This Vegan Chicken and Avocado Salad with black beans, crisp lettuce and a smoky yogurt dressing is a quick, healthy and satisfying meal that's ready in 20 minutes. Get the recipe below.
If you're looking for a quick, healthy and satisfying meal, this Vegan Chicken and Avocado Salad is a great option. It combines crispy vegan chicken pieces with creamy avocado, juicy tomatoes, crunchy lettuce and protein-rich black beans, all brought together with a smoky yogurt dressing.
This recipe first appear on the blog as a meaty recipe with a buttermilk dressing but since going vegan I've decided to re-imagine it for anyone else following a plant-based diet.
This salad has a little bit of a Tex-Mex feel thanks to the Cajun seasoning, black beans and smoky paprika yogurt dressing but it is light and fresh. It's also a wonderfully balanced vegan meal. The black beans and vegan chicken provide plenty of plant-based protein and fibre while the avocado adds healthy fats. The vegetables bring freshness, colour and plenty of nutrients!
The best thing about this salad is how quickly it comes together. You can cook the vegan chicken and black beans while you prepare the vegetables, then whisk together the smoky yogurt dressing in a matter of minutes. It's perfect for a speedy weekday lunch but looks colourful enough to serve for guests too.
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Ingredients
Get your shopping list at the ready, you're going to need the following ingredients:
- Vegan chicken pieces - I like the brand "This"
- Olive oil
- Dried oregano
- Cajun seasoning
- Lettuce - I like to use iceberg, gem or romaine
- Tomatoes
- Spring onions
- Avocado
- Tinned black beans
- Unsweetened vegan yogurt
- Lemon
- Paprika
- Garlic
Step-by-step instructions
- Step 1: cook the vegan chicken in a pan with a little olive oil then place to one side.
- Step 2: warm the black beans with the spices.
- Step 3: mix the yogurt, lemon, paprika and garlic to make the dressing.
- Step 4: combine all of the salad ingredients and serve.
Hint: don't dress the salad until you're ready to eat it. Keeping the smoky yogurt dressing separate means the lettuce stays crisp. For the best texture, serve the warm vegan chicken and black beans over the cold, fresh salad vegetables.
Substitutions
You can make the following swaps in this recipe:
- Vegan chicken: plant-based chicken-sty;e fillets can also be cooked and sliced into strips. If you don't like mock-meat then try grilled tofu or tempeh.
- Black beans: you can substitute these with another type of bean like kidney beans, pinto beans or even chickpeas.
- Lettuce: try your favourite baby leaf salad mix or spinach.
- Cajun seasoning: if you can't buy a premade blend of spices use smoked paprika, ground cumin, chilli powder and garlic powder.
Variations
Some tweaks to the recipe for a slightly different flavour profile as as follows:
- Add sweetcorn: tinned, drained sweetcorn works perfectly.
- Make it spicy: add sliced fresh chilli, chilli flakes or a dash of hot sauce.
- Add coriander: fresh coriander works well scattered over the finished salad.
- Turn it into a wrap: use the salad as a filling in a large tortilla.
- Make it into a grain bowl: add cooked quinoa, brown rice or bulgur wheat to turn this salad into an even more substantial meal.
Equipment
You don't need much equipment to make this easy vegan salad.
- Large frying pan
- Small saucepan
- Chopping board
- Sharp knife
- Small mixing bowl
- Spoon or whisk
Storage
This Vegan Chicken and Avocado Salad is best eaten fresh because the lettuce and avocado will lose their texture over time.
If you want to prepare it ahead, cook the vegan chicken and black beans and store them separately in airtight containers in the fridge. Prepare the vegetables and store them separately too.
The smoky yogurt dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept refridgerated in an airtight container.
For meal prep, keep the dressing separate and add the avocado just before serving so it doesn't go brown.
Top tip
Make extra smoky yogurt dressing. It is so good you'll probably want to serve it with everything. It's a brilliant dip for crudites, a sauce for vegan wraps or a topping for roasted vegetables and jacket potatoes.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Cook them according to the packet instructions, making sure they are piping hot before adding them to the salad.
The recipe
Vegan Chicken and Avocado Salad with Black Beans and Smoky Yogurt Dressing
Equipment
- large frying pan
- Small saucepan or frying pan
- chopping board
- Sharp knife
- small mixing bowl
- Spoon or whisk
Ingredients
- 150 g vegan chicken pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 head lettuce e.g. gem or romaine
- 6 cherry tomatoes
- 2 spring onions
- 0.5 avocado
- 125 grams black beans tinned, drained weight
- 100 ml unsweetened vegan yogurt
- 0.5 lemon juice only
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 clove garlic crushed
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the vegan chicken pieces and fry for 8–10 minutes, turning regularly, until golden, crispy and piping hot throughout.
- Drain and rinse the black beans. Warm them in a small saucepan or frying pan along with the spices over a medium heat for a few minutes.
- To assemble the salad, slice the lettuce into strips.
- Dice the tomatoes, slice the spring onions and cube the flesh of the avocado.
- Add these to the lettuce along with the black beans and vegan chicken.
- Finally, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, paprika and garlic.
- Drizzle over the salad and enjoy.
Nutrition
Serving suggestions
We have been known to serve this up with either toasted wholewheat tortilla strips or even a big old hand of corn tortilla chips! The extra added crunch is satisfying but optional.
Sinead says
Ooooo this looks really nice! I may be stealing this for exam time lunches. =D
Emmyw says
Sounds good to me!!! It should keep you going 😛 (I'll have to put some brain power fishy recipes on here next!)My exams are 3 hours long EUGH! So there's a fine line between not eating enough and being STARVING at the end, and eating too much and wanting to sleep haha!Good luck with your exams!
Claire @foodiequine says
I forgot about your previous name! Fab salad. Chicken and Avocado is the perfect combo.
Emma Walton says
It's such a cringe name I try to avoid mentioning it usually hahaha bit I've been having fun reminiscing and looking back at the old posts from that time 🙂 glad you like the combo!
Heidi Roberts says
That sure is one very healthy and summery salad!
Emma Walton says
Thanks Heidi 🙂 but best of all its seriously TASTY!
janie says
Emma, that looks truly superb. I am now craving chicken salad!!!
Janie x
Emma Walton says
Thanks Janie. Better get yourself down to the shops 😉
Kellie@foodtoglow says
Chicken, avo and black beans are just made for one another. And beautiful styling - love your textile!
Emma Walton says
Thanks Kellie 😀 the napkin is from Anthropologie 😉
Ali @ Home & Plate says
I've been on an avocado mix lately and this salad sounds perfect for lunch and easy enough to whip up the dressing. Adding the black beans is brilliant too. It really has all the right ingredients. Yum!
Emma Walton says
Thanks Ali! I do try my best to get a tasty balanced meal at lunchtime otherwise I'm always left snacking! Enjoy!
Elissa says
That looks fabulous, and healthy, and not that hard to make - tick, tick, tick! I remember in my childhood (quite a few years ago now) avocados were a total luxury, nothing like these days.
(love your profile pic, BTW)
Emma Walton says
Thanks Elissa 😀 it's funny how things change and foods become in and out of popularity!
safira says
Such an awesome salad!YUM
Lynn | The Road to Honey says
Well. . .I'm always in the mood for a nice pimped out salad especially one that is as colorful as this beauty. As for salad dressing, I prefer to make my own as it tastes so much better and really isn't that time consuming to make. I'm definitely going to need to give your smokey buttermilk version a try.
Emma Walton says
Thanks Lynn! Glad you like it! Homemade does always taste best doesn't it?
Jackie Garvin says
I love big, hardy salads! This is incredible! Nicely done.
Emma Walton says
Thanks Jackie 😀 glad you like it!
Jemma says
Chicken and avocado is such a winning combination for me. Love the sound of that dressing too!
Emma Walton says
Thanks Jemma. I definitely think it's becoming a classic :')
Kavey says
My last contract was in a company with a lot of Aussies, Kiwis and South African staff and oh my goodness, I think more avos were consumed in that one office than in the rest of the UK put together. Most people made their lunches themselves in the kitchens on each floor, and they sure loved their avos! Your salad looks ACE!
Emma Walton says
Haha thanks Kavey! That made me laugh. Who knew they were obsessed with avocados in that part of the globe!