65 Healthy Chicken Recipes: Chicken Salad
One of my most popular healthy chicken recipes. This easy and low fat Healthy Chicken Salad is a must-have recipe for quick lunches, dinner or picnics. Even though it is low on calories, it is big on taste.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 180kcal
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 (optional)
- 1 cup pecans, almonds or cashews
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt 2+% fat
- 1/4 cup mayo I used avocado oil mayo
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp any vinegar except balsamic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small skillet, toast pecans on low-medium heat until darker brown and fragrant. Make sure to stir often. Then, transfer to a cutting board, cool 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. Adjust the amount of salt to taste.
- Chicken salad tastes best cold, so refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Serve with quinoa, brown rice or greens or make a chicken salad sandwich with whole wheat bread.
Video
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I have not tried freezing this salad, but don't think the fresh veggies and herbs would hold up well.
- How to cook chicken for salad: Use baked chicken breast. Or if you have an Instant Pot, try making Instant Pot frozen chicken, Instant Pot whole chicken or Instant Pot chicken breast.
- Onions: You can substitute white or green onion for red onion.
- Sweet addition: Try adding sliced grapes or chopped apple for a bit of sweetness.
- Use any mayo: Olive oil mayo or vegenaise work well. I tend to use avocado oil mayo because it is healthier.
- Do not use 0% yogurt: You will definitely want to use plain regular or Greek yogurt with a fat content of at least 2%. Yogurt with less fat will cause the chicken salad to taste flat and chalky (and who wants that?!).
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 180kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 173mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g