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Grilled Chicken Salad with Avocado, Apple and Yogurt Dressing

Juicy paprika-grilled chicken sliced over crisp leaves, avocado, apple, cucumber, sugar snap peas and cherry tomatoes, with a tangy honey-mustard yogurt dressing. 42g of protein a bowl in 30 minutes.

Lunch

30

Serves 2

A blue bowl of salad with sliced grilled chicken drizzled with creamy dressing, avocado, apple slices, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and green leaves

Ingredients

  • For the chicken
  • 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 300g/10½oz)
  • 1 tsp (5ml) olive oil
  • Half a tsp smoked paprika and half a tsp garlic powder
  • A pinch of salt and black pepper
  • For the salad
  • 100g/3½oz mixed salad leaves, such as romaine (cos) and baby leaves
  • 150g/5oz cherry tomatoes, halved
  • Half a cucumber (about 150g/5oz), sliced
  • 1 crisp green apple (about 150g/5oz), cored and thinly sliced
  • 1 small ripe avocado (about 100g/3½oz flesh), sliced
  • 80g/3oz sugar snap peas, halved
  • For the dressing
  • 80g/3oz/⅓ cup 0% fat Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp (5g) Dijon mustard (check it is gluten-free if you need it to be)
  • 1 lemon: 1 tbsp (15ml) juice for the dressing and 1 tsp (5ml) for the apple and avocado
  • 1 tsp (7g) runny honey
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) water, plus a pinch of salt and pepper

Method

  1. Put the chicken between two sheets of baking paper (parchment paper) and flatten the thickest part with a rolling pin until it is an even 2cm/¾in thick, so it cooks evenly.
  2. Mix the oil, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper and rub all over the chicken. Heat a griddle pan or large frying pan over a medium-high heat.
  3. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through, with no pink in the middle; the thickest part should reach 75C/167F. Rest on a board for 5 minutes, then slice.
  4. While the chicken cooks, whisk the yogurt, mustard, 1 tbsp lemon juice, honey, water, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
  5. Toss the apple and avocado slices with the remaining 1 tsp lemon juice so they do not brown.
  6. Divide the leaves between 2 bowls and arrange the tomatoes, cucumber, apple, avocado and sugar snaps on top. Add the sliced chicken and drizzle with the dressing.
  7. For a packed lunch, keep the dressing and avocado separate and add them just before eating. Cooked chicken keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Why it works

A bowl has about 42g of protein and 8g of fibre for 405 calories. Most of the protein comes from the chicken breast, and most of the fat from the avocado.

Flatten the chicken. Chicken breasts are thick at one end and thin at the other, so the thin end dries out before the thick end is cooked. Flattening them to an even thickness means they cook through evenly and stay juicy.

A lighter dressing. Shop-bought creamy dressings are often high in fat and sugar. This one uses Greek yogurt, mustard and lemon, with a teaspoon of honey to balance the sharpness, and adds protein instead.

Why apple. Crisp apple adds sweetness, crunch and fibre, and goes well with chicken and mustard. Tossing it in lemon juice stops it browning.

Why it is tagged for blood sugar. With about 22g of carbohydrate, lots of protein and fibre, and no bread or pasta, this is a lunch unlikely to cause a sharp rise in blood sugar. For another chicken salad, try the healthy chicken Caesar salad or the chicken shawarma bowls.