When it comes to chicken salad, many people automatically think of the classic dish made with mayo.
However, there are other ways to make this popular dish, including one that omits the mayonnaise altogether.
The result is this delicious yogurt chicken salad recipe that I know you will love! It’s perfect for a quick and healthy lunch or dinner.
HOW TO MAKE YOGURT CHICKEN SALAD
Making the dressing
We’re gonna start by making the dressing for the chicken salad. Most chicken salads use mayonnaise for making the dressing.
So what I will do today is make it with yogurt instead of mayo, and you’ll see that once you add the Dijon mustard, the lemon juice, a few herbs, and seasoning, it comes out so good, and you really can’t tell the difference between the mayo and the yogurt.
My favourite yogurt is Stonyfield Organic yogurt. It’s made with billions of probiotics and what I’ve learned is not all probiotics are created equal, so you want something that is well researched and good for your gut, and this is my favourite.
I use it for myself and my family for snacking, baking, cooking, and all kinds of recipes. So the recipe will start with half a cup of Stonyfield Organic yogurt, and we’re gonna add one teaspoon of Dijon mustard.
Next, you’ll need two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and we’re just gonna season it with some salt and pepper; I like to use some fresh herbs here.
Dill works really well in a chicken salad, but you can also use cilantro, parsley, basil or any dried herbs as well.
I’m gonna use a whisk to whisk it all together, and it starts out looking kinda chunky and separated.
Still, you’ll see just after a little bit of whisking, it comes together beautifully and using yogurt is my little hack in making creamy dressings either just switching out a little part of the dressing for yogurt or the whole thing for yogurt.
Most of the time, people can’t even tell.
Adding the chicken
Okay, now add two and a half cups of cubed chicken.
You can use any kinda chicken you want. You can use rotisserie chicken, or you can boil some chicken breasts and add it to it. Any kinda chicken works well here.
I like to cube it small because it works out well in this chicken salad, but you can also just shred it.
So I’m gonna use my baby spoon to mix everything.
At this point, I like to taste it to make sure that the salt, pepper and lemon juice situation is just perfect.
Adding in vegetables and fruits
At this point, you can add any vegetables or fruits to this chicken salad.
What’s really popular is to add celery and grapes or apple so I’m gonna do a little combination of those.
We have a nice green apple right here and I’m also gonna use some green onions and celery.
So let’s go ahead and chop up everything. I’m gonna use half an apple. You can use a regular apple.
I like the green ’cause all the other vegetables are also green as well so it works out really well. Plus, my shirt is green so we went with that.
All right, let’s add all those apples on top of the salad.
The apples give it such a beautiful crisp and nice color and texture so I really love adding apples but you can definitely keep it more traditional and add grapes and you can also just keep it all vegetables and use carrots or peppers instead.
Next, let’s do a couple celery stalks.
I like to cut ’em in half just to keep everything nice and small and then just finely dice them. Finally, green onions.
Okay, now we just mix everything together and the chicken salad is pretty much done.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS CHICKEN SALAD WITH APPLES AND CELERY
This healthy chicken salad is a great way to get your daily dose of protein and vegetables.
The chicken is a lean source of protein, and the vegetables provide essential vitamins and minerals.
The salad is also low in calories and fat, making it a healthy option for weight loss or maintenance.
Additionally, the salad is easy to make and can be stored in the fridge for up to four days. This makes it a convenient option for busy weeknights or on-the-go lunches.
With so many great benefits, it’s no wonder we love this healthy chicken salad!
Serving the chicken salad
What I like to do is serve it in a big bowl like this with some butter lettuce on the side so you can take a nice piece of lettuce, scoop some of the chicken salad in there and it makes for a wonderful appetizer.
You can also just use some sandwich bread and make good old-fashioned chicken salad sandwiches with the bread.
For now, though, I’m gonna make it into kinda like an appetizer situation and put it on a nice big plate like this, and I’ll show you how I like to serve it.
Take an ice cream scoop just to be fancy. You can just use a regular spoon. Pop it in like this and then place it on the plate.
I like to use an ice cream scoop because just an easier way to measure that everything is about a fourth of a cup and it makes beautiful little mounds of the chicken salad right inside the butter lettuce like this. Look how creamy and gorgeous this looks.
And then, any time I’m assembling these, I always sneak in one of these tiny little ones for myself to give it a taste. Let’s see how it tastes.
That is so good. You guys are gonna love this recipe. It is so perfect for the summertime.
Perfect to make all year round and I hope you try it and enjoy it.
TIPS FOR MAKING CHICKEN SALAD WITHOUT MAYO
For many people, chicken salad is synonymous with mayonnaise.
However, it is possible to make a delicious chicken salad without using this high-fat ingredient.
One way to do this is to substitute Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise. This will give the salad a similar creamy texture without all the extra calories.
You can also add in some chopped fruit, such as grapes or apples, for sweetness and crunch. The possibilities are endless, so get creative and enjoy!
Finally, be sure to use plenty of herbs and spices to give the salad plenty of flavor. With a few simple substitutions, you can enjoy a healthy and delicious chicken salad that doesn’t rely on mayonnaise for flavor.
PrintYogurt Chicken Salad Without Mayo
- Total Time: 10 minutes
Description
This creamy chicken salad is so good. It’s made with no mayonnaise whatsoever. I use yogurt instead of mayo and it comes out creamy, dreamy and absolutely delicious.
Ingredients
½ cup plain whole milk Stonyfield yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 ½ cups diced chicken breast
½ cup finely chopped green apple
¼ cup finely chopped celery
¼ cup finely chopped green onion both light and dark green parts
8 butter lettuce cups or 8 slices of whole wheat bread for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, lemon juice, dill, dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper. Fold in the diced chicken, apple, celery, and green onions. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To serve, scoop a ¼ – ½ cup of the chicken salad into the center of a lettuce cup or spread on top of a slice of bread.
Notes
Tip: Make this chicken apple salad recipe at least an hour in advance to give the flavors time to meld.
- Prep Time: 10
- Category: Salads
Nutrition
- Calories: 90
- Sugar: 2
- Sodium: 196
- Fat: 2
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 3
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 14
- Cholesterol: 39