Curry-Spiced Chicken Salad

Chicken salad isn’t really something to get excited about. It can be pretty bland. I think I enjoyed it more when I was younger. These days, like a lot of people, I usually crave more bold and interesting flavors and textures.

I only tried curried chicken salad for the first time just a few short years ago and I immediately had to go home and try to replicate it! I mean, what a great way to breath some new life into a mainstay! This version of mine has evolved over time. It does maintain some of the classic chicken salad elements such as a creamy dressing, some crunch, some sweetness, but with a twist.

I keep a quart of this salad in my fridge for a quick, healthy lunch. I love it piled onto a bed of greens or on top a slice of hearty seedy bread!

Here’s what you need:

A traditional chicken salad dressing is mayo-forward, but for this recipe, I opted for greek yogurt. The tang from the yogurt is a perfect match for robust curry powder. I do keep on a little bit of mayo to make the dressing extra creamy and luscious. Whisk the dressing together in a bowl and set aside. The flavors will marry while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Here’s what you’ll need for the dressing:

How to make curried chicken salad:

Season the chicken well with salt on both sides and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165. Let the chicken rest for several minutes on the counter before chopping to redistribute the juices and keep it moist.

Once the chicken has rested, dice it into bite-sized pieces and toss it into a large bowl along with the almonds, carrots, scallions, raisins and cilantro. Pour in the dressing and give it a big stir.

This is one of the ‘longer it sits, better it gets’ scenarios. The flavors in the dressing are going to get absorbed by the chicken with time. So let it hang out in the fridge for an hour or so before diving in.

Keep your curry-spiced chicken salad refrigerated for up to 5 days. It makes a perfect lunch to bring to school or work because it is so filling and nutritious. Pile it into a wrap with some fresh cucumber and bell pepper or just do like I do and eat it straight out of the container!