Looking for the perfect appetizer recipe? This stuffed avocado is all you want out of an appetizer. It is half an avocado, red and yellow bell peppers, spinach, chicken, and topped with a paleo ranch dressing.
In the past year, I haven’t had much time to create new recipes. My life used to revolve around creating for the blog and growing it into what it is today. But medical school is more demanding than I ever expected, and now I spend the majority of my time studying.
Last week I promised myself that after my test I would spend a full day of my weekend in the kitchen with my camera. Usually test week is incredibly stressful, because we are all trying to figure out our weak spots in the material or make sure we have studied all of the notes. But last week I made a commitment to workout at least 4-5 times a week, and to keep the stress levels down. This year is a marathon, not a sprint, so I have to stay in the right mindset and keep doing the things I love doing. Like this blog.
Now for the notes on the Stuffed Avocado! The ranch dressing makes a little over 1 cup of dressing. You won’t need all of this for this recipe, so you can either cut the recipe in half, or save it. I personally make the full amount and store the leftover dressing in the fridge.
Another note. Avocados are fickle little fruit. Yes they are fruit. Some stores barely ever have ripe avocados, so you may want to get them 3 days before, and let them ripen at home.
The recipe makes enough for six people to have one half of a stuffed avocado, or for three people to have a full avocado (or 2 halves). The picture only shows a portion of the food that the recipe yielded.
Now for the recipe! I hope you enjoy. Leave a comment with any questions or thoughts you have on the dish.
Stuffed Avocado with Chicken and Paleo Ranch
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb chicken breast or 1 large breast
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper diced
- 2-3 cups of spinach chopped
- 3 avocados halved and cored
- 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Parsley or microgreens as garnish
Paleo Ranch
- 1 large egg at room temperature (very important to be at room temperature)
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice at room temperature
- 1 cup light olive oil or 1/2 cup olive oil + 1/2 cup avocado oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil. Place in the oven, and cook for 16 minutes. At the end of the 16 minutes, turn the heat to broil and broil for 2 minutes. Remove from oven, and slice into thin strips.
- While the chicken is cooking, you can chop the vegetables, make the ranch dressing (directions below), and go to the next step- sauté the vegetables.
- To sauté the vegetables, take your chopped peppers and spinach and place in a skillet on medium heat with 1 Tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 7-10 minutes. Remove and place in a bowl.
- Next step is to assemble the avocados. If your avocados don’t have enough of a “hole” for the toppings, spoon out some of the avocado. Evenly distribute your vegetables in each avocado half. Top with the sliced chicken, and drizzle with the ranch dressing. Garnish with parsley or microgreens for a finished look.
Paleo Ranch
- Place the 1 egg, lemon juice, salt and ground mustard in a blender or food processor. Pulse a few times until frothy and blended.
- The key to this step is being patient and slow. Teaspoon by teaspoon start to add the olive oil, while the blender or food processor is on. Keep pouring slowly. It should take 2 to 3 minutes. If you rush this it will not emulsify.
- Then add the garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, apple cider vinegar and salt and stir. Store extra in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days.
Avocados are a good source of fiber, and this avocado recipe is perfect. I would definitely give this a try.
Let me know what you think of it!
Looks great but I could not eat a raw egg. Any aternatives?
You could just use a store-bought version. I know Tessemae’s has a ranch 🙂