I was definitely slow to get on the curry bandwagon. In fact, I distinctly remember not liking curry spices for the first 20 years of my life. Luckily, people grow and change over time and I eventually came around to curry (thanks to recipes like quick curried chickpeas!). Now I just want to put curry in everything, like this Curry Chicken Salad!
Out of all of the recipes I’ve made with curry spices, this Curry Chicken Salad might just be my favorite. Something about the curry with the creamy mayo/yogurt dressing is just perfect! Not to mention the subtle sweetness of the raisins to balance the earthy spices and ALL THAT CRUNCH. …Mmmm.
Chicken salad is never really “cheap”, but when you get your chicken on sale, it approaches affordable. And then when you consider the fact that you can sometimes pay $10/lb. for pre-made chicken salad at the deli, this is actually quite a steal. So, even if you have to save this for a special occasion, bookmark this recipe because you won’t be sorry you did!
Mayo-Yogurt Combo Magic
I chose to use both mayonnaise and yogurt in the dressing for this Curry Chicken Salad because they each have their own unique flavor qualities that they bring to the party. Yogurt is light and tangy and is a classic pairing with curry spices, while mayonnaise offers a deep creaminess. If you need to you, you can just use yogurt or just use mayonnaise, but I’m telling you that the combination fo the two is magic. ;)
Can I Use Rotisserie Chicken for this Curry Chicken Salad?
Absolutely. If you don’t want to go through the process of cooking your own chicken breast or happen to have leftover rotisserie chicken, go ahead and chop it up and use it in this recipe. You’ll probably want about 3 cups of chopped chicken for this recipe.
Love chicken salad? You might also like Chicken Salad with Apples or Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Salad.
Curry Chicken Salad
Servings 4 1 cup eachIngredients
DRESSING
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise ($0.41)
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt ($0.19)
- 1 tsp lemon juice ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp honey ($0.02)
- 1 tsp curry powder ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
SALAD
- 2.5 cups chopped cooked chicken* ( $2.95)
- Pinch salt & pepper ($0.05)
- 2 stalks celery ($0.34)
- 3 whole green onions ($0.12)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds ($0.87)
- 1/2 cup raisins ($0.57)
Instructions
- Make the dressing by stirring together the mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, honey, curry powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Taste the dressing and adjust the curry powder or salt if needed.
- Season both sides of the chicken breasts with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook the chicken breast in either a countertop grill or in a skillet until cooked through. Allow the cooked chicken breast to cool while you prepare the rest of the salad.
- Finely dice the celery and slice the green onions. Place the green onion, celery, sliced almonds, and raisins in a large bowl.
- Chop the chicken into small cubes and place them in the bowl with the celery, onion, almonds, and raisins. Stir to combine. Pour the dressing over top and stir to coat.
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Notes
Nutrition
Video
How to Make Curry Chicken Salad – Step By Step Photos
To make the dressing for the Curry Chicken Salad, combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp honey, 1 tsp curry powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper.
Stir the dressing together, give it a taste, and adjust the salt, honey, or curry powder if needed (every brand of curry powder is a bit different, so you may prefer more or less). Refrigerate the dressing until you’re ready for it.
You’ll need about 2.5 cups chopped cooked chicken, which for me was two chicken breasts, or about 1.5 lbs. when raw.
Season the chicken with a pinch of salt and pepper, then cook it using a grill or in a skillet. I used a grill pate that fits on top of my range top, but you can also use something like a George Foreman Grill, or a cast iron skillet. Another easy option is to use a store bought rotisserie chicken.
Allow the chicken to cool while you prepare the rest of the salad, then chop it into small pieces.
While the chicken is cooling, you can prepare the rest of the salad. Finely dice 2 ribs of celery and slice 3 green onions.
Add the chopped chicken, diced celery, sliced green onions, 1/2 cup sliced almonds, and 1/2 cup raisins to a large bowl (I used golden raisins).
Add the prepared curry dressing…
Then stir until everything is coated in dressing. And then it’s ready to eat! I ate a bunch just by itself with a fork, but it would also be good with crackers or stuffed into a pita.
I just made this to eat for lunches during our extended heat wave (90+ days all week) and it was so tasty! I made the dressing as written, and used grapes and chickpeas instead of raisins and chicken since that’s what I had on hand. 1 can of chickpeas seemed just about right for this recipe. It’s delicious and I already can’t wait for lunch tomorrow!
I love this recipe and make it often! But I add WAY more curry powder than what’s suggested– probably close to 4 TBS.
Can I substitute sour cream for the yogurt?
I haven’t tried that, so I’m not sure how much it will affect the flavor.
I made this the first time exactly as written and it was AMAZING. Then I made it with chickpeas instead of chicken for a meatless version and it was equally AMAZING.
Oh my goodness, this was perfect! It is so hot and this was a cool and great way to use some grilled chicken from last night’s dinner. I had to improvise with substituting red pepper for celery, grapes for raisins, pistachios for almonds and threw in a few dried cranberries I had lying around. Served on a bed of (cold) lettuce this was amazing! This is going into my meal prep rotation when school resumes in the fall. Thank you!!!
This is probably one of the best things I’ve ever made. If you are reading this, please do yourself a favor and make it! This is perfect for the summer weather and easy to take on picnics as a wrap.
DELICIOUS and so quick to make. We were short on time so we bought and used pre-cooked chicken. The whole dish takes less than 15 minutes to make. We liked it so much that I made it twice in the past 4 days. We plan on taking some to the beach with us this weekend.
Would canned chicken work in this recipe? Fresh chicken is so expensive now.
Yes you could swap canned chicken.
This is so good. I’ve made it twice in the past two weeks. I’m a vegetarian—today I made it with a chicken substitute; last week I made it with mashed chickpeas. The chickpea version was my favorite. The only other change I made was I used fresh, chopped grapes rather than raisins. Such a yummy recipe. Thank you.
Hi! Does this recipe make good leftovers/meal prep? Or does it get watery? Thanks!
It sure does Beck! Check it out here https://www.budgetbytes.com/curry-chicken-salad-meal-prep/
Beth this is an absolute treasure, I will always make this recipe. I followed it exactly. Good job young lady!
This is great! If you were to add pasta to this, what would you add? Many thanks.
I would probably add something small, like shells or orzo.
Ok to sub in greek yogurt?
I personally don’t like Greek yogurt as a substitute for mayo in most cases, so I wouldn’t suggest it, but I think it’s jut a matter of personal preference. Technically speaking, it will work.
I think he was using greek yogurt instead of regular and still using the mayo! Thanks for adding the serving size adjuster, I had asked about this years ago.
Oh, of course! Oops. :) Greek yogurt will work, but the mixture will just be thicker.
This is delicious! I just made it while meal prepping for this week’s lunch. I couldn’t resist taking a bite…or two ;)
Came out fabulous. Just needs a little more…everything!