Fresh is the mood this time of year, and I have a recipe for you to match: Grilled Chicken Breast with Strawberry Avocado Salsa.
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This grilled chicken recipe is a shining example of the simple, delicious pleasure that occurs when familiar, individual ingredients unite to create something new and more delightful than they could ever be apart.
It has the fresh-but-familiar feeling of an old friend who can still surprise you.
It’s the summer berries and juicy Grilled Chicken you’ve loved since childhood, presented in a new, unexpected way (like in this summery Grilled Naan Pizza with Strawberry Chicken and Avocado).
- This strawberry grilled chicken recipe begins with a lively cilantro-lime marinade that brightens and tenderizes the chicken.
- It’s topped with a fantastic strawberry avocado salsa that will become a fast house favorite. Try it on a whole variety of grilled meats (or even with Grilled Halloumi Cheese).
5 Star Review
“We made this recipe as written and it was delicious. A keeper for hot summer nights for sure.”
— Julie —
How to Make Grilled Chicken Breast with Strawberry Avocado Salsa
With a chunky mix of vibrant ingredients that enhance and balance one another, this healthy strawberry salsa with avocado is the perfect partner to succulent juicy grilled chicken breasts (or Grilled Chicken Tenders).
The Ingredients
- Strawberries. With more vitamin C than an orange and loaded with antioxidants, strawberries turn this fruity salsa recipe into a fruity superfood salsa recipe. (Save some strawberries and make this Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie for dessert!)
- Avocado. Loads this salsa with filling and satisfying healthy monounsaturated fats along with potassium, fiber, and vitamin K.
TIP!
Worried your avocados will not be quite ripe enough for dinner tomorrow? You can speed up the avocado-ripening process by putting an avocado in a sealed paper bag with a banana, apple, or kiwi you have hanging out in your kitchen. These fruits produce what’s called ethylene gas, a plant hormone, that aids the ripening process.
- Cilantro. For freshness and additional vibrant green color.
- Red Onion. Adds contrasting crunch and zip to the creamy avocado and juicy red strawberries.
- Jalapeño. For a subtle kick of heat. (If you have extra jalapeños, serve this recipe with a pitcher of my favorite Spicy Margarita recipe.)
- Lime. Lends a little tang and brightness to the salsa which also helps preserve the color of the bright green avocados.
- Honey. Adds back in just the right amount of sweetness to counter the acidity of the lime.
- Chicken Breasts. Lean, packed with protein, and their mild taste is perfect for soaking up all the yummy marinade without overpowering the berries.
- Marinade. Any citrus-based marinade (like this Chicken Marinade and this Chicken Thigh Marinade) would be lovely with the strawberry salsa. I highly recommend trying this zippy blend of fresh lime juice and zest, honey, olive oil, and garlic at some point!
The Directions
- Pound the chicken to an even thickness using a meat mallet.
- Whisk together the marinade ingredients.
- Pour over the chicken and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Combine all the salsa ingredients except the avocado.
Tip!
You can ease the “bite” of the red onion by soaking it in a small bowl of water. The longer you soak, the less bite the onion will have. You can, of course, skip this if you enjoy raw red onion just as it is.
- Toss together gently.
- Fold in the avocado; keep it chunky.
- Grill the chicken, remove, and let rest. Serve chicken topped generously with the strawberry and avocado salsa. ENJOY!
Storage Tips
- To Store. Store leftover strawberry salsa with avocado in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Leftover grilled chicken can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Leftover Ideas
In addition to being a strawberry topping for chicken, this fruit salsa is also yummy dipped with chips or tossed with greens, leftover grilled chicken, and a simple vinaigrette. For a dressing, try replacing the balsamic vinegar with lime juice in the dressing used for this Balsamic Chicken Salad with Blackberry or this Peach Salad (omit the Dijon).
What to Serve with Strawberry Avocado Salsa
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- Indoor Grill Pan. Ideal if you don’t have an outdoor grill, and you can make these Grilled Chicken Kabobs too.
- Fish Spatula. My favorite for flipping chicken, burgers, pancakes, roasted veggies…you name it!)
- Grill Spatula. If you’re looking for something sturdier for grilling the chicken (tongs work well too).
Fire up that grill, stir together some salsa, and let’s keep it fresh!
Frequently Asked Questions
When using citrus-based marinades, I don’t recommend allowing the meat to soak for more than 24 hours. After 24 hours, the acid in the limes will begin to break down the meat tissue causing the chicken to become overly tender (i.e. mushy), which is not ideal.
Absolutely! If you do not have access to an outdoor grill, you can certainly grill chicken on the stovetop using a grill pan or heavy cast-iron skillet.
I do not recommend freezing this salsa, as it will become watery and lose its texture once thawed.
Grilled Chicken Breast with Strawberry Avocado Salsa
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Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, trimmed of excess fat
- 1 tablespoon lime zest from about 2 limes
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice from the same 2 limes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus additional for oiling the grill
- 2 cloves garlic minced (about 2 teaspoons)
- 1 ½ teaspoons honey omit to make the recipe Whole30 or Paleo
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped leaves and tender stems
For the Strawberry Avocado Topping:
- ½ small red onion diced (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 cup strawberries diced (roughly 2/3 dry pint of whole strawberries)
- 1 medium jalapeno cored seeded and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 small/medium lime)
- ½ teaspoon honey omit to make the recipe Whole30 or Paleo
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (up to 1/2 teaspoon, adjust amount to taste)
- 1 medium avocado diced
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board with some space between them and cover with a large piece of plastic wrap. With a mallet, lightly pound the meat to an even thickness so that each piece cooks evenly. Place in a large ziptop bag.
- In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, honey, salt, pepper, and cilantro.
- Pour over the chicken, seal the bag, then "squish" to coat the chicken evenly. Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 1 day, rotating the bag once or twice if time (and memory) allow.
- When ready to grill, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for at least 10 minutes. Preheat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to medium-high (about 425 to 450 degrees F).
- While the grill preheats, prepare the strawberry salsa: Place the red onion in a small bowl and cover with very hot tap water (this takes off some of the red onion's bite while preserving its flavor. You can skip this step if you like raw red onion just as it is). Set aside
- In a mixing bowl, add the strawberries, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, honey, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt.
- Stir gently to combine.
- Fold in the avocado. Taste and add a bit more salt if you feel it tastes a little too flat or additional honey if it is too spicy.
- Lightly oil the grill. Grill the chicken until completely cooked through and the temperature on an instant-read thermometer reads 160 to 165 degrees, about 8 to 12 minutes total, flipping the chicken once or twice throughout. The amount of time you need will vary based on the size and thickness of each breast. Remove to a plate, cover, and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to serving plates and top each with a few generous spoonfuls of the strawberry salsa. Enjoy immediately.
Video
Notes
- TO STORE: Store leftover strawberry salsa with avocado in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Leftover grilled chicken can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- Nutrition information is meant to be an estimate and has been calculated with half the amount of marinade, as some is discarded. If you’d like to calculate it differently, you can do so for free at myfitnesspal.com.
Nutrition
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Try grilled chicken breasts topped with one of these other healthy dip recipes:
Erin I made it today. Amazing. We had pre grilled chicken left over from the weekend BBQ. I poked holes in the chicken let it marinade all day then heated up on the pan. Oh the other cheat I used was the bottle of real lime juice because limes were still too expensive up here. Boyfriend went back for seconds and asked for it to be put in the rotation. Rave reviews all around.
Ellen, I am so thrilled to hear how much you both enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your tips and taking time to leave this wonderful review!
What a treat! We made this on our indoor grill today due to hot Iowa weather. It’s the best lime grilled chicken recipe we’ve found. The strawberry avocado combo speaks to my soul. A true keeper. Hey, everyone, make it soon!
Shawn, YAY!!! So so happy to hear it. Thanks for taking time to leave this fabulous review! It means a lot.
I didn’t make the chicken, but turned the “salsa” in this recipe into a delicious salad, with larger pieces of strawberries and avocado, plus additional dressing. The tip about soaking red onion in hot tap water is one I will use again. Thank you.
Mary, I am so so glad you enjoyed the salsa! That red onion trick has been a game changer for me too. Thanks so much for taking time to leave this lovely review!
Made this tonight and my husband and I loved it! This is going into our summer rotation. Our kids (2, 4, and 6) loved the chicken too; I didn’t give them the salsa because they’re in an “everything has to be separate” phase. The soaking tip works really well. The last bag of onions I bought was strong so I tried soaking because I thought the kids might want to ttry the salsa when they saw our plates. It left this faint hint of red onion, but with no bite. We won’t do it next time because we like red onions and I think it will be a while before the kids will try the salsa anyway, but it’s a great trick when you’re cooking for those sensitive to onions.
We served over brown rice and black beans because that’s what I had on hand and it was great, but we definitely want to try it as a salad over field greens next time. I think it will want a little crunch and I’m trying to decide what to add. I was thinking about jicama sticks. Any other ideas? Tortilla strips? Pepitas? Would love to hear how others have/would fixed as a salad.
I also think the first half of this would freeze really well. I’m going to make an extra batch of the chicken and marinade next time and stick it in the freezer. It would be so nice to be able to just pull out of the freezer a day or two before grilling and have your meat all ready to go. Then, all you have to do the day of is make the salsa.
Thanks for another winner!
Rebekah, HOORAYYYY! So happy to hear this was a hit. Thank you for letting me know how it came out! Jicama sticks sound DELICIOUS (I want to try that!) I think radishes would be great too!
This recipe is so delicious! I made without the salsa, but will add that back in for another night. I omitted the garlic and onion from the recipe because my body does not tolerate it well. The recipe was still fantastic. Will use the thighs to top over a light kale salad. Thanks for sharing this delightful recipe!
Bonny, thank YOU for taking the time to leave this review! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Quick question – the marinade for the chicken includes lime and the instructions say to marinade the chicken for at least an hour or up to a day. I thought marinades with lime can’t be on that long b/c the acid starts to cook the chicken. Or is that okay in this case?
Hi Janine! You’re right that the acid does start to break down the chicken, which is great for tenderizing. I wouldn’t leave it in the marinade longer than the recipe says, but I think the chicken can stand up to it for 1 day (unlike something more delicate, like fish). I hope that helps!
Fantastic easy summer dish! Even my 7 year old loved the salsa! This one is on the meal plan all summer now!
Hooray! I’m glad the recipe was a hit. Thanks for taking the time to share this review, Amanda!
Dumb question, but would a lot of flavor be lost if I cooked the chicken in a skillet on the stove? I travel in a motorhome and don’t have room to carry a grill or heavy indoor griddle. Thanks! I’m anxious to try this!
Hi Rhonda! Not a dumb question at all. I think this recipe would still have tons of flavor cooked in a skillet. I hope you enjoy it if you try it!
Great to hear! Thanks so much. If my grocery store has any strawberries in stock, I’ll try it tonight! You are a beacon of light in this tough time! Please stay safe!
Thank YOU for this kind comment, Rhonda! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
This is an annual favorite for our family beach vacation. My mother in law picks up fresh strawberries from the farm stand, and we have this on girls night while the men go on their fishing trip. It is so fresh and flavorful. Pair with your favorite cocktails and you have a party!
I’m so pleased that this recipe has become a part of your traditions, Elizabeth! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I do not normally come back to write a review after I have made a recipe … but y’all! I HAD to for this one! OMG amazing! So fresh, macro friendly, and a perfect summer meal! This is being added to my go to dinner list for sure!
This MAKES my day, Brook! I’m so happy that you enjoyed it!
This was an incredible dish! I sliced the chicken before I marinated it and then cooked it up in a skillet. The strawberry avocado topping paired so well! I served it all over some spinach to complete the meal!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Emily! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I’m making this for dinner tonight and is wondering what sides will go with this dish?
Hi Melissa! I think this dish would be delicious with rice or a vegetable (like this Roasted Asparagus or Roasted Broccoli). I hope it’s a hit!
This is absolutely delicious!! So easy, too. I did it with breasts and thighs(I prefer the thighs) and served it on baby arugula and baby spinach with the lime vinaigrette. The only thing I changed was adding red chile flakes to the marinade. So fresh and flavorful!
So glad you enjoyed it Christina! Thank you for this kind review!
We made this recipe as written and it was delicious. A keeper for hot summer nights for sure. Thanks for the new recipe!
Hi Julie! So glad you enjoyed this dish! Thank you for this kind review!
Made this dish for my family. I’ve never cooked anything before if I’m being honest but your recipe impressed everyone at the table tonight . Will be trying something new tomorrow . Thanks again for making me look stellar tonight 👩🏽🍳
Hi J! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Hello! My husband does not care for cilantro, are there other herbs that would be good in the salsa? Thanks for your delicious recipes.
Hi Laura! While I haven’t tried it myself, I think you could swap fresh parsley or basil. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
This recipe was amazing! I was a little hesitant as I’m not the biggest fan of lime and cilantro. But the flavors came together wonderfully. Everything was so delicious!! I’m also not a fan of heat, so I left out the jalapenos and it was perfect!!
Hi Christy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This look delicious! I can’t wait to try it because I can’t eat tomatoes! What a great idea for salsa!
Hope you enjoy it Natalie!
Super yummy!!!! I didn’t put avocado but I added a little goat cheese on top! Delish!!!
Hi Annie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
In the process of making this recipe and have the chicken marinating when I noticed your photos and description of the marinade shows no cilantro, but down below in the actual recipe it calls for 1/4 c. chopped cilantro. Hope it’s not overpowering because I followed the actual recipe with cilantro included. ?
Hi Mary, we’ve recently updated the recipe and included the cilantro in the marinade. You’ll see it described in the post as a “cilantro-lime marinade” and you’ll see it in the new video provide. Hope you love it!