Curry Chicken Salad
Give your lunch a delicious upgrade with this Curry Chicken Salad! It’s fresh and creamy with the warm flavor of curry, sweet golden raisins and buttery cashews. Enjoy it in a sandwich or in lettuce wraps for the perfect low carb meal!
I get into lunch ruts all the time. Typically I’ll just eat a piece of peanut butter toast with banana, but when I’m on my game I’ll prep my Greek quinoa salad or egg salad to enjoy during the week.
This Curry Chicken Salad is another favorite, and it was inspired by one of our favorite lunch spots. I’d been making this vegan coleslaw with creamy curry dressing for years, and have no idea why I didn’t get the idea to incorporate these flavors into chicken salad!Â
While my Sonoma chicken salad and tarragon chicken salad recipes are delicious, the curry flavor makes this recipe extra special. This is hands down my favorite!
If you love the chicken curry combination as much as I do, be sure to try my pumpkin curry and Instant Pot chickpea curry recipes for dinner!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Tender chunks of chicken breast are combined with crisp celery, chives, sweet golden raisins, buttery cashews and a creamy curry dressing for one unforgettable chicken salad!
- It’s quick and easy — the entire recipe can be prepped in about 15 minutes using leftover or rotisserie chicken.
- The curry chicken salad lasts about five days in the fridge, making it a great meal prep recipe.
- It’s versatile. Enjoy it in a lettuce wrap, atop a salad, in a sandwich, or in a tortilla!
Recipe ingredients
This curry chicken salad recipe comes together with basic ingredients that I almost always have on hand. It’s easy to swap out an ingredient here or there to suit your needs as outlined below.
Ingredient notes
- Chicken: This recipe comes together quickly with leftover baked, poached or grilled chicken. I often prep a batch of my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken when I’m planning to make chicken salad. Pro tip: Use rotisserie chicken to save time!
- Mayonnaise: I used Vegenaise (vegan mayo) as I prefer its flavor, but you can use whatever you have on hand. If you’re not a fan of mayo, plain Greek yogurt would be a great substitute.
- Veggies. I added crunchy celery and chives for texture and freshness, but you can substitute them with grated carrot, bell pepper or green onion.
- Curry powder. A little goes a long way, so I used just 1/2 teaspoon for mild curry flavor. Add more if desired!
- Cashews: The roasted cashews may be substituted with walnuts or almonds.
- Golden raisins. The flavor of golden raisins really compliments the curry flavor, but feel free to substitute with your favorite dried fruit or even fresh fruit such as apples or grapes!
- Lime. Fresh lime juice pairs very well with the curry powder and adds acidity to the dressing. Feel free to substitute with white or apple cider vinegar.
How to make this recipe
This is a super simple chicken salad recipe! It comes together in just 15 minutes with minimal ingredients.
Pro tip: Use leftover or rotisserie chicken to save time!
- Place the chicken, celery, chives, golden raisins, and cashews in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo (regular or vegan), lime juice, honey, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture, and stir gently to combine.
Recipe FAQs
You can bake, poach, grill or use store-bought rotisserie chicken. You can also prepare Instant Pot shredded chicken or use leftover roast chicken. Once cooled, simply shred with two forks or chop.
Curry powder is a wonderful addition to chicken salad, and is a great way to change it up! Simply add curry powder to mayonnaise with lime juice, honey and salt and pepper for a delicious new twist.
When stored in an airtight container in the fridge, this shredded chicken salad will last 3-5 days.
How to serve this recipe
Curry chicken salad is so versatile, and may be served a number of ways. Some of my favorites include the following:
- Serve as a sandwich on your favorite bread with your favorite veggies.
- Add to cool, crisp lettuce wraps for a low carb lunch or dinner.
- Serve atop your favorite greens or salad for a light spring and summer meal.
- Round out the meal with a side of crispy smashed potatoes or roasted green beans.
Recipe notes
- Total time does not include cooking the chicken. This recipe comes together quickly with leftover baked, poached or grilled chicken. I often prep a batch of my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken when I’m planning to make chicken salad. Pro tip: Use rotisserie chicken to save time!
- A little curry powder goes a long way, so I used just 1/2 teaspoon for mild curry flavor. Add more if desired!
- Serve as a sandwich, in lettuce wraps or atop a salad for the perfect meal prep lunch!
- Store leftover curry chicken salad in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
More easy chicken salad recipes:
Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram
Curry Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb. cooked chicken breast chopped (about 2 medium chicken breasts)
- 1 large stalk celery trimmed, halved and chopped
- 1/2 cup roasted cashew pieces almonds or walnuts are a great substitute
- 1/3 cup golden raisins or substitute with your favorite dried or fresh fruit such as apples or grapes
- 1/3 cup chopped chives or use 1 large green onion
Dressing:
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise I use Vegenaise but use your favorite! You may also substitute with Greek yogurt.
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice may be substituted with white or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey or your favorite sweetner
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Place the chicken, celery, golden raisins, chives and cashews in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, lime juice, honey, curry powder, salt and pepper until combined, then add to the chicken mixture and stir gently to combine. Serve on your favorite bread, in lettuce wraps, or atop a salad!
Notes
- Total time does not include cooking the chicken. This recipe comes together quickly with leftover baked, poached or grilled chicken. I often prep a batch of my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken when I’m planning to make chicken salad. Pro tip: Use rotisserie chicken to save time!
- A little curry powder goes a long way, so I used just 1/2 teaspoon for mild curry flavor. Add more if desired!
- Serve as a sandwich, in lettuce wraps or atop a salad for the perfect meal prep lunch!
- Store leftover curry chicken salad in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
8 Comments on “Curry Chicken Salad”
I just enjoyed a similar curry chicken salad from a local publix market in martinez, ga. It had dried apricots and dates chopped fine, and red onions. It was delish! Just a smidge of spice and the perfect curry flavor. Not too sweet, just right. Thank you for your recipe. I’ve made chicken curry salad adding chopped p-nuts with success. It’s so versatile.
The apricots and dates sound wonderful — I will have to try that some time! Thanks Catherine!
We all love curry in my family so this would be a perfect summer lunch idea! 🙂
Sounds like you would love it! Curry has totally grown on me.
You know, I’ve never been a curry fan until the past few years. It’s very subtle in this dressing and you just kind of wonder what that flavor is. You can always decrease the amount of curry powder to 1/4 teaspoon and see what you think. He may not even know it’s in there!
Sounds like it’s right up your alley. You can add more curry powder if you want to pump up the flavor for your husband!
I love a good chicken salad – it’s always fun to switch up the flavors. This version sounds delicious! I’ve never made one like this – I’m going to have to give it a try! We love having it for a quick lunch.
The funny thing is that I’ve never been a big fan of curry until the past few years. It tastes great with all of these flavors.