When it comes to chicken salad, I don't like it too mayonnaise-y, I like texture, and I want to get a variety of flavors in every bite. It's really not too much to ask, right? With chunky pieces of chicken, crunchy cashews, juicy grapes, sweetness from honey, and a flavor kick from curry powder, turmeric, and ginger, this Curried Chicken Salad is everything I want in a chicken salad recipe, and I think you'll love it too. It comes together in minutes, is great for meal prep lunches, and is the perfect protein-packed filling for sandwiches, wraps, and more!
What Makes This Chicken Salad Stand Out?
Like I said earlier, I want a variety of textures and flavors in my chicken salad and I don't want it to be mayonnaise heavy (yuck!). My Curried Chicken Salad ticks all of those boxes. It's not a traditional chicken salad recipe, and I'm going to share with you how this recipe stands out!
When it comes to textures, this chicken salad has several crunchy elements, a creamy element, and a juicy sweet element.
You get a nice CRUNCH from chopped celery and cashews.
CREAMINESS from Greek yogurt, olive oil mayonnaise, and honey.
Juicy SWEETNESS from sliced, red grapes.
When it comes to flavors, this chicken salad recipe is sweet and spicy.
SWEET from honey and sliced grapes.
SPICY ("aromatic" spicy not "hot" spicy) from ground curry, ground turmeric, and ground ginger.
From a nutrition perspective, this Curried Chicken Salad also stands out. With an equal ratio of Greek yogurt and olive oil mayonnaise, this recipe is lower in saturated fat and higher in both protein and calcium that your standard chicken salad recipe. It also contains fiber, heart healthy fats, and antioxidants!
5 Ways to Serve Curried Chicken Salad
I want you to think of the classic chicken salad plate from your favorite soup, salad, and sandwich restaurant in your area. Let me guess, you're picturing a scoop of chicken salad sitting over a very large lettuce leaf with a side of fresh cut fruit and a few packets of crackers? It's CLASSIC.
When it comes to serving suggestions for this sweet and savory Curried Chicken Salad feel free to go the classic chicken salad plate route or try one of these easy-to-put-together meal options!
Spoon chicken salad onto whole grain crackers and top with cucumber slices
Fill whole wheat pita with chicken salad and crunchy romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and sliced avocado
Fill ribs of celery with chicken salad for a snack
Top your favorite spring mix salad with a scoop of chicken salad and sliced avocado with a muffin on the side
Stuff bell pepper halves with a few spoonfuls of chicken salad and serve with an apple
Make a delicious chicken salad sandwich with spring mix on your favorite whole grain bread
There are so many ways to serve this sweet and spicy Curried Chicken Salad, and to top it off it's great for meal prep lunches!
What’s in This Recipe?
Plain Greek yogurt – rich in protein, calcium, and probiotics; easier to digest than other dairy products due to fermentation
Olive oil mayonnaise – adds flavor and moisture; contains half the fat of regular mayonnaise per serving
Honey – natural sweetener; contains antioxidants, prebiotics, and a variety of vitamins and minerals
Seasonings – salt, ground ginger, curry powder, and black pepper
Chicken – rich in protein, contains iron and several B vitamins; I like to use pre-cooked rotisserie chicken in this recipe for convenience
Celery – non-starchy vegetable that contains dietary fiber, potassium and vitamin C
Cashews – contains heart healthy fats, plant-based protein, vitamin K, manganese, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, zinc, and iron
Grapes – contains anthocyanins which have antioxidant properties, energizing carbohydrates, potassium, calcium, and water
Notes: This recipe is naturally gluten free. It can easily be made nut free by omitting the cashews or replacing them with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
Curried Chicken Salad
Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 0 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients:
1/4 cup 2% or whole milk plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise
1 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
3/4 tsp. curry powder
Black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
1/4 cup (1 rib) of celery, diced
1/2 cup red grapes, halved
1/4 cup cashews
Directions:
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, honey, and spices to a bowl. Stir until the the spices are evenly dispersed and the mixture is smooth.
Next, mix in the cooked chicken until it is fully coated.
Lastly, mix in the celery, grape halves, and cashews.
Serve immediately (see serving suggestions here)
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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