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This is a yummy Chicken Tzatziki Avocado Salad that you will happily want to make on repeat. The chicken is seasoned with a mix of spices and roasted until lightly charred and delicious. Everything is tossed together with a creamy tahini dressing, kale, herbs, avocado, plenty of feta, and Tzatziki sauce. It’s a Greek-inspired salad that’s SO GOOD. Enjoy it for dinner and save the leftovers for lunch. It’s the perfect vibrant salad that’s hearty enough to call a real meal.
I’ve got a big spring salad to kick the week off! It’s only mid-March, but I’m in salad mode at the moment. I’ve made a few in the last few days that I’m so excited to share. Today’s salad just might be my favorite though.
This is definitely a dinner style salad, which is usually how I like to create my salad recipes. They’re always full of color and you won’t walk away hungry.
My oldest brother loves anything with Greek flavors. A chicken or beef gyro is one of his favorite foods. I love a good gyro, too, and that was a bit of the inspiration for this recipe. This Greek-inspired salad is a hodgepodge of delicious ingredients, from the chicken to the dressing and, of course, the Tzatziki sauce. I really think you all will love it! Plus, the leftovers are great all week long!
I’d serve fresh pita or naan alongside – yum!
Here are all the details
Step 1: begin with the chicken
For the chicken, I wanted it to be crispy and have similar flavors to a chicken gyro. I seasoned the chicken breasts with smoked paprika, chipotle chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili flakes for some heat. Oh, and a tiny drizzle of honey, too.
Use olive oil to bake the chicken until it just begins to brown. The honey helps to balance the spices and brings on some caramelization too.
Step 2: mix the salad
While the chicken is roasting, grab a giant salad bowl. Add all the salad greens, cucumbers, and sun-dried tomatoes.
For the greens, my ideal mix is half kale and half romaine lettuce.
Step 3: the tahini dressing
The tahini dressing is a mix of tahini, lemon or orange juice, toasted sesame oil, garlic, and honey. I wanted to keep this simple, but include an element of citrus and fresh garlic in a nice creamy dressing.
It turned out really delicious!
Step 4: toss the salad
Now we can bring all the layers of this delicious salad together. First, toss the greens with the tahini dressing to ensure they get evenly coated before adding everything else.
Then add the hot chicken to the greens. Throw on the avocado, feta cheese, and fresh herbs. Next, take the Tzatziki sauce and add spoonfuls over the chicken and greens. The last ingredient I love to add is a handful of toasted sesame seeds—my obsession these days.
Step 5: eat
I love to serve this salad with warm chicken; I think it makes it feel more like a dinner. Extra Tzatziki on the side is standard as well. It’s great!
If you don’t have fresh pita or naan, this is also a great salad to pair with a side of homemade fries!
This is such a fun and bright dinner for any night of the week. What I love is that the leftovers are perfect for enjoying the next day for lunch! The sauce will last all week and can be used in multiple recipes.
Looking for other easy dinners? Here are some favorites:
Easy Greek Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes
30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken
Sheet Pan Chicken Gyros with Feta Tzatziki
Lastly, if you make this Chicken Tzatziki Avocado Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Chicken Tzatziki Salad
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 692 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons honey
- chili flakes, salt, and black pepper
- 4-5 cups shredded kale and/or romaine mixed
- 2 Persian cucumbers, chopped
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
- 1 avocado diced/sliced
- 6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 1 cup mixed herbs: basil, dill, parsley
- 1-2 cups Tzakiki sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Tahini Dressing
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon or orange juice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 425° F.2. On a baking sheet, toss the chicken, 2 tablespoons olive oil, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, honey, and season to taste with chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Toss well to evenly coat. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until lightly chard.3. Add the kale/romaine, cucumbers, and sun-dried tomatoes to a large salad bowl.4. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a blender or glass jar and blend/whisk until smooth. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water to thin the dressing. Taste and season with chili flakes and additional salt.5. Pour some of the dressing over the salad, massaging the dressing into the kale. Add the chicken, avocado, feta, herbs, and sesame seeds. Top the salad with lots of Tzakiki and extra dressing. Lightly toss. Serve and enjoy!
Hey Tieghan! You’re an absolute rockstar with your recipes – don’t know how you do it! I tried making this tahini dressing and it came out more like hummus. Watered it down some, added more honey, lemon and blended & it was still pretty thick and a bit bitter. Is that just the nature of this particular dressing? Thanks for any direction you can provide 🙂
Hey Camille,
Thanks so much for your kind message and making this recipe!! For a thinner dressing, try just adding cold water next time, that should help! xx
The directions don’t say how to use the honey. Does it get mixed into the chicken?
Hi Katie,
The honey is used in step 4:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Could you make the chicken in advance?
Hey Alyssa,
Totally, that would work well for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Made this last night and it was delicious!! The flavors melded together perfectly — really enjoy it!
Hey Andrea,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your comment! I love to hear that it turned out well for you! Xx
I loved this salad, esp the dressing. My only confusion is the chicken. It was overcooked at 15 min. Not sure why.
Hi there,
Thanks so much for trying this salad, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Sorry to hear your chicken was overcooked, were they small pieces? xx
Super salad for the whole family! I doubled the recipe for a family dinner of 10. I also took a short cut by using g Kewpie sesame dressing for the greens instead of this tahini one and it worked out great. Chicken Came out delicious and tender.
Hey Faye,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, I love that it was enjoyed! xT
Great other than how the dressing came out very clumpy! I’m wondering if this was because my tahini was too well mixed prior to adding to the dressing?
Hi Shanna,
So sorry to hear this! Was your tahini thick? Next time, you could thin out the dressing in a blender. I hope this helps! xT
My dressing came out that way, too! Some chemical reaction happened somewhere… I’m just wondering how!
Also, when I tried to add water it actually thickened the mixture. Reminded me of making dough out of glutinous rice flour, haha.
Hi, Why do you call it tzatziki sauce when it is tahini? It sounds delicious with the tahini and I love tzatziki as well but they are very different. Thanks
Hi Kimberly,
There is tzatziki in this recipe, the dressing has tahini:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hi! Not a tahini fan, can you suggest an alternative for the dressing?
Many thanks!
Hey there,
You could use another nut butter in place of the tahini. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Delicious! Lots of great flavors and textures and comes together quickly for a well rounded meal!
Thanks so much Kathleen! I’m so glad you enjoyed this salad and appreciate you making it! xT
Hi Tieghan! I love this recipe and so did my whole family! I wanted to ask you if humus could work well as a dairy free option in place of the tzatziki? Thank you!
Hey Kayla,
I’m so glad your family enjoyed this recipe!! Sure, hummus will work, it’s just going to have a very different flavor profile than the tzatziki. If you wanted to make homemade tzatziki with dairy free yogurt, that would work nicely for you! I hope this helps! xT