Curried Chicken Salad: This warmly spiced curried chicken salad recipe is the perfect way to freshen up your lunch-time routine! Feel free to use freshly cooked chicken breasts, rotisserie or roast chicken, or leftovers of any of them!
I’ve really turned into a big chicken salad fan in the past couple of years after making an apple pecan chicken salad and then more recently, a strawberry poppyseed version one as well.
It’s to the point where I actually seek it out on restaurant menus. And this is something I never would have done five years ago.
This curried chicken salad is definitely something I would order from a menu and it’s certainly worthy of being on the menu of, say, a cute little bakery café that makes its own fresh bread each morning.
And at this time of year when the weather is a starting to warm up, I’d certainly love to be sitting under an umbrella of a sidewalk table at one of those cute little cafés eating a sandwich like this.
The curry flavor in this chicken salad goes a long way and it’s perfectly balanced by sweet golden raisins and crisp Granny Smith apples.
Rather than a heavy mayonnaise base, I opted for Greek yogurt instead. Since Greek yogurt is a fairly thick consistency, I thinned it out with white wine vinegar and lemon juice which really brighten up all of the flavors.
The yogurt is a much healthier option than the mayo is and it helps to keep the chicken salad from being a calorie bomb lunch.
I don’t know about you but 10 minutes of my time is absolutely worth an end-product like this curried chicken salad. And since I can make it at home as a great leftover chicken recipe, I can use that extra time to stop by that new coffee shop I’ve been dying to check out.
Or you know, fold another load of laundry. Because really: life, right?
Curried Chicken Salad
Notes
You can use either a roast/rotisserie chicken or roasted, grilled, or poached chicken breasts for this recipe. To poach the chicken, simmer 1 boneless skinless breast in 2 inches of water in a shallow pan for about 15-20 minutes. The center of the chicken should be 165° F when fully cooked.
Ingredients
2 cups cooked and chopped chicken
¾ cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 ½ tsp curry powder
½ tsp Kosher salt
Juice of ½ lime
2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
¼ cup golden raisins
½ medium Granny Smith apple, diced small
¼ cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped
Instructions
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01
Add the chicken to a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, vinegar, curry powder, salt, and lime juice together until smooth. Mix the yogurt sauce into the chicken until the chicken is well-coated. Fold in the scallions, raisins, apple, and cilantro. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours to allow the flavors to marry before serving.
Smells Like Home original
I have tried with granny apples, raisins, and heard a lot about adding curry powder. So tempting to try now. Thanks for a great post!