With Spicy Chipotle Garlic Dressing
Crispy fried avocado pieces top this unique, delicious and healthy chicken salad, complete with a Spicy Chipotle Garlic Dressing! Directions included for frying the battered avocado in 3 ways – air fried, pan fried or deep fried. Serve the fried avocado pieces as fries, in tacos, or in this healthy fried avocado chicken salad.
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Years ago my mother ordered deep fried avocado tacos at a local restaurant we visited. I couldn’t believe how delicious and filling they were! They were battered fried and probably triple dipped – so yummy! Those fried avocado pieces became the inspiration for this salad. Instead of triple dipping them in batter, I’ve used flour, egg and panko (paid link). This gives the fried avocado a nice crispy texture without so many calories as the triple dipped battered ones. While they are fried (I’ll show you 3 ways to fry them) if you don’t eat an entire avocado, and you add some veggies, and a healthy dressing they actually make a fairly point/calorie friendly unique and fantastic salad.
What is panko?
Panko (paid link) is a Japanese style bread crumb. It is made from bread without crusts and processed into large flakes instead of crumbs and then dried. It’s texture is light and delicate. Panko (paid link) doesn’t absorb oil as much as traditional breadcrumbs so it makes the texture more crisp. Hopefully because it doesn’t absorb oil as much, it is much healthier than traditional breadcrumbs. At least that’s my take on it!
You can find Panko (paid link) at most grocery stores and on Amazon.
How to prepare battered avocados:
Use 3 separate bowls, one for flour mixture, egg and panko (paid link).
Cut the avocado in half. Remove pit. With a spoon go around the edge of the avocado then slice into pieces.
Dip the avocado pieces in the flour mixture.
Dip the floured avocado in the egg mixture.
Dip the avocado in the panko (paid link) and then fry using one of the methods below.
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How to fry avocados – 3 Ways:
Air Fried – Frying avocados this way is probably the healthiest. Batter your avocados, spray the basket, arrange the avocados in the basket and use your oil mister (paid link) to spray more oil on top. Air fry at about 425° until done (about 8 minutes if you have a Breville Smart Oven Air (paid link).)
Pan Fried – For pan fried, use a non stick skillet. Spray skillet with oil mister (paid link). Heat pan, add avocados and spray with oil mister (paid link). Fry for a few minutes, then flip over and fry until done.
Deep Fried – While these may not be the healthiest, they certainly are the best and my favorite way! The trick to using less oil is to make sure your oil is hot enough in the first place. Then quickly dip them, fry a few seconds and drain on a paper towel. I often feel this way uses less oil than pan frying because they are in and out so quickly. With pan frying they sit in the oil until you flip them and take them out.
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Delicious Fried Avocados!
What can you do with fried avocados?
- Use them for my Fried Avocado Chicken Salad
- Serve them as appetizers – Avocado Fries or Avocado Dippers! Dip in my Spicy Chipotle Garlic Dressing.
- Put them in tacos for Fried Avocado Tacos
Calorie and point information for fried avocado
While I do my best to figure out the point and calorie count of all of my recipes, this one is a bit trickier. It’s so hard to find the calorie count of avocado fries. It depends on the amount of avocado as well as the method in which you “fry,” it. Both of these will affect the calories/points. So for this recipe, you have to use your best educated guess.
What I do is to measure the amount of avocado I’m eating in ounces, estimate the panko (paid link) and flour used and then I add a few extra points for the fried part. That’s my best guess. Obviously I don’t eat this every day, but it’s a nice little treat on occasion. When you pair it with a healthy dressing, I feel like it’s pretty healthy overall. Most of the fat is good fat from the avocado. For a 5 oz avocado and serving 2, I estimate the salad to be about 10 Freestyle Smart Points. The calorie count at the bottom of recipe is estimated using 1 tablespoon of oil.
Serve this salad with Spicy Chipotle Garlic Dressing
Deep Fried Avocado Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the fried avocados:
- 1/2 c. flour you will not use all of it but you need it to be able to coat the avocado pieces
- 1 t. homemade chipotle seasoning if desired
- 1 t. kosher salt
- 1/2 c. panko same as above, you won't use it all
- 2 eggs beaten (same as above, you won't use it all)
- 1 avocado ripe but not overly ripe, you need to be able to cut it and dip it (about 5 oz after you have taken off the skin)
- extra kosher salt to sprinkle on top after it's fried
- oil mister
- frying oil such as canola vegetable - an oil that can take heat
For the salad:
- 2 c. lettuce greens washed
- 1 c. cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1/4 red onion or 1 bunch of green onions sliced
- 4 oz cooked/grilled chicken breasts
- 1 jalapeño sliced if desired
- 2 T. bacon crumbles if desired
- 4 T. Spicy Chipotle Garlic Dressing
Instructions
- Begin by prepping your dipping bowls. In one small bowl or plate, place the flour. Add 1 t. kosher salt and the chipotle seasoning if desired.
- In another bowl or plate, beat the eggs with a fork.
- In the 3rd bowl or plate, add the panko.
- Carefully cut the avocado in half. Remove the pit.
- With a spoon, carefully go around each half until it separates from the peel.
- With a knife, slice the avocado in about 3-4 slices. Carefully turn out and place pieces in the bowl with the flour.
- Lightly dip each piece so that is covered in flour. Next, dip the avocado in the egg, then the panko.
Fry by using one of the 3 methods below:
- Air fried - Preheat air fryer to 425°. Spray basket with oil from oil mister. Add avocado pieces, spray them also with oil mister and then air fry until slightly brown. I have a Breville Smart Oven Air and mine take about 8 minutes but your air fryer may be different. You may need to do them in batches as well. With the Breville Smart Oven Air, I can do them all at one time. Keep in mind that these avocados won't be as brown as the deep fried ones. Be careful not to overcook the avocado though as it can turn bitter.
- Pan Fried - Spray a non-stick skillet with oil from your oil mister. Add 1 t. oil to pan. Heat until hot (medium heat). Add pieces. Turn occasionally and remove when browned.
- Deep Fried - This is my favorite way for best taste. In a small saucepan, heat the smallest amount of oil that will cover the avocados. Make sure it's hot (but not smoking) when you put the pieces in. Add pieces, cook quickly and remove to a plate lined with paper towels.
To make the salad:
- Line individual bowls with about 2 c. salad greens.
- Add chopped onions, jalapeños, tomatoes, 2 oz of cooked chicken and anything else that sounds good (if it has points/calories, be sure to include that in your total).
- Add the fried avocados. Top with dressing and serve. I like to cut the avocado pieces into bite size pieces but if you're looking to make a statement with the salad, then place a few big pieces on top.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of the Spicy Chipotle with Garlic Dressing. Enjoy!
