, the ingredients come together in just five minutes when you already have some pre-cooked chicken and beetroot in the fridge. You could also try this chicken salad with cranberries walnuts and avocado – which is much quicker to prep.
Similar to my other beet salads, this harvest chicken salad is rich in antioxidants, fiber, healthy fats AND this one – coupled with plenty of protein.
This recipe was inspired by another variation I have presented in my cookbook.
Related: Cobb Salad
If you really love beets then I suggest you also check this simple breetroot salad with walnuts prunes and avocado, the pumpkin and beetroot salad, the creamy beetroot and carrot salad or this tangy fermented beet sauerkraut to enrich your meal with probiotics.
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Ingredients Needed For This Salad
- Cooked beets – steam or use some roasted beetroot leftovers.
- Chicken – use any cooked chicken: rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, or roasted chicken.
- Chickpeas – use canned or cook them yourself. Don’t like chickpeas, use green peas or some nuts instead.
- Red bell pepper – used as the crunchy element. You can sub this with cucumbers, radishes or celery.
- Leafy greens – add extra nutrients and makes the salad lighter. Use baby spinach, kale, lettuce or a spring mix.
- Avocado dressing – fat is needed for helping the body to absorb nutrients from vegetables (they’re fat soluble) plus it makes the beet salad super tasty and creamy.
- Almonds – sliced, optional as garnish.
Avocado Dressing For This Cold Beet Salad With Chicken
This avocado dressing pairs beautifully with this chicken and beet recipe. It’s what you make when you want a creamy salad dressing without the burden of mayonnaise or tons of oil! And it’s ready in just minutes. You simply toss a few simple ingredients into your blender and you get a creamy, tangy, rich and delicious avocado dressing that mimics the same flavor and feel of a mayo.
Find the complete printable recipe with measurements below.
Related: Fermented Red Cabbage And Beets (Probiotic Rich Sauerkraut)
How to Cook The Beets For Best Tasting Beet Salad
- There are several different options for cooking your beets. For this chicken beet salad recipe, you can either steam or roast them, but if you want more fiber and a more pungent taste – use them raw.
- Whatever you do, please don’t use canned beets, you will ruin the taste and the nutritional value.
- Fresh, roasted or steamed beets – are the best! Some people choose to boil the beets but this way majority of the nutritional value is lost in the cooking water.
Instructions: How To Make This Harvest Chicken Salad
Step 1. Cook the chicken and beets and let them cool:
- First prepare your beets for steaming or roasting, I like to wash and peel them first, but you could also peel them after cooking. When roasting the beets (if you prefer that) I typically peel and quarter, rub with olive oil, salt, pepper and roast covered at 400F for 25 minutes and another 20 minutes uncovered. But steaming is quicker. I cut them into quarters and steam the beetroots in a steaming basket for 15-20 minutes.
- As for the chicken meat, you can use any part. In this particular recipe I’m using some leftover roasted chicken breast, chopped into small cubes.
Step 2. Prepare the avocado dressing:
- Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a blender or food processor. Pulse for 1 minute or until the dressing is creamy. You can check out the video for the dressing if you have questions. You can also make up to 2-3 days in advance. The lime juice will prevent the salad dressing from discoloring, but it will darken slightly with time. A change in color doesn’t mean it’s going bad, it means the avocado is oxidizing.
Step 3. Prepare the rest of ingredients:
- While the beets are cooking gather the rest of ingredients. Chop the bell pepper about the same size as the beetroot. Rinse the chickpeas from a can (or use some leftovers) and chop the leafy greens. Here you use whatever you have: baby spinach, kale, lettuce or a spring mix.
Step 4. Assemble the beetroot chicken salad:
- Combine the chopped chicken, beetroot, drained chickpeas, chopped bell pepper and leafy greens in a bowl. Mix the dressing into the beetroot chicken salad and stir until it’s completely coated with the avocado dressing. Serve immediately, or chill up.
- The dressing recipe yields a larger portion, for this salad you will need approximately half of the dressing. Keep the rest in the fridge or double the recipe ingredients so you could store some salad for the next day (add the greens later in this case). The juice of red beets will will stain the salad and give it a faint red-ish / pink color.
- Taste and add some more sourness (lemon juice) or salt if you prefer.
Related: Beet Crackers With Flax Seeds (V,GF)
Storing Tips
Storing leftovers: Refrigerate the chicken and beet salad for up to 4-6 hours in an airtight container. Because the salad has leafy greens they will go all limp and degrade fast when mixed with the rest of ingredients. So if you plan to make it in advance, add the leaves and dressing before serving.
Serving Suggestion
You can enjoy the chicken and beet salad with some tortillas or even on top of a slice of sourdough bread.
More Healthy Recipes With Beetroot
More Salads You Might Like
- Simple Beetroot Salad With Walnuts Prunes And Avocado (Vegan)
- Beetroot And Carrot Salad With Creamy Dressing
- Shrimp Cabbage Salad
- Fermented Beets + Cabbage (Probiotic Rich Beetroot Sauerkraut)
- Russian Beet Salad With Sauerkraut (Vinaigrette)
- Pumpkin And Beetroot Salad (Vegan)
- Cobb Salad Recipe With Creamy Zesty Dressing
If you made this beetroot chicken salad, then please leave a star rating or a comment below the recipe card. Your feedback is really helpful for me and readers!
Harvest Chicken Salad With Beets and Avocado Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 medium beets - steamed
- 1 small chicken breast - or 1/2 of a larger one
- ½ cup chickpeas - cooked
- ½ large red bell pepper - chopped
- 1 cup chopped leafy greens - mixed greens or beet greens
- ½ cup avocado dressing - add extra 2-3 tbsp if you prefer it more creamy
- sliced almonds - optional as garnish
Instructions
Cook the chicken and beets and let them cool:
- First prepare your beets for steaming or roasting. Steaming is quicker. Cut the beetroot into quarters and steam them in a steaming basket for 15-20 minutes.
- As for the chicken meat, you can use any part. In this particular recipe I’m using roasted chicken breast, chopped into small cubes.
Prepare the rest of ingredients:
- While the beets are cooking gather the rest of ingredients. Chop the bell pepper about the same size as the beetroot. Rinse the chickpeas from a can (or use some leftovers) and chop the leafy greens.
Prepare the avocado dressing:
- Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a blender or food processor. Pulse for 1 minute or until the dressing is creamy. Check out the ingredients and how-to video for the dressing.
Assemble the beetroot chicken salad:
- Combine the chopped chicken, beetroot, drained chickpeas, chopped bell pepper and leafy greens in a bowl. Mix the dressing into the beetroot chicken salad and stir until it’s completely coated with the avocado dressing.
- The dressing recipe yields a larger portion, and for this salad you will need approximately half of it. Keep the rest in the fridge or double the recipe ingredients so you could store some salad for the next day (add the greens later in this case).
- Serve immediately, or chill up. The juice of red beets will will stain the salad and give it a faint red-ish / pink color. Taste and add some more sourness (lemon juice) or salt if you prefer.
Notes
Chicken Beet Salad Extra Tips
Storing leftovers: Refrigerate the chicken and beet salad for up to 4-6 hours in an airtight container. Because the salad has leafy greens they will go all limp and degrade fast when mixed with the rest of ingredients. So if you plan to make it in advance, add the leaves and dressing before serving. When roasting the beets (if you prefer that) I typically peel and quarter, rub with olive oil, salt, pepper and roast covered at 400F for 25 minutes and another 20 minutes uncovered. If you don’t like chickpeas, use green peas or some nuts instead. To make this beet salad vegan, omit the chicken and add more beans and nuts.Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
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I can’t believe how tasty this chicken and beet salad is, absolutely love the avocado creaminess!!