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Honey Mustard Chicken, Bacon, Avocado Melt: Crusty ciabatta bread layered with homemade honey mustard, shredded rotisserie-style chicken, provolone and Havarti cheeses—baked until everything’s melty and golden. Finished with crispy bacon, creamy avocado, and a final drizzle of honey mustard. Every bite is as delicious as it sounds.
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You can use leftover grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, or my roasted lemon pepper chicken (in recipe notes)—whatever you’ve got works.
I always go through phases with food—fall in love with something, forget about it, and then rediscover it all over again.
Honey Mustard Chicken, Bacon, Avocado Melt | halfbakedharvest.com
Right now? Sandwiches. Bacon. Honey mustard. These are the flavors I naturally circle back to, especially in spring and summer. Maybe it’s the memories—like sitting at the CYC, the yachting club in my hometown, ordering a club sandwich, chicken salad, or good old chicken fingers with my nonnie.
No matter the reason, I love to make sandwiches this time of year. I’ve been swapping my usual prosciutto for bacon and using a lot of rotisserie chicken, too.
Convenience, but with flavor!
These are the details
Ingredients – for the honey mustard
- mayo
- dijon mustard
- honey
- lemon juice
- chipotle chili powder
- cayenne pepper
- salt
Ingredients – for the melts
- ciabatta bread
- honey mustard
- baby spinach
- pepperoncini and or dill pickles
- rotisserie chicken
- provolone cheese
- havarti cheese
- crispy bacon
- avocado
- fresh basil
- fresh dill
- sun-dried tomatoes
- parmesan cheese
Special Tools
Just a bread knife and sheet pan!
Steps
Step 1: the honey mustard
Start by making homemade honey mustard. You might not think it’s worth the effort, but it’s far superior to the store-bought stuff. It’s very creamy and easy to make, just mayo, Dijon, honey, chipotle chili powder, cayenne, and salt.
Whisk everything until creamy – super easy. Plus, you can control the ingredients, so nothing funky in your dressing.
Step 2: assemble
Begin assembling the sandwich. I use ciabatta bread, but fresh focaccia or sourdough would be yummy too! I like using the whole loaf of ciabatta so I can easily and quickly make all the melts at once instead of making 6 individual melts.
Slice the loaf in half lengthwise. Working with the bottom piece first, spread on a bit of honey mustard and add all of the baby spinach. Then layer with pepperoncini and/or dill pickles—I use both. Then add the rotisserie chicken (see my notes if you want to do your own), Havarti, and provolone cheese.
Step 3: bake
Once you have everything layered, put the baking sheet in the oven to warm the sandwich and melt the cheese.
When the cheese is melted, pull the pan out of the oven. Add the crispy bacon, slices of avocado, fresh basil, dill, and some extra honey mustard. Finish with the top piece of bread.
Step 4: the topping
The next step is optional, but I do love it! Take chopped up sun-dried tomatoes, plus some of the oil from the jar, and a few tablespoons of parmesan and mix them together. Rub the oil over the top piece of bread, then finish baking.
I like to bake for 5-10 minutes more to get the sandwich nice and toasty. You can also try cutting the sandwich and using a panini press to really press it down.
Step 5: enjoy warm and melty
Pull the sandwich out of the oven and use a long bread knife to cut it through. It will be a little messy, but we love the sandwich best when it’s warm!
There’s just something about this sandwich—the vibrant colors, the bold flavors, the way everything’s tucked between layers of melty goodness. But let’s be real… the best part? It’s insanely delicious!
Looking for fun family dinners? Here are my favorites:
Sheet Pan Honey Buffalo Chicken with Broccoli
One Skillet White Chicken Chili Bake
Skillet Chicken Fajitas with Creamy Jalapeño Verde Sauce
Lastly, if you make this Honey Mustard Chicken, Bacon, Avocado Melt, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Honey Mustard Chicken, Bacon, and Avocado Melts
Ingredients
Honey Mustard
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt
Melts
- 1 loaf Ciabatta bread halved lengthwise
- 1/2 cup honey mustard
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1/2 cup sliced pepperoncini or pickles
- 1 cup shredded rotisserie or grilled chicken
- 8 slices crispy bacon
- 1 cup shredded Gouda or Havarti cheese
- 1 cup shredded provolone cheese
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped dill
- 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes with oil
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- 1. To make the honey mustard. Combine all ingredients in a bowl or glass jar. Taste and adjust the salt.2. To make the sandwich. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Lay the bread, cut side up, on a cutting board. Working with the top piece of ciabatta, pull out some of the insides to create a space for the filling. Spread the honey mustard over the bottom piece of bread. Now add the spinach and sliced pepperoncini/pickles. Layer half the cheese and the chicken on top. Bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted.3. Remove from the oven. Add the remaining cheese and the bacon. Arrange the sliced avocado over the bacon. Add the basil, dill, and some more honey mustard. Add the top half of the ciabatta and gently push down on the sandwich. 4. In a bowl, mix the sun-dried tomatoes, 1/4 cup oil, and the parmesan. Rub the top piece of bread with the oil. Bake another 5 minutes until toasted.5. Remove from the oven. Slice into six sandwiches. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Family favorite!! Like others commented, we too left out the dill and basil; seemed to me to be too many flavors that don’t work together. Anyways it was delicious and will be making again!
Hey there,
Wonderful! I am so glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it!🎃👻
This was delicious – a little salty, a little savory and a little messy. I did leave the fresh herbs off as they didn’t seem necessary. The honey mustard is amazing and will become a staple in my kitchen. Husband approved – even with the spinach.
Hey Jen,
Wonderful!! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was a hit! xx
There was SO much to this sandwich & sometimes less is more. The final result was less than appetizing.
Sorry to hear this, Momo. Thanks for trying the recipe and your feedback. Have a great week!
This sandwich is delicious. Especially the honey mustard dresssing which will always be in my fridge! Have to confess, didn’t use the herbs or oil at the end cuz it seemed like too much.
Hey Suzanne,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! Happy Wednesday! xx
Again, asking you to please clarify what you mean by “gross” or “funky” ingredients. Do you have any backing to this?
Hey Morgan! I only meant to say that we can control the quality of our ingredients by making more at home. I apologize if that was confusing. Hope you had a great start to the week! Thanks for reading! And if you try this recipe, I hope you enjoy!
So many competing flavors, and a cup of herbs felt like A LOT. The herbs turned more soggy and wilted from putting in the oven.
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for your feedback and trying this recipe, sorry to hear it was not to your liking. Have a nice week!
A lot of competing flavors that don’t really work well with each other. Dill, basil, sundried tomatoes, honey mustard, pickles, pepperoncini, gouda, bacon, avocado, parmesan, sometimes more is just, well more and not better. I would also wait until you take it out of the oven to add the herbs to the sandwich-a full cup of chopped herbs is also way too much and overpowering.
Hi Laura,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your comment, so sorry to hear you didn’t love it. xx
Now THIS is what I call a sandwich! 😍 10/10 will make again!
Thanks so much, Eleanor:) So glad to hear you enjoyed this sandwich, thanks for giving it a try! xx
This was really good and much more interesting than a run-of-the-mill sandwich. Thank you for never failing to keep it interesting and fresh!
Hi Matt,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, love to hear it was a hit! Happy Tuesday!
This thing is huge, how do you eat this?
Hi Jeoff,
You can cut the sandwich to your liking, you can use fork and knife, you can use your hands like a typical sandwich. Totally up to you!
We loved this! Made for lunch today as written with the exception of the dill, which I didn’t have, and realized too late that I rubbed the sundried tomato mixture on the inside of the top instead of the outside. Nevertheless, it was delicious. No leftovers. And yes, it is worth it to make the honey-mustard yourself. Thank you so much!
Hi Connie,
Happy Monday! Thanks for giving this recipe a try, love to hear it turned out well for you! Have the best week:)
Oh man! You know how to put together an amazing sandwich! Can’t wait to make this!
Thanks so much, Sarah Jane! I hope you love this recipe!
How do you keep the herbs and spinach so green? Do they not wilt with 20 minutes in the oven?
Hi Sarah,
They do a bit, but should still be nice and green and delicious! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xx
I wanted to like this, but there were so many competing flavors that did not go well together at all. Unfortunately this was a miss for me.
Hi Stella,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. Have a great week!
I’m a bit confused about the homemade honey mustard, what funky stuff should I be worried about? I have some French’s honey mustard in my fridge and the ingredients are just
DISTILLED VINEGAR, WATER, SUGAR, #1 GRADE MUSTARD SEED, HONEY, SALT, SPICES, GARLIC POWDER, CARROT OLEORESIN (COLOR) & NATURAL FLAVOR.
And if I use store bought Dijon and store bought mayo is it still worth it to make my own honey mustard? Thanks!
Hi Patty,
It’s really personal preference, but I like to stay away from bottled dressings with any type of inflammatory oils, preservatives, unnecessary ingredients, etc. Feel free to use what you like, I always prefer homemade:) I hope this helps!
What do you mean by “funky ingredients”?
Hi Scott,
Just referring to gross oils, preservatives, etc. anything not needed to make the actual dressing:) I hope this makes sense!
This still doesn’t make sense, what are “gross oils?” Honey mustard doesn’t have any oil in it at all.
Hi Emma,
If you take a look at the ingredient list in a lot of dressings (including honey mustard), there can be some unnecessary ingredients in them that I just prefer to avoid:)
I think tieghan is referring to honey mustard salad dressing which does have oil, not actual honey mustard which does not. If you use store bought honey mustard it has zero oil! Honey mustard is by the other mustards not the salad dressings in the store!