Curried Chicken Salad
I can feel it coming in the air toniiiiiight, oh lord. The humidity. The send-your-hair-into-kinks-and-fuzz-you’ve-never-before-seen-the-likes-of airborne dampness. This means that I have officially made the switch to iced coffee. And for lunch I am thinking of ways to keep cool and crisp as a piece of celery standing upright in a glass of water. It is not hot, and I do not mean to sound as if I’m complaining. It’s just that I’m a bit of a wilter. Not because I am in possession of a delicate constitution, but because I’m a hot-blooded American woman.
That said, earthy and ethereal girls alike can partake in what I think is one of the most elegant, ladylike things one can eat for a weekday lunch: chicken salad. I suppose that’s why I have written before about a tarragon chicken salad and a provençal chicken salad. And indeed, the chicken salad parade marches on, now with a kicky curried version sweet with red grapes, snappy with red onion, and oh, it is just divine. I even fooled my mayonnaise-loving husband into thinking this was a terribly unhealthy dinner. Only the truth is that there’s just a bit of mayonnaise to temper the tang of Greek yogurt. This is exactly the sort of quick, super simple recipe I could see myself making every two weeks and keeping in the fridge. In other words, I see this becoming a trusty standby.
Curried Chicken Salad
Serves 4
I would recommend adding the curry powder to taste, as different varieties can really run the gamut in terms of heat. The tablespoon I recommend below might be too much for you; in this case, it provided quite a nice kick.
3 cups leftover roast chicken, chopped
1/2 medium red onion, diced (1/2 cup)
6 ounces nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 cup halved red grapes
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
In a large bowl, stir together yogurt, mayonnaise, and curry powder (add a teaspoon at a time and taste to your desired level of heat). Fold in the chicken, onion, grapes and cilantro; season with salt and pepper. Serve over greens dressed lightly with lemon juice and olive oil. Bonus: this gets better after a day of two of sitting in the fridge.
Meghan: oh, yum! you’re right — chicken salad is perfect for those wilty summer days (spring? hello? how did i miss you this year?), especially here in the south. and i REALLY love the low-mayo version! in fact, i might try it with no mayo, since it’s my archenemy. i have a curried chicken salad recipe that has coconut and toasted almonds, and uses cream cheese instead of mayo, but that’s a tad bit too heavy now that the temps are already hitting 90. i’m adding yours to my dinner plan for next week.1 year ago
Sara Rose: Doesn’t Martha make curried deviled eggs and chcken salad too? Either sounds divine right now. I’m not a wilter in the heat, but against cold? Gawd, someone pour me the largest, hottest mug of boozy cocoa EVER.1 year ago
Karen: This sounds divine — can’t wait to try it out myself! I love that it has mostly greek yogurt instead of a ton of mayo — so much more refreshing I think!1 year ago
Anne: I am not a chicken salad fan because of all that mayo. But with little or none, I can see myself becoming accustomed to it. Will try soon.1 year ago
Cadi: I too am a bit of a wilter in the face of heat – and I’m glad I’m not alone because sometimes I feel silly! This chicken salad sounds wonderful and I do love the low mayo aspect. Now, if only spring would, well, SPRING here in Northern California (it was 50 degrees today and 45 degrees and poring yesterday)… I’m saving this for my first balmy ‘I’m-so-not-cooking’ wilty evening. Thanks Sara!1 year ago
Kerry: I’m always looking for new ways to make chicken salad. I love that you used Greek yogurt. It’s so healthy and a great substitute for the mayo. Thanks!1 year ago
Jackie: I love the idea of using Greek yogurt in place of most of the mayo. It’s getting warmer here, too – will be good to have a cool-off dish soon.1 year ago
Sasa: I MADE mayonnaise yesterday and guess where the rest of it’s going? I shall look sophisticated at lunch even if I *don’t* like wine. Hell, maybe I’ll even pour myself a glass of champers.1 year ago
Christine S.: Oh, mmm-yummy, yummy! That sounds delicious – and I think I’ll try it too without the mayo (since the lowering-the-cholesterol-diet prohibits the use of it). This sounds like something my kids will eat too!1 year ago
Kim: Oooh, that looks delicious and so easy! I’ve never been one for fruit with my meat, do you think I could sub out the grapes for a vegetable of some sort, perhaps grape tomatoes? Or celery?1 year ago
molly: I am SO a wilter. New to the humidity, but hoo-boy, does Ohio have it in spades. This, however, sounds like a fine “so there!”. I dare say I see a few batches coming as summer gets going…1 year ago
Christine H.: What a delicious recipe! I made my own version with what I had lying around the kitchen (dried cranberries, green onions, pecans & added some dashes of paprika & ground red pepper for an extra kick) and it was perfect. I’m a great lover of chicken salad and making it with greek yogurt is the perfect solution for a healthier meal. This is definitely a new standby recipe for me.1 year ago
Shivi: What can I use instead of mayonaise(I don’t like the taste)? Just more of the youghurt?1 year ago
Shivi, I’d just use all yogurt then. Should still be delicious.1 year ago