Super Yummy Chicken Salad Recipe

comment icon 27 more comments As summer activities have picked up for our family, I’ve been riding the highs of having a weekly batch of chicken salad in the fridge. I love a cold, creamy bowl of it straight out of the fridge for an high protein Summer Mom Lunch, and my girls love to eat the components (plain chicken, grapes, celery and cashews) dipped in a bit of dressing for a kid-friendly snack plate. Reasons I love it:

Reason A: The creamy dressing is… weirdly so good. It doesn’t taste like straight Greek yogurt (gross) but there’s enough to be in there so that you aren’t just eating straight gobs of mayo, either. Perfect creaminess achieved! The flavors from the dijon, salt, sugar, onion and garlic powder make it into a luscious little everything sauce that I’m licking off the spoon every single time. Reason B: Lots of protein! It’s a super satisfying mid-day boost! Reason C: Convenience, naturally. I frequently just grab a little wrap, sandwich, or bowl of it for a solidly delicious munch between chaotic mid-afternoon errands and/or kid pick-ups!

SUMMER HERO! You might notice there are no raw onions in this chicken salad and that is very much on purpose. I prefer a substantial lacing of onion powder in the sauce to give us the good flavor… but in a smooth, creamy way, without the watery, weepy weirdness of diced raw onion. To each their own! Throw the onions in if you want. But I am a strong proponent that onion powder > raw onions when it comes to chicken salad. The mix-ins that you’ll see here are my favorites (grapes, celery, and cashews) but you might like apples, almonds, pistachios, wild rice (!), walnuts, etc. The beauty is that this protein-rich, ultra-creamy chicken salad dressing as a base can take us to many good places. For classic chicken salad, you want to have these three elements:

Something sweet (apples, grapes, dried cherries) Something crunchy (celery, diced onion) Something nutty (cashews, almonds, or pistachios)

My all-time favorite combo is grapes, celery, and cashews! So classic. Hits every time. But I have more fun ideas in the notes of the recipe based on your suggestions from Instagram! 5 from 9 reviews

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I prefer 2% milkfat or higher) 1/4 cup mayo 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons sugar (more or less to taste – and honey also works!) 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Chicken Salad Base:

2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or diced (I use rotisserie chicken breast) 1 1/2 cups red grapes, sliced 1 cup finely diced celery (about 2-3 stalks) 1 cup roasted cashew halves and pieces any extra seasonings you like (dried herbs, fresh herbs, salt and pepper, etc. – I typically add dried chives!)

Herbs: Fresh herbs work, but my complaint with them is that they don’t hold up as well in the fridge / after they get mixed in, which is why I like freeze dried herbs (in my case, I use chives). White Pepper: Regular freshly ground black pepper works just fine, but it darkens the color a bit with the black flecks and I care about these things so I go for the white pepper!

Curry Chicken Salad

Recipe is right here! 🙂 It’s so good – packed with sweet curry flavor and golden raisins, pistachios, cilantro and parsley! It’s one of my faves!

Basil Chicken Salad

Use this basil sauce as the base, and mix in chicken, dried cherries, celery, and slivered almonds! SO good!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

My husband loves this one! (And me, too.)

Dressing: 1/3 cup mayo, 1/4 cup plan Greek yogurt, 3 tablespoons buffalo hot sauce like Frank’s Red Hot, 1/3 cup blue cheese. Mix-Ins: 1 1/2 cups cubed chicken, 1 cup diced celery, sliced green onions for topping!