Jerk chicken salad brings bold island spice to a cool, creamy bowl that is built for warm weather. Juicy grilled chicken meets sweet mango, crunchy red pepper, and fresh cilantro, then gets spooned into ripe avocado halves for a fresh, satisfying plate.
What Makes This Jerk Chicken Salad Shine
- A warm-spiced jerk marinade flavors the chicken overnight
- Sweet mango balances the heat from the spices
- Creamy avocado holds the salad like an edible bowl
- Comes together fast once the chicken is grilled and chilled
Most of the jerk spices, like cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and ginger, are probably already in your pantry. Let the chicken soak overnight and the flavor does the heavy lifting for you.
Marinate the chicken overnight so the spices fully soak in and keep boneless breasts juicy.
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Why You’ll Love This Jerk Chicken Salad
- This jerk chicken salad layers warm spice, sweet mango, and creamy avocado in every bite.
- The grilled chicken stays moist thanks to the overnight marinade.
- It is colorful, fresh, and light enough for a hot summer lunch.
Ingredient Notes
A quick look at the key ingredients will help you prep with ease. The full amounts live in the exact measurements in the recipe card below, so think of this as your shopping cheat sheet.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts: they stay juicy after a night in the marinade.
- Jerk spices: thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger build the warm base.
- Jalapeno: adds heat; use more or less to suit your taste.
- Mango: brings sweetness that cools the spice.
- Avocados: serve as creamy edible bowls for the salad.
For equipment, you will need a mixing bowl, a zip-top bag for marinating, a grill or grill pan, and a sharp knife for cubing the chicken and halving the avocados.
How to Make Jerk Chicken Salad
Making jerk chicken salad is mostly hands-off. You marinate, grill, chill, and then fold everything together for a quick assembly.
- Whisk the marinade and coat the chicken in a bag, then chill it overnight.
- Grill the breasts over medium-high heat until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Cool the chicken, then cube it and chill in the fridge.
- Fold the cubed chicken with mayo, red pepper, mango, onion, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
- Scoop the salad into halved avocados and serve.
This recipe makes 4 servings using about 1 pound of chicken. You can grill the chicken a day ahead, then mix the salad just before serving so it tastes fresh.
Storage Options
The chicken salad itself stores well, though it is best to slice avocados fresh. Keep the salad and the avocados separate until serving.
- Refrigerate the salad in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Marinate the raw chicken for up to 24 hours before grilling.
- Halve and fill avocados within 1 hour of serving to keep them from browning.
Variations & Substitutions
This jerk chicken salad is flexible, so feel free to play with the mix-ins. Small swaps keep it interesting from one batch to the next.
- Swap mango for diced pineapple or peach.
- Use Greek yogurt in place of some or all of the mayo.
- Add black beans or corn for extra heft.
- Serve over greens or in a wrap instead of avocado.
If you enjoy hearty salad bowls, you might also like this chopped chicken salad with a ginger peanut dressing.
What to Serve with Jerk Chicken Salad
Jerk chicken salad makes a light meal on its own, but a few simple sides round it out nicely. Lean toward cooling, fresh pairings that play off the spice.
- A pile of tortilla chips or plantain chips for scooping.
- A side of coconut rice or simple white rice.
- A crisp cucumber and lime salad.
- For a cozy island-style dinner another night, try this Caribbean chicken stew.
Have a few last questions before you fire up the grill? Here are the ones that come up most.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I marinate the jerk chicken salad chicken?
Marinate the chicken overnight, or for at least several hours, so the spices fully flavor the meat and keep it juicy.
Is this salad very spicy?
It has a warm, gentle heat. Use less jalapeno for a milder version or add more if you like it hot.
Can I use a grill pan instead of an outdoor grill?
Yes. A grill pan or even a skillet works fine; just cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Can I make it dairy-free?
Use a dairy-free mayo or mashed avocado in place of the mayonnaise to bind the salad.
This is the kind of dish that feels like a treat without much fuss. Make a batch when the weather warms up and you will have a fresh, flavorful lunch ready in minutes.
Jerk Chicken Salad and Avocado
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Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp powdered ginger
- 1 jalapeno pepper finely diced more if you like your food hot
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ⅓ to ½ cup mayonnaise light is fine
- ½ cup red pepper diced
- ½ cup mango diced
- ½ cup onion diced
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- Avocados for serving I used four for 1 pound of chicken
Instructions
- Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag. Pour marinade over breasts and squish it around so that the chicken is properly coated. Allow to sit in the fridge overnight.
- Grill the chicken breasts over medium-high heat until the internal temperature is 165º. Remove from grill, allow to cool and cube.
- Allow the meat to chill in the fridge.
- Once chilled, mix together the chicken, mayo, red pepper, mango, onion, cilantro and salt and pepper. Gently fold together and then scoop into halved avocados.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What a perfect summer time recipe Melanie! I love the flavor mixture and how you describe them. Your pix are marvelous as always! Now I’m hungry, again! I LoL and smiled at your fastest purse shutting clam in the east comment.
Thank you! Dang is crab expensive.
Looks so good!!! I love avocados and salads. Can’t wait to try this one.
Me too Pam. I’m sort of an avocado nut. I could eat them at any meal, morning or night!
such a pretty presentation! I never would have thought of that!!!
This great! I am going to showcase this on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SeductionInTheKitchen you are welcome anytime to post your photo and post links on it!
I really love jerk flavours. Spice and smokiness… always a perfect summer kinda meal.
I just made this from Ree’s blog I had printed..It is delicious! I used red sweet pepper instead of green, and a few dried onion flakes instead of diced raw onion, and a few red pepper flakes instead of the jalapeno, to suit my needs..But Oh, so good. I could not wait until the chicken had cooled. Thanks for a new favorite.
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it. Thanks for the feedback!
This looks so delicious. I will have to use less soy sauce unless I can find one without msg; hubby is allergic.