This Chicken Salad is so good! Protein-packed with a delicious creamy dressing, and perfect for an on-the-go lunch in a sandwich or wrap.
It’s a Chicken Salad Summer For Me.
Chicken salad is officially the hero of my summer.
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.
Welcome To My House! Let’s Have a Chicken Salad Lunch.
1
Make Your Dressing.
Greek yogurt, mayo, and dijon mustard will carry you! Add some salt, sugar, onion powder, and garlic powder, and you’ll be licking this right off the spoon. It’s luxurious and savory-sweet and so weirdly good.
2
Cut Everything Up!
I like the chicken to be CUBED, not shredded, so the whole thing doesn’t get too thick and sticky.
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!
3
Mix it all up + season it.
After you mix the dressing with everything, you can season it with whatever you like. Salt and pepper, for starters! I typically do freeze-dried chives and white pepper (so it doesn’t make the whole thing turn dark). You do you!
4
You’re Done! Yum!
You can put this on a croissant for a luncheon-style sandwich, or tuck it into a lettuce wrap, or a whole weat wrap, or dip into it with crackers (can recommend Everything Seasoned crackers), or just eat it plain! which I very often do.
This Chicken Salad is so good! Protein-packed with a delicious creamy dressing, and perfect for an on-the-go lunch in a sandwich or wrap.
Chicken Salad Dressing:
Chicken Salad Base:
Dressing: Whisk the dressing ingredients until smooth. Taste and adjust, keeping in mind that it should taste salty / concentrated as it will distribute amongst all the other ingredients.
Mix: Toss your mix-ins (chicken, grapes, celery, and cashews) with as much of the dressing as you like.
Season: Taste, adjust, and zhuzh to your heart’s content. I usually stir in some freeze-dried chives and white pepper.
You’re Done! Yum! Eat on a whole wheat wrap, lettuce wrap, sandwich, toast, dipped with crackers or just PLAIN! Delicious, cold, creamy, I love it. Store leftovers in an airtight container the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
Dressing Amounts: You may not need all of the dressing depending on how much creaminess you like – I typically have a few tablespoons left over and I save them to toss with the leftovers so they are freshly creamy again!
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!
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:0 minutes
Category:Lunch
Method:No-Cook
Cuisine:American
Keywords: chicken salad, chicken salad recipe, chicken salad sandwich, easy lunch recipe, high protein lunch
Chicken Salad Variation Ideas
There are so many directions you could take this! The main recipe included here is for a classic, salty-sweet chicken salad, but here are a few other ideas!
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
Make the same chicken salad dressing base, omitting the sugar and salt. Add buffalo sauce to taste, and mix in chicken, celery or carrot, red onion, and crumble bleu cheese on top. My husband loves this!
Dill Pickle Chicken Salad
Make the same chicken salad dressing base, omitting sugar and salt. Add diced pickles, fresh dill, and a bit of pickle brine. Perfect for summer!
Frequently Asked Questions For This Chicken Salad
What are some other chicken salad mix-in ideas?
I asked on Instagram and you guys had the best ideas! Thank you for sharing! – salt and vinegar chips (or any chips, let’s be honest) – apples – wild rice – sweet pickled jalapeños – fried onions – crushed ramen noodles – bacon – sweet corn
Can you omit or replace the celery?
Yes, you can omit the celery! This is your own adventure. I would suggest adding a crunchy diced or sliced vegetable in its place – water chestnuts (polarizing!), radishes, jicama, or bell pepper! Fennel is very similar to celery but it is sometimes tolerated better by celery-haters, so that’s another option! It gives you a similar crunch and flavor.
Could you use your air fryer chicken in this?
Yes! Yummy. I would just cut it into cubes after you cook it in the air fryer! Here’s that recipe. Keep in mind that there’s a lot of seasoning on the exterior of that chicken so it will likely transfer into the sauce, making it more colored than the version here in the pictures.
How can I make this chicken salad dairy-free?
Use a dairy free plain yogurt! Almost all mayo should be naturally dairy free.
What other nut could I use instead of cashews?
SO many options. Walnuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, and almonds come to mind!
How long does this chicken salad keep in the refrigerator?
I like it best within 3 days! The USDA recommends eating leftover rotisserie chicken (stored in the refrigerator) within 3-4 days.
How do you serve this chicken salad?
In a sandwich (croissants are the bomb), in a wrap (whole wheat wrap or a lettuce wrap! yum), on top of some greens, or as a dip for crackers! Or just plain, straight out of the fridge. 🙂
Can you make this recipe without mayonnaise?
You could use all Greek yogurt but I find that the mayo is really helpful for the overall flavor and texture. It gives a silkiness and a lusciousness that you can’t get from the thick, tangy Greek yogurt. Some people like to make their chicken salad with sour cream, so that’s another option, but I find a base of tangy Greek yogurt + the buttery-ness of a little mayo to be the ideal combo!
