Curry Chicken Salad

At a glance

What stands out: With crisp apples, celery, and chewy raisins, curry chicken salad is gussied up with a flavorful creamy curry dressing. This popular recipe is welcome at almost any meal or gathering, and is also fantastic for meal prep lunches.

How long it takes: 25 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large bowl, measuring utensils
Servings: 6

The Chicken Salad we Crave

We go through phases where lunch feels like the most boring meal of the day. Same things, over and over… and nothing we're actually excited to eat.

This is what we make when we need to snap out of that.

Curry chicken salad is straightforward to mix and uses basic ingredients but the curry powder gives it just enough personality to make it feel different (in a good way). It’s creamy, a little sweet, a little savory, and one of those things you keep going back for “just one more bite” of.

It’s not only great for weekday lunches, but curry chicken salad is popular for special luncheons, too, like a bridal or baby showers. Take a container on your next picnic.

What makes ours special:

• Straightforward ingredients. You may already have most of the ingredients in your pantry and refrigerator.
• Healthier dressing. We've lightened up the dressing by replacing some of the mayonnaise with fat-free Greek yogurt. You won’t taste the difference. Try it in poppy seed dressing or from-scratch ranch dressing and see what you think.
• Lots of ways to serve it. Curry chicken salad is reliable for lunch or dinner; try it on a bed of greens or on a croissant or serve it as an appetizer in mini-phyllo cups. We love piling chicken salad into tomato cups: hollow out a large tomato and spoon in the chicken salad. It stands on its own, too; you don’t need to add anything.

What goes in

• Curry dressing: The creamy dressing is made with plain Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, curry powder, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper. We like that it’s straightforward to customize the dressing to reflect your tastes. Keep reading for ideas.
• Cooked chicken: Make it ahead or use rotisserie chicken. We always have roasted chicken breast in the fridge or freezer so that’s what we usually use for this salad. You can poach a couple of fresh or frozen chicken breasts. The chicken should be chilled before you add the dressing and other ingredients.
• Add-ins: Celery adds bright flavor and crisp texture; apples also add a crisp texture, along with sweetness. Raisins are chewy but become tender and plump as they absorb the dressing, and green onions add a nice savory contrast.

Cooking Tip

Curry powder is a spice blend and there are lots of different kinds. You’ll find curry powder in mild, medium, or hot strengths. Often the mild version is labeled as sweet curry; Madras curry is a spicy curry. Experiment with different blends and find the one you like best, or try from-scratch curry powder.

How it comes together

Mix the dressing. Add all of the dressing ingredients to a large bowl (you’ll be mixing the salad in there too!) and stir until smooth. We usually use a small whisk to blend our dressings; it’s great for getting all the little lumps out.

Assemble the salad. Add the chicken and the rest of the ingredients to the bowl. Gently fold the ingredients together until everything is well-coated with the dressing.

Serve or chill. You can serve the salad right away (it’s hard to resist!) or chill it for at least an hour to allow all the flavors to blend.

Ways to change it

• Try different fruit. Substitute sliced red or green grapes for the apple, or just add them as additional fruit in the salad. Use golden raisins or currants if that’s what you have. Dried cherries or chopped dried apricots are good options, too.
• Skip the yogurt. You can substitute all mayonnaise if you like, or use regular plain yogurt (not Greek). The dressing will have a thinner consistency if you use regular yogurt but it works just fine. We've done that plenty of times, and we often make the salad with all mayonnaise, too, especially if we're bringing the salad for a special occasion.
• Add nuts or eggs. We have nut allergies in our house but this salad is fantastic with toasted sliced almonds or cashews stirred in, or added as a garnish. If you like your salads with eggs, add a couple of chopped hard-boiled eggs.

Serving Ideas

Salad: Make your curry chicken salad into a green salad by serving it on a bed of crisp romaine, butter lettuce, or mixed greens.

Wrap: Many restaurants have chicken salad wraps on the menu but it’s so straightforward to mix your own. Soft tortillas and lavash work well for this; or tuck the salad into large lettuce leaves. Leaf lettuce, romaine, or Bibb lettuce work well for this.

Sandwich: Pile onto buttery croissants, sandwich bread, or English muffins for curry chicken salad sandwiches. If you’re eating them immediately, toast the bread first.

With crackers: Serve with crackers or pita chips for a speedy snack or lunch. It’s a great idea for lunchboxes or lunches on the go.

Stuff it: Fill hollowed out tomatoes, bell peppers, or cucumbers which have been sliced lengthwise with the seeds scooped out.

Keeping leftovers

Curry chicken salad keeps well in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Stir well before serving.

Curry chicken salad is a good lunchbox idea. Divide it into individual serving size containers and refrigerate. Pop one in your lunch bag and you can look forward to a great lunch.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #85. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list.

Browse Meal Plans

• Yield: 6
• Prep: 25 minutes
• Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced ( 2 ½ – 3 cups diced chicken)
• ½ cup finely diced celery ( 1 to 2 stalks)
• 1 cup diced apple ( 1 apple)
• ½ cup thinly sliced green onion ( 3 green onions)
• ¼ cup raisins (regular or golden)

Method

1. In a large bowl (large enough to hold all the salad ingredients), mix together the dressing ingredients: Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, curry powder, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine.
2. Add diced chicken, celery, apples, green onions, raisins; stir well to coat all ingredients with dressing.
3. The salad can be eaten immediately, but for best flavor and texture, refrigerate it for 1 hour or more.

Notes

Serving suggestions: Curry chicken salad can be served as is, or on lettuce, bread, croissants, in a wrap, or with crackers.

Dressing: If you prefer, you can replace the Greek yogurt with mayonnaise (¾ cup total). If you shred the chicken rather than dice it, you may need to make extra dressing since the chicken will absorb more of the dressing.

Spice level: We use McCormick curry powder which is mild. Some curry powders can be quite spicy but will be labeled as “Hot Curry Powder” or “Madras Curry Powder.”

Add nuts: If desired, add ½ cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted. If you’re including the almonds, stir them in immediately prior to serving, or sprinkle on top of each serving as a garnish.

Storage: Store leftovers in a covered container for 2 to 3 days. Stir well before serving.