This Curry Chicken Salad is super clean and SO delicious. Loaded with spiced chicken, golden raisins, pistachios, herbs, and Greek yogurt + olive oil as a stand-in for mayo.
Goddess Curry Chicken Salad
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Having this for lunch today as part of #POYsugarfreeJanuary Seriously so delicious. I will be repeating this recipe many times
Marli
So… is it more or less goddess-y if it’s served on an everything bagel?
More, I think.
Guys, I am normally not big into cold creamy salads but wow. This is my season to shine with these retro-ish salads (looking at this classic chicken salad too). I think I sort of got on a kick when I revisited the egg salad (heyo, avocado egg salad!) after about a ten year boycott, and that has become my gateway into other cold creamy salads such as this lovely classic: Curry Chicken Salad.
Ingredients For This Recipe
Chicken
This recipe works best with chicken breasts, ideally thinly sliced if you want them to cook more quickly. You could also use pre-cooked shredded chicken if you’re short on time!
Spices
This uses a really simple mixture of curry powder, garlic powder, and onion power that you season right on the chicken.
Yogurt
Plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt is best here – super creamy, nice and tangy, and a hit of protein to boot.
Honey
I love the honey flavor in this, but any other liquid sweetener would also do the trick!
Golden Raisins
These are just the absolutely perfect pops of sweetness against the tangy yogurt and punchy spices. Definitely a don’t-miss!
Pistachios
These really make the texture sing with a little bit of crunch and nuttiness. Almonds would also work great here.
Fresh Herbs
Cilantro is my preference, or parsley works too. Just adds a little bit of green and a lot of flavor!
What Sets This Curry Chicken Salad Apart
This is not your ordinary curry chicken salad – it’s a GODDESS CURRY CHICKEN SALAD. Which basically just means I feel like the summer goddess of health and wellness when I eat this. Especially on an everything bagel. So, yes, my definitely of health and wellness goes a little bit outside the box sometimes.
This really isn’t all that different from a regular curry chicken salad, except no fruit – none of this apples or grapes or blueberries business – and no mayo. As you have seen from my love of Wild Rice Burgers, I have a healthy love and respect for good old fashioned mayonnaise. But if we’re getting into the summer goddess zone? Goodbye, mayo. Greek yogurt feels like such a basic stand-in, but that’s because it works. It’s good. It is thick, creamy, and the added tang is a welcome addition to this salad, IMHO.
Real Chicken Talk: THIS CHICKEN, you guys. I will never make another kind of chicken for salad toss-ins. I cut it in half horizontally, so the pieces were super thin, and then I loaded them with garlic powder, onion powder, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Sautéed in a little olive oil, and MWAH. Best quick chicken ever. I even let it get a little extra browned on the outside because I play by my own rules.
Also invited to this party are:
- Greek yogurt
- olive oil
- curry powder
- pistachios
- golden raisins
- parsley, cilantro, basil, whatever the heck herbs you want. and this idea just came to me: MINT. please someone add some mint.
Hit that up with some salt and pepper, and a little more curry powder to taste, and zing! You’ve got goddess curry chicken salad magic on your hands.
It’s practically a detox salad, except that dairy isn’t really detox, and chicken.. well, whatever. Close enough, right? It’s real food, clean eating, delicious summer love.
And you know if you give a summer goddess some curry chicken salad, she’s probably going to ask for an everything bagel. Just warning you.
Other Favorite Meal Prep Salads:
- Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad with Lemon Dressing
- Lentil Greek Salad with Dill Sauce
- Summer Quinoa Salad Jars with Lemon Dill Dressing
- Quinoa Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Cashew Crunch Salad with Sesame Dressing
- Super Yummy Chicken Salad
Check Out Our Video For How To Make Curry Chicken Salad:
Click here to see the step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!
Common Questions About Curry Chicken Salad
How can I make this vegan?
We would recommend the following substitutions to make this curry chicken salad vegan:
Replace the chicken with chickpeas.
Replace the Greek yogurt with vegan mayonnaise and omit the oil.
Replace the honey with agave syrup.
How can I make this dairy-free?
Use mayonnaise and omit the oil in the recipe.
How long will this keep in the fridge.
This should last about 3-4 days in a sealed container in the fridge.
How could I make this more like a classic chicken salad?
Try out this recipe – all the classic ingredients and flavors!
Goddess Curry Chicken Salad
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This Curry Chicken Salad is super clean and SO delicious. Loaded with spiced chicken, golden raisins, pistachios, herbs, and Greek yogurt + olive oil as a stand-in for mayo.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 lb. chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons curry powder (more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup pistachios
- 1/4 cup cilantro and/or parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the chicken: Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally so they are very thin. Sprinkle chicken with curry powder, garlic powder, and onion powder. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat with a drizzle of olive oil until golden brown and cooked through. When cooled, chop the chicken into small pieces and chill in the fridge.
- Assemble your Curry Chicken Salad: Once the chicken is cool enough, mix in a medium bowl with all remaining ingredients. Season to taste with more curry powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and (obvi) salt and pepper. Serve over greens, on a croissant, on toast, in a wrap, or my personal favorite: on an everything bagel.
Equipment
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- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Thai-Inspired
Keywords: curry chicken salad, chicken salad, lunch recipe, lunch meal prep, chicken salad no fruit, everything bagel, chicken salad sandwich
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our best healthy spring recipes page. Check it out!
Filed Under: All Recipes Gluten-Free Healthy Lunch Meat and Chicken Quick and Easy Recipes Salads Spring Stovetop Sugar-Free
May 28, 2020
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
Did you make a recipe? Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram so we can find you!
Duuuude!! Seriously yum looking – yes to Goddess food!
Rebecca
xx
http://www.peppermintdolly.com
What a yummy summer salad.
PS: YES to putting everything on everything bagel 🙂
Lemme tell ya, I’m feeling a little less than a goddess lately, I feel more like frump woman, but I still like the salad. And I will be that person who will add the mint…it’s an intrusive herb and took over my whole side yard!
Do you think this would work with tuna? maybe a bit too weird? I don’t eat chicken but this sounds really good.
Also a non-chicken eater, has anyone tried with a vegan chicken substitute?
I bet it would be good with chickpeas!
My neighbor makes a curried chickpea salad a lot like this, so I can attest that yes, chickpeas would be great in this. I’m not a vegan, . She said the dressing is a variation on cashew ranch, it’s easy to find recipes for that and just switch up the seasoning. So the whole thing can be completely vegan and still delicious.
Probably be nice with tempeh.
Oooooo, maybe a mix of tuna and chickpeas?
I love curried tuna salad but I don’t use dairy in it. Mayo or vinaigrette made with orange juice.
This looks absolutely fantastic. I love the curry flavor so it is definitely my kind of chicken salad. I love the addition of little micro greens. Looks so fancy 🙂
Goddessy Indeed! and I will definitely use the mint!
OMG! I can’t wait to try this. Looks great!
Oh man, this brings me back to college. Our favorite weekend brunch place (aka the hangover cure station) served up these AMAZING tarragon chicken salad bagel sandwiches. With sprouts. These look amazing as well, cannot wait to try them!
Yum! This looks delicious. One can never have too many chicken salad recipes. I look forward to trying this one out, love curry chicken salad.
I thoroughly enjoyed the “give a mouse a cookie” reference at the end there…”if you give a summer goddess some curry chicken salad…” hahaha! 🐭🍪🥛
Haha and my mind went to “if you give a dog a doughnut”!
Is there a reason that you are no longer displaying the nutritional analysis with your recipes?
Now I see it – I guess I didn’t wait long enough for it to load 🙄
That chicken looks so dang tasty!
Made it yesterday. Healthy and delish! Will definitely be making it again.
I’ve been loving chicken salad lately, and this one sounds AMAZING! (:
Just made this yesterday! Seldom do I pull the trigger on something I see when I first check email in the morning, but this recipe did the trick. What I particularly enjoyed was imparting the curry flavor onto the chicken before cooking instead of relying on sprinkling the curry powder on top later. The resulting flavor was richer. My children are not curried salad fans, but this was a way for me to get the flavor profile I wanted to eat without sacrificing for the kids–yet again. And, my girls ate it with enthusiasm! This recipe goes into “Make Again” folder. Thanks. Eva
Everyone please stop saying how great recipes look or how you are drooling. duh!! What we really want to know is have you made it and any suggestions or advice. I could care less if you are in the mood or craving this lately.
just posted a comment on my experience making the recipe!
I agree, could those who have MADE the recipe post reviews, not those that “wanna make it”? “Looks so good” or “definitely going to make this” doesn’t give anyone any information.
Hi! I love your recipes, Thanks for sharing this post I appreciate your great effort in bringing all the tips together in the single post. Wish you all the best.
Not gonna lie I couldn’t agree more, I wanna know your thoughts to help me decide if it should pull the trigger and make it 🙂
That is SOO good! I usually turn left over tandoori chicken to a quick sandwich, but your version is tempting.
I’ve followed your blog for quite a while and I always love your posts and recipes! Can you please make a recipe for napa chicken salad?? It’s on of my favorites for sandwiches 🙂 thank you!! Xoxo
Definitely going to try this.
Delicious! We added cayenne, some diced jalapenos, and chives. Even my “yuck, Greek yogurt” husband loved it.
YUM! Loving all the flavors going on in this curry chicken salad, Lindsay! And the everything bagel definitely makes it more goddess-y.
Amazing recipe. i tried it and it went so good. Hope to make it more better soon.
+Bagel definitely = more goddess-y!
I love curry salad sandwiches! Also, I know its a different post, but I LOVE your new ink;)
It looks good! I’ve never tried raisins in my chicken salad.
I love healthy takes on chicken salad, thanks for this cool and unique recipe!