Chicken and sweetcorn potato salad Recipe Inspired by Jamie Oliver
I have always liked how Jamie Oliver can turn odds and ends into food that feels deliberate, so I made his Chicken and sweetcorn potato salad when I had cooked chicken and new potatoes ready to use. It is a genuinely practical ten-minute assembly, but the finished lunch still has enough colour, contrast and freshness to feel like something I planned rather than merely cleared from the fridge. The shredded chicken and halved potatoes make it satisfying, while sweetcorn brings little bursts of sweetness and avocado adds a soft, creamy edge. Peppery rocket keeps each forkful lively. What pulled everything together for me was the sharp lemon and pesto dressing: bright, savoury and rich enough to coat the ingredients without hiding their individual textures. The smartest detail is the order of preparation. A small squeeze of lemon goes onto the avocado as soon as it is cut, and the frozen corn is thawed with boiling water, cooled immediately, then drained very well. I found that careful draining mattered because spare water would weaken the dressing. Measuring the olive oil against the remaining lemon juice also makes the dressing easy to judge without a fixed oil quantity. I packed it as two adult lunches, with the dressing in separate sealed pots, though the same mixture can be divided into four smaller boxes for children. Only half of the dressing is needed for these portions; the rest is deliberately kept for another day. Tossing it through just before eating leaves the rocket perky and the potatoes pleasantly firm.
Foodmitrecipe
Per 1 adult lunch-box portion
Nutrition for Chicken and sweetcorn potato salad
- Saturated fat
- 6 g
- Fiber
- 3.5 g
- Sugars
- 6.4 g
- Sodium
- 0.5 g
Estimated values. Nutrition values are approximate. More precise calculations will be added in a future update.
How to make Chicken and sweetcorn potato salad
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Step 1
Shred and portion the chicken
Pull the cooked chicken into bite-size shreds. Divide it evenly between two adult lunch boxes, or four smaller boxes if you are serving children.
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Step 2
Prepare the avocado
Peel the avocado, remove the stone and cut the flesh into chunks. Squeeze over just a little lemon juice and turn gently to coat, then share the avocado among the boxes.
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Step 3
Thaw and cool the sweetcorn
Put the frozen sweetcorn in a heatproof bowl and cover it with freshly boiled kettle water. Once the kernels are fully thawed, cool them under cold running water, then drain until no water is dripping before scattering them among the boxes.
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Step 4
Add the potatoes and rocket
Cut the cooked new potatoes in half and divide them between the boxes. Add the rocket in loose handfuls so it is not crushed, then close the boxes until you are ready to eat.
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Step 5
Mix and pack the dressing
Squeeze the rest of the lemon juice into a small bowl and note its volume. Pour in an equal volume of extra virgin olive oil, add the heaped tablespoon of pesto and stir until evenly combined. Spoon half of this dressing into small sealable pots or jars to travel with the salad; keep the other half for another day, and dress each portion only when it is time to eat.
Let the rinsed sweetcorn sit in the sieve while you prepare the potatoes. If the kernels still glisten with rinse water, give the sieve another shake before packing so the separate dressing stays concentrated.
Chicken and sweetcorn potato salad, ready to serve
Serving ideas for Chicken and sweetcorn potato salad
Choose a presentation that fits the occasion, from relaxed sharing to individual plates.
Two workday lunch boxes
Divide the ingredients between two shallow, lidded lunch boxes so the potato halves and chicken form a loose base and the rocket is not tightly compressed. Put one small sealed pot containing its share of the half-batch of dressing beside each box, not inside the salad itself. At lunch, pour it over, close the lid and turn the box gently a few times before eating. The portion is complete on its own, which keeps this presentation simple for a desk or a packed day.
A wide platter for two
For eating at home, arrange the same two adult portions on a wide, low platter instead of packing them. Spread the potatoes, chicken and corn first, then place the avocado and rocket over them so every colour remains visible. Bring only half of the prepared dressing to the table in a small jug and toss it through immediately before serving; reserve the rest as directed. Two broad plates and ordinary forks are all that are needed for an unfussy lunch or light dinner.
Four smaller picnic boxes
Use four compact lunch boxes when serving children, sharing every solid ingredient evenly so each box contains chicken, potato, avocado, corn and rocket. Divide the half-batch of dressing meant for this salad among four tiny leakproof pots and let each portion be dressed at the last moment. The smaller format works neatly for school lunches or a family picnic, while keeping the recipe's original quantities and fresh texture unchanged.
Let’s cook Chicken and sweetcorn potato salad together
Check off your ingredients, follow each step, and start the timers when you are ready.
Get everything ready
Step-by-step with timers
Shred and portion the chicken
Pull the cooked chicken into bite-size shreds. Divide it evenly between two adult lunch boxes, or four smaller boxes if you are serving children.
Prepare the avocado
Peel the avocado, remove the stone and cut the flesh into chunks. Squeeze over just a little lemon juice and turn gently to coat, then share the avocado among the boxes.
Thaw and cool the sweetcorn
Put the frozen sweetcorn in a heatproof bowl and cover it with freshly boiled kettle water. Once the kernels are fully thawed, cool them under cold running water, then drain until no water is dripping before scattering them among the boxes.
Add the potatoes and rocket
Cut the cooked new potatoes in half and divide them between the boxes. Add the rocket in loose handfuls so it is not crushed, then close the boxes until you are ready to eat.
Mix and pack the dressing
Squeeze the rest of the lemon juice into a small bowl and note its volume. Pour in an equal volume of extra virgin olive oil, add the heaped tablespoon of pesto and stir until evenly combined. Spoon half of this dressing into small sealable pots or jars to travel with the salad; keep the other half for another day, and dress each portion only when it is time to eat.
Chicken and sweetcorn potato salad Recipe Inspired by Jamie Oliver
The story behind Chicken and sweetcorn potato salad
Recipe notes by Sophie
Why this one caught me
I am a fan of Jamie's knack for treating leftovers as a starting point rather than a compromise, and that was exactly what appealed to me here. The ingredient list is short and recognisable: cooked chicken, cooked new potatoes, an avocado, frozen corn, rocket, lemons and pesto. When I assembled it, the bowl looked generous without any elaborate cooking or additional shopping. I especially appreciated that the recipe gives two honest adult portions but also explains how the same quantity can become four child-sized lunches. That makes the proportions useful rather than vague. The result felt true to the promise: a full packed lunch, not a little side salad pretending to be a meal. It also reminded me that good leftover cooking is often about adding contrast. The chicken and potatoes already provide substance; the fresh and frozen ingredients provide colour, moisture, bite and sweetness. Nothing needs reheating, and no new flavour is forced onto the cooked ingredients. For me, that directness is very much part of the chef's appeal.
Small steps that made the difference
Making it showed me that this is less about knife work than about managing water and timing. I coated the avocado with the first small squeeze of lemon immediately after cutting it, which spread acidity over the exposed surfaces before the pieces went into the boxes. For the corn, I followed the quick hot-and-cold treatment rather than leaving it to soften on the counter. The boiling water removed the chill fast; the cold rinse stopped it arriving warm beside the leaves. I let it drain thoroughly before adding it, because even a little rinse water would collect around the potatoes and dilute the eventual dressing. I also kept the rocket loose instead of pressing it down under the heavier ingredients. The components were then ready to travel, while the dressing stayed outside the main box. None of these actions is difficult, but together they preserve the contrasts that make the recipe work: creamy avocado, intact potato halves, juicy chicken, crisp leaves and distinct corn kernels. That was the useful lesson I took from cooking it.
The moment it became lunch
The dressing was the part I most enjoyed because it turns three familiar ingredients into something balanced without requiring a scale. After using the first little squeeze for the avocado, I squeezed the remaining lemon juice into a bowl, judged its volume and matched it with the same amount of extra virgin olive oil. The heaped spoonful of pesto made the mixture savoury and fragrant. I stirred until there were no dense streaks of pesto, then packed only half for the two portions, as the recipe directs, and set the rest aside for a different day. Keeping the travel pots closed until lunch was worth it. When I finally poured the dressing over and tossed everything, it clung to the rough shreds of chicken and the cut faces of the potatoes, while the rocket still had some spring. The lemon kept the richer avocado and oil from feeling heavy. I understand why the chef designed it as a packed lunch: the assembly is fast at home, but the final toss still gives you a freshly finished meal when you open the box.