From my experience, recipes for chicken salad range substantially. I've had versions that should have been called mayo salad, fancy versions with pineapple, and also versions that were made with turkey and didn't have chicken at all.
For me, the only one i've ever had cravings for is curry chicken salad By adding in some spices, you can take a salad that sometimes feels like an afterthought and turn it into the star of the show... even if you made it out of leftover chicken from the night before (which i highly recommend).
I love all the bright green colors of this one too. Green grapes give a juicy pop of sweetness, the celery adds in a little crunch, and the parsley provides a fresh complexity.
This version is also a bit lighter than most because i used plain green yogurt instead of mayo. It has a little bit more tang than a mayo base, but I promise you wont feel like your are eating breakfast.
The recipe that i made today is below, but feel free to mix it up to your tastes or what you already have in the fridge. You can substitute nuts for the celery crunch, other fruits or raisons for the grapes, and cilantro is delicious instead of the parsley.
I made my own curry spice mix, but you can just as easily buy curry powder if you prefer.
My favorite way to eat this is on a croissant with a little bit of mango chutney or a bright jam and greens. Asher skips the jam and goes for bacon, which takes it in a more savory direction. Both are delicious, so you can choose :)
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Cooked Chicken ( I either use leftovers or break down a rotisserie chicken as a short cut, but you could bake chicken breasts if you prefer)
- 3 stalks celery
- 1 cup grapes
- 1 handful of parsley
- 1.5 cups plain green yogurt
- 1 teaspoon (heaping) cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) coriander
Instructions
- Either cube the chicken or place it in a stand mixer and shred it with a dough hook (I thought this was weird the first time someone told me about it, but it works like a charm)
- Finely chop the celery & parsley and halve the grapes
- Mix together the spices to make your curry powder
- Stir the curry powder into the yogurt with a sprinkle of salt. Start with half of the curry powder and taste it, add more depending on your taste and how much you want to feel the heat of the spices. A little goes a long way.
- Mix everything together and season with salt and pepper if necessary
- Enjoy as a sandwich or with some salad greens
Have you tried curry chicken salad before? Tell me about your favorite ingredients to add to chicken salad in the comments!
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