My sister shared her favorite chicken salad recipe with me recently, and so I promptly adapted it, resulting in this Crunchy Curry Chicken Salad. My boys loved it, and I have to agree that the curry spice, in combination with all of the crunchy ingredients, made this salad a new favorite.
Don’t you love a good cruuuuuunnnchy salad? I do! You might have already seen my Crunchy Asian Cabbage Salad that I shared recently. The crunch in that one consists of lots of crunchy cabbage, (raw) ramen noodles, toasted almonds, and sunflower seeds. It’s a classic recipe and one that I’ve made numerous times.
For this Crunchy Curry Chicken Salad, the crunch is key.
- celery
- grapes
- pecans
I love the combo of this crunch. And then throw the curry spiced chicken and the creamy dressing in the mix, and you have a truly unique and tasty recipe.
To make the chicken, I sprinkled it with some curry powder, garlic powder, and onion powder – and grilled them to 160 degrees on an outdoor grill. You could also make the chicken indoors, using an indoor grill pan or baking it in the oven.
For the dressing, I used a combination of mayo and plain Greek yogurt. You could also do ALL mayo, or ALL yogurt, depending on how healthy you want it to be. I’m all about balance, which is why I used a combination.
It is definitely tricky trying to photograph food that isn’t all that pretty. The curry powder creates a tan/ugly yellow color to this salad, and it lacks all the pops of pretty color I love (like in my current obsession –> Mexican Quinoa Salad). So I just popped some parsley and additional toasted pecans on top, and started shooting.
Trust me folks, this Crunchy Curry Chicken Salad is SO good. Full of flavor and crunch, and you will surely be reaching for seconds.
Enjoy!
xoxo ~Sue
Make this salad next: Healthy Broccoli Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing
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Chicken Salad is everything with the curry seasoning plus the creamy dressing plus the crunch factor!
- 4 large chicken breasts, butterflied - or six cups of cooked chicken
- curry powder, onion powder, garlic powder - to taste for grilling
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste for grilling
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups celery - diced
- 1/2 cup green onion - diced
- 1/4 cup roasted red peppers - diced
- 1 1/2 cups red grapes - sliced in half
- 1 cup pecans - chopped and toasted
- 1 cup mayonnaise - I use one with olive oil
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large lemon - freshly squeezed
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
Heat an outdoor grill (or use indoor grill pan on stove top) to 325 degrees.
Butterfly chicken breasts. Season with curry powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Grill chicken until instant read thermometer reads 160 degrees. Remove from heat and let fully cool.
Chop cooled chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks. Add to large mixing bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients - the celery, green onion, roasted red peppers, grapes, and pecans. Toss.
In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, greek yogurt, curry powder, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and soy sauce.
Pour over the salad and mix well.
Refrigerate at least two hours before serving for best results. The flavors will absorb into the chicken breasts.
This is so much better than you realize. I get many positive compliments when I take it to house parties. If you’re reading this, you gotta’ try it.
It’s been awhile since I made this salad. Thanks for the reminder, and for the feedback, Jackie!
I love this for the taste, but it is a great go to when you want something different!