No Rules Chicken Salad + Homemade Avocado Oil Mayo

I’m not doing the whole novella-before-we-get-to-the-actual-recipe bit that some bloggers do. (Does that annoy you too??)

Just know this: I love chicken salad. I always have a batch in the fridge during the hot months of summer. And this is my extremely versatile, can’t mess it up, add whatever you like + eliminate or sub what you don’t, no rules recipe-ish. It makes a lot! Half the recipe if you don’t want to eat chicken salad for a week at every meal.

NO RULES CHICKEN SALAD

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:

• 6 chicken breast (I use 2 packs of Perdue’s new Harvestland Free Range.) You can read about the cool stuff Perdue’s doing here: https://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/22641-perdue-achieves-free-range-goals

• Seeds of Change Rotisserie seasoning packet

• 1 bag of mini bell peppers or 1 each red, orange, yellow large bell peppers 

• 1 bunch green onions

• 1 cup or more homemade or store bought avocado oil mayo, plain or flavored (chipotle + lime and roasted garlic are my favorites!)

• 2-4 heaping tbsps mustard, whatever kind you like

• onion powder 

• garlic powder 

• salt + pepper 

THIS IS WHAT YOU DO:

Sprinkle the thawed chicken breast with the rotisserie seasoning. Rub it in a little bit. Grill. Let it cool down a lot. I like to do this step the night before.

This next part is life changing... Shred the chicken breast in your food processor! You can thank me later.

Then do the same thing to the bell peppers. 

Chop the green onions. 

Put it all in a big bowl. Add onion + garlic powder and salt + pepper. Mix it up. 

Now add your avocado oil mayo + mustard. Mix it up. And more mayo and keep mixing until you get the consistency you like. Chicken salad texture is deeply personal. 

Stick it in the fridge and let the flavors get to know each other for a little bit. And that’s it!

I like mine best served with quick pickles, grapes, and wasa crackers. But it’s delicious however you dish it out!

Guys, the best part about this chicken salad is the versatility + the opportunity for creativity. I don’t want to just hand you a precise recipe- I want to inspire you to use your imagination + make it your own.

You can make this chicken salad different every time if you want to!

• Use rotisserie chicken or thighs instead of the breasts. 

• Use tuna- canned or grilled tuna steaks. Try salmon. 

• Chop up some celery + carrots instead of the peppers. 

• Try red onion or sweet onion instead of the green. 

• Throw in something sweet: grapes, blueberries, apples...

• Or crunchy: walnuts, pecans, pistachios...

• And the mayo, oh the mayo! Start with my basic recipe then knock yourself out trying different flavor combinations.

  • Chipotle + lime

  • Roasted garlic + caramelized onion

  • Fresh herbs

  • Ranch seasoning 

  • Add bbq sauce

  • Or mustard + honey

  • Any kind of hot sauce- Hello sriracha mayo! 

MAYO METHOD

Mayonnaise is really just eggs, oil, acid, and salt. And when you blend it all together it makes a chemical reaction called an emulsion. Science is cool! Food science is even cooler because you get to eat it. 

BASIC AVOCADO OIL MAYO

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:

• 1 cup avocado oil

• 1 egg

• 1 tbsp mustard of your choice 

• 1-2 tbsps vinegar (you can also use apple cider vinegar or lemon or lime juice)

• salt to taste 

THIS IS WHAT YOU DO:

• Let your ingredients come to room temperature. This is important for the science part. I just leave mine out overnight. 

• Gently crack your egg into your mixing container. I use the jar my immersion blender came with. 

• Carefully add the other ingredients without breaking the egg yolk. 

• Place your immersion blender over the yolk and on the bottom of the container. Blend on high for at least 30 seconds without moving the blender. 

• You’ll see the emulsion forming. Start to move the blender up and down to incorporate the remaining oil. 

• Taste test and add a little more vinegar/lemon juice or salt if you want. Blend again. 

• Stir in your add-ins. (See above for ideas.) 

It’s just so easy + satisfying to whip up! I don’t think I’ll ever buy a teeny-tiny $8 jar of avocado oil mayo again. 

Let me know if you try it + thanks for reading! 

Leah

P.S. You can absolutely make mayonnaise in a regular blender. But I highly do not recommend. You have to s l o w w w w l y pour the oil in while blending and it always splatters. Sometime the emulsion doesn’t take. Plus a blender is quite a bit of clean up for a little jar of mayo. If you don’t have an immersion blender pick one up on your next trip to Walmart. They’re not expensive- mine was $30. I promise you won’t regret it.