During our Southern California road trip, I had chicken salad for lunch at Legoland (the only place that doesn’t allow to bring your own lunch). As you can imagine the menu was very limited and it was either a cuban sandwich, chicken panini, grilled cheese or chicken salad. While an 8 oz serving cost US $10 (which is like CAD $13, ouch) and made my teeth cringe from sodium, it was extremely satisfying in 115 degrees F heat. Of course, I kept thinking we can do better, of course. It wouldn’t be me if I haven’t.
Upon returning to my beautiful British Columbia, the weather was in favour of making a healthy chicken salad. Having a Pyrex glass bowl (my absolute favourite!) of cold chicken salad waiting in the fridge for me any time I’m ready is extremely chilling in our 87 degrees F heat. However, me and Alex are handling our PNW heat wave like grown-ups now after the SoCali one LOL. See, every experience counts.
MY LATEST RECIPESMy goal with this healthy chicken salad recipe was to keep it super simple so we can pull it off any time. As much as I love grapes and know they are often added, I also realize they are pricey and I myself buy them only on sale. So let’s not make things more complicated than they.
Mostly plain (Greek if you wish) yogurt, a bit of healthy mayo, celery is a must of course, and toasted soft nuts like pecans is all you need for a simple, flavourful and creamy chicken salad that will go into your summer and lunch rotation. Enjoy!
Tips for Best Healthy Chicken Salad
- Use 2% and higher fat yogurt. Non-fat yogurt lacks flavour and is flat. Healthy fats are good for you, in moderation.
- Serve on sprouted whole grain/wheat bread like Ezekiel for a healthy chicken salad sandwich. We stopped buying Dave’s Killer bread because it is high in added sugar!
- For low carb version I eat this salad on swiss chard leaves or any lettuce. Like lettuce wraps, unwrapped.
- By all means, add grapes if that’s what your heart desires.
How to Make Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe
- In a small skillet, add pecans and toast on low-medium heat until fragrant and brown-ish, stirring often. Transfer to a cutting board, let cool a bit and chop coarsely.
- In a medium bowl, add toasted pecans, chicken, celery, onion, parsley, yogurt, mayo, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir gently to mix and adjust salt to taste if necessary.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours as salad tastes best cold. Serve with greens, quinoa, brown rice or make a chicken salad sandwich with whole wheat bread.
Healthy Chicken Salad
Super easy and simple ingredients Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe that is a fridge-must for hot summer days, meal prep lunches or any time to use up leftover chicken. It’s creamy, flavourful and low in sodium.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb (3 cups) cooked chicken, cubed
- 3/4 cup (3 large) celery stalks, diced
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley or dill, finely chopped
- 1 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt (2+% fat)
- 1/4 cup mayo (I used avocado oil)
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp any light colour vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a small skillet, add pecans and toast on low-medium heat until fragrant and brown-ish, stirring often. Transfer to a cutting board, let cool a bit and chop coarsely.
- In a medium bowl, add toasted pecans, chicken, celery, onion, parsley, yogurt, mayo, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir gently to mix and adjust salt to taste if necessary.
- refrigerate for at least 2 hours as salad tastes best cold. Serve with greens, quinoa, brown rice or make a chicken salad sandwich with whole wheat bread.
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
To cook chicken I used my Instant Pot frozen chicken recipe and made 3 meals out of it.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
Delicious healthy chicken salad I have been taking to work for the past 2 weeks.
★★★★★