Name: Healthy Chicken Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts; 12 cup water; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 1 cup celery, finely diced (This is a variable, use more or less if you choose); 1/2 cup onion, finely diced (You can use red, yellow or white here.); 2 cups grapes, halved (This is a variable, and optional. You choose. ); 1 cup nuts, chopped (I had sliced almonds in mine, but also love walnuts and pecans as well. ); 2/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt; 1/4 cup mayo (use any type you prefer.); 2 teaspoons dijon mustard (even if you don't think you like this mustard, it really is so good!); 1 teaspoon white vinegar; salt and pepper to taste

I love chicken salad, and always have. There is something about the flavor of combos, that always draws me. My OG version certainly wasn’t very healthy, so over the years I have changed it up a bit and will now share my Healthy Chicken Salad recipe which tastes really close to the original. This is the thing about my recipes, I really do want them to taste like the original, so have worked to create ones that will be pretty dang close!

Step 1-

Start with your chicken. You have several options here. I boiled mine, as I wanted the stock for another project. I wanted a good, rich stock, so I also used the bone in breast. Variations for this method could be, cooking it in the crockpot. Throw it in in the morning, set it on low for 8 hours, and walk away. When you get home from work it is ready to go. It can also be done in the pressure cooker. Add chicken and other ingredients to pot, turn on high pressure and set for 20 minutes. Allow it to release naturally and it is ready to go. Want an even simpler option? Grab a rotisserie on the way home!

Remember to start with plenty of liquid if you are boiling it in the pan. You want a reduction, but since the chicken needs to boil awhile, make sure it has plenty of liquid to do it in.

This is mine at the end of the boiling.See how much it has reduced?

Step 2-

Start chopping the rest of your veggies and fruits. This will be variables of course. If you aren’t in to any of these or want to add other, do it!

Celery, grapes and onions are always a must in my salad.

Step 3-

Debone and chop your chicken.

I leave mine in decent sized chunks. I like a little chew in mine, so want the bigger chunks. If you prefer smaller, do it!

Step 4-

Here is my power couple for creamy dressings. I don’t really like mayo, but always add a tablespoon or 2 just for added creaminess in dressings.

Nonfat Greek yogurt always take the majority of the base for a creamy dressing in my kitchen. It is healthy, low calorie and high in protein.

See how creamy and beautiful the dressing is!

Step 6

I also always add some type of nuts to my salad. This time it happened to be sliced almonds, as they were what I had on hand.

Place all ingredients in bowl.

Mix well. Honestly though, no on will ever know this is a healthy chicken salad.

That is it. It is really simple and easy to throw together. I always make a big batch too and use it as meal prep. This is easily 4 meals for me.

Serve this on it’s own or even with breads, crackers etc.

If you are looking for another salad to serve this healthy chicken salad with, how about these options…..Harvest Salad or a Thai Salad?

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Healthy Chicken Salad

This is a lightened up version of a classic chicken salad. Will anyone notice? No way.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken recipes, chicken salad, dressing that use greek yogurt, healthy chicken salad, healthy salad ideas, recipes using greek yogurt

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings servings

Author Amy- A Red Spatula

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts You can also use a whole chicken if you prefer. Or any other part of the chicken you might have a preference for. I used bone in chicken breast. Mine was about 2 1/2-3 cups all together.
12 cup water
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup celery, finely diced This is a variable, use more or less if you choose
1/2 cup onion, finely diced You can use red, yellow or white here.
2 cups grapes, halved This is a variable, and optional. You choose.
1 cup nuts, chopped I had sliced almonds in mine, but also love walnuts and pecans as well.
2/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayo use any type you prefer.
2 teaspoons dijon mustard even if you don't think you like this mustard, it really is so good!
1 teaspoon white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Add chicken, water, garlic and about 1 tablespoon salt to large pot. Bring to a boil and continue to boil over medium high heat until chicken is tender. Mine took about 45 minutes. Remove from stock and set on a plate to cool.
While it is cooling, start prepping veggies, fruits and making dressing.
To make the dressing, combine the Greek yogurt, mayo, mustard, vinegar. Then add salt and pepper to taste.
Once the chicken is cooled, pull from bones. Chop to size you want it.
Add all ingredients to bowl, top with dressing and mix well.
Serve immediately or store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
I love my salad on it's own, served with crackers or even as a sandwich with a heart whole grain bread.
Now, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it!