Crispy Chicken Salad with Avocado Ranch

The original recipe for this salad called for Buffalo chicken, which I usually adore. The issue was that I had eaten my weight in super spicy crawfish for lunch and I was ready to dial down the heat. I will definitely be using this breading recipe a lot in the future, Miss F was a huge fan of the chicken strips. She wouldn't touch the salad, so she had fruit with hers instead. The whole meal is on the table in less than 30 minutes and I was left with a generous amount of leftovers for a lunch salad the next day.  Feel free to add crumbled bacon, shredded cheese or even cucumber to the salad mix.  Most anything would work great with the tasty dressing.  Thanks to Smells Like Home for the inspiration.

Crispy Chicken Salad with Avocado Ranch

2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
½ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Cooking spray
1 pound chicken tenderloins (or breasts sliced into ¾ inch strips)

½ of an avocado, scooped from the skin and roughly diced
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
up to ½ cup buttermilk
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

4 to 5 cups chopped romaine
2 tomatoes, chopped
½ avocado, scooped from the skin and roughly diced

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.

Add the Panko to a shallow dish. In a second shallow dish, whisk together the flour and salt. In a bowl, whisk together the egg, water and mustard.

Spray a wire rack with cooking spray (rub the wires to make sure they are well-coated - this will prevent the breading from sticking) and place over a rimmed baking sheet. Working in batches, dredge a few pieces of the chicken in the flour, then the egg whites, and finally the breadcrumbs to coat, shaking off the excess between each step. Lay the coated pieces on the prepared wire rack and repeat with the remaining chicken. Spray the tops of the chicken pieces lightly with the cooking spray. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the breading is lightly golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

While the chicken bakes, place the avocado, mayonnaise, sour cream, olive oil, lemon juice, ¼ cup of the buttermilk and garlic in the food processor. Process until smooth. Add more buttermilk until the desired consistency is reached. Stir in the parsley, salt and pepper.

Toss the lettuce, tomatoes and avocado with the dressing, top with the crispy chicken. Serve.

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