Curried Chicken Salad
Bold, creamy, and bursting with sweet-and-savory goodness, this Chicken Curry Salad is anything but ordinary! Featuring juicy chicken, crunchy cashews, sweet raisins, crisp celery, and tart apples—all tossed in a silky, golden curry-spiced dressing, it's the kind of chicken salad recipe that's perfect for everything from wraps and sandwiches to picnic celebrations. Best of all, you'll need just 15 minutes to make it!
Equipment
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl (for making chicken salad curry)
- 1 Whisk (for making salad dressing)
Ingredients
Curried Salad Dressing
- 1/3 to 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise – to taste (I use Dukes)
- ¼ Cup Greek Yogurt
- 2 tsp Fresh Lime Juice (substitute: Lemon Juice)
- 1-2 tsp Honey – to taste
- 1 tsp Curry Powder
- ¼ tsp EACH: Turmeric and Ground Ginger
- to taste Kosher Salt, Ground Black Pepper, and Optional Spices (SEE NOTES)
Chicken Salad
- 1 pound Cooked Chicken – shredded or medium dice (about 3 cups of cooked chicken or 2 breasts)
- 1 medium Granny Smith Apple – cored and small dice
- 2 ribs Celery – small dice (heaping ½ cup)
- 2 large Scallions – thinly sliced: white and green parts (1/3 cup)
- ½ to ¾ Cup Salted Roasted Cashews – roughly chop; to taste (sub: toasted almonds)
- 1/3 Cup Raisins – or more to taste (sub: dried apricots)
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro or Dill – more or less to taste; Optional
Instructions
- Make the Curry Salad Dressing: To a large bowl, add 1/3 cup of mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, lime juice, 1 tsp honey, curry powder, turmeric, and ginger, along with the cumin, cayenne, and celery salt, if using. Season with ¾ teaspoon of salt and a scant ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper. Then grab a whisk and vigorously stir until the ingredients are well combined.
- Toss Chicken Salad: To the bowl with the curry dressing, add the cooked chicken, apples, celery, scallions, ½ cup of cashews, and raisins, along with the fresh herbs, if using. Toss well until all the ingredients are thoroughly coated in the dressing.
- Chill – Optional but Recommended: Cover the bowl of curry chicken salad with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator. For the best flavor, allow the chicken salad to chill for at least 1 hour so the flavors have a chance to marry and meld.
- Taste and Adjust Chicken Salad: Uncover the curry chicken salad and add the remaining ¼ cup of cashews, if using. Then taste the chicken salad and adjust to suit your personal taste, adding more mayonnaise for creaminess, honey for sweetness, lemon juice for acidity, seasonings for flavor, and herbs for freshness.
- Serve or Store Curried Chicken Salad: Serve curry chicken salad with crackers, stuffed into lettuce wraps, in your favorite pita pockets, or between slices your favorite sandwich bread. Alternately, you can store the chicken salad in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Notes
- Optional Seasonings: For the most robust flavored curry salad, I do recommend using the following optional spices:
- ¼ tsp Ground Cumin – or more to taste
- 1/8 - 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper – to taste
- 1/8 tsp Celery Salt – or more to taste
- Servings: 4-6
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Need to Scale the Recipe? Hover your mouse over the number of servings in the recipe card. You'll see a sliding scale pop up, you can use that to scale the recipe up or down as needed.
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Got questions? I've got answers! If you ever run into an issue, have a question, or need any clarification - please feel free to drop them in the comments section. I'm happy to help when I can!
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and the nutrition facts are an estimate based upon 6 servings. Exact information will depend upon the brands of ingredients and precise measurements used.
Nutrition
Calories: 274kcal Carbohydrates: 18g Protein: 27g Fat: 11g Saturated Fat: 2g Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g Monounsaturated Fat: 5g Trans Fat: 0.01g Cholesterol: 67mg Sodium: 250mg Potassium: 438mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 6g Vitamin A: 188IU Vitamin C: 4mg Calcium: 44mg Iron: 2mg