A few weeks ago, my sister in law had her bridal shower where they served the most AMAZING chicken salad. Truth be told, I’ve never been a fan of chicken salad as I found it too full of mayo for my own liking (don’t tell Abra), and I was never a fan of the grapes either.
After getting a taste of chicken salad at the party for the first time in many years, I kept thinking about how delicious it was and knew my own chicken salad recipe needed to happen! But of course, not just any chicken salad — this one was going to be a little bit more healthy than the traditional version, packed with unique spices and tons of flavor!
What’s in this greek yogurt chicken salad?
This greek yogurt chicken salad recipe is made fresh, minimal ingredients and packed with protein thanks to plain greek yogurt. There’s also dried cherries, crunchy pecans and of course, cilantro! You can feel free to mix and match ingredients as you so choose, but personally I really love the recipe as is. It’s a great way to use up grilled chicken or even extra roasted shredded chicken. Here’s everything you’ll need to make this healthy chicken salad recipe:
- cooked, diced chicken breast (or sub shredded chicken)
- plain greek yogurt
- tahini (optional, but I love the addition of it!)
- dijon mustard
- spices like cinnamon, turmeric and cumin (and cayenne if you want a hint of spice)
- fresh ground black pepper
- dried cherries (or sub cranberries)
- green onion
- parsley
- cilantro
- pecans or toasted almonds
How to make healthy chicken salad
This healthy chicken salad recipe is incredibly easy to make — all you’ll need to do is combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well combined. It’s a great way to get in a good amount of protein for an easy to make lunch. You can also double the recipes and bring it to potlucks, bbqs and picnics!
How to store chicken salad
This healthy greek yogurt chicken salad should last 3-5 days in the fridge. After you make it, just be sure to cover it and place in an airtight container. Once ready to serve, simply place in lettuce cups, on a bun or in a sandwich! Yum.
I hope you love this healthy chicken salad as much as Abra and I did. Feel free to serve it with chips for dipping, or bring it to your next bbq and watch guests go crazy for the unique Moroccan flavors. Best part is: no one can tell it’s healthy and in my opinion, that there’s no excess mayo involved (just protein packed greek yogurt!). Enjoy.
See how to make this greek yogurt chicken salad:
I know you’re going to love this healthy greek yogurt chicken salad recipe, please let me know if you make it by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below. I’d love to hear from you and it helps encourage others to make the recipe too! xo.
Moroccan Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups (12 ounces) diced cooked chicken breast (feel free to use rotisserie or shredded chicken)
- ½ cup whole milk greek yogurt (or 2% or nonfat)
- 1 tablespoon tahini (optional, but I love the addition of it!)
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Optional if you like it a little spicy: 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Lots of freshly ground black pepper
- Add-ins:
- ½ cup dried cherries (or sub cranberries)
- ⅓ cup diced green onion
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped toasted pecans (or sub toasted sliced almonds)
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, add yogurt, tahini, dijon mustard, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix until smooth.
-
Fold in the diced chicken breast, tart cherries, green onion, parsley, cilantro and chopped pecans. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve as is, or in lettuce cups or on a sandwich or bun! Serves 4.
Recipe Notes
How to toast almonds or pecans: add nuts to a saucepan and place over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 2-5 minutes until they are are slightly golden brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
If you want to use mayo instead of greek yogurt, feel free to! I prefer an avocado oil or olive oil based mayo.
How to store this chicken salad: This healthy greek yogurt chicken salad should last 3-5 days in the fridge. After you make it, just be sure to cover it and place in an airtight container. Once ready to serve, simply place in lettuce cups, on a bun or in a sandwich!
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by Eat Love Eats
More healthy packable lunch recipes you might like:
Honey Mustard Apple Tuna Salad on Sweet Potato Toast
Crunchy Rainbow Thai Peanut Chicken Wraps
32 comments
Thanks for the delicious recipes!
Just wanted to let you know that the print button doesn’t seem to work on my iPad using Safari browser. Don’t know if others have the same problem.
Absolutely! And thanks for the heads up – we’ll look into it!
so good! I have to admit, i hate mayo! so whenever i see a chicken salad with greek yogurt instead i get so happy! love the flavors in this!
This one’s perfect for you!! Such great flavors.
This was SO good! So much flavor and very unique.
Thanks for sharing!!
Glad you loved it!! One of my fav lunches this summer 🙂
Just made this and it was delicious and extremely easy. I had leftover rotisserie chicken and took the skin off and cut it up. I didn’t have dried cranberries but subbed for grapes which were a good.
Perfect! Such a great lunch.
Awesome!!! Loved this recipe. We enjoyed it with fresh bread, roasted Brussels sprouts, and sriracha aioli. We even spread the aioli on the bread and then put the chicken salad on the bread. Wow. Thank you!
Love that! Sounds delicious 🙂
Monique does it again! I am a loyal AK follower and still haven’t found a recipe that I don’t love and recommend to literally everyone. I added pomegranate seeds because I didnt have any nuts and wanted a crunch. It was delicious! Monique, you are truly the best
Amazing! So happy to hear that, Lauren. Pomegranate seeds sound delicious in here 🙂
I meal prepped this for my lunches for the second time. I love it! The first time I ate it on lettuce leaves. This time I kept the dried cherries on the side and add them daily with chopped romaine. Very tasty. It’s going to stay in my lunch rotation.
Delicious! Love this one for a quick & easy lunch, too!
Healthy, flavorful, and easy! What more could you ask for in a lunch?
Right?? So good!
Wow, I’m so grateful for this delicious AND super healthy recipe! I didn’t change anything and flavors were truly awesome. I served in lettuce cups as suggested, with a side of plain rice.
Amazing! So glad you loved this one 🙂
Thanks for another yummy recipe! I made this with poached chicken and used green onions, dried cranberries, and toasted walnuts for the add-ins. I included a about 1/2 of a tablespoon of tahini and I think I might try almond butter next time just out of curiosity. The only thing I’d change is that I’ll add about half the recommended amount of salt next time (my chicken was already well seasoned so 1/4 tsp was a bit too much). Other than that it was a delicious recipe and I will definitely be making it again!
So easy to make, travels well for lunch, and no mayo…SIGN ME UP, love this recipe!
Absolutely! Such a great lunch!
Such an amazing twist on traditional chicken salad!! Love it!!
So good!!
Just made this tonight! I bought some pre shredded chicken from Whole Foods because I was lazy. I really liked it-so easy and healthy and perfect for throwing together on a week night. I think next time I will halve the spices—it ended up being a little much for me. I also added a couple tablespoons of raisins and served on a pita.
The recipe is awesome and i like it thanks for sharing.
Absolutely! 🙂
Made this last night and it was great
Quick and easy👍
So glad you enjoyed!
So good! And super easy! The dressing was a little thick (probably the yogurt I got) so I added juice from a half lemon and threw in some feta I needed to use up. This one’s bookmarked!
Perfect! And yes feel free to adjust/thin with a bit of lemon juice or water 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed!
This recipe was SO GOOD! I didn’t have any tahini so I subed with sesame oil and added lots of cayenne pepper. Super flavorful, instead of bread or lettuce did napa cabbage and it was delicious. I’m sure it would be great on anything or even alone!
Perfect! Love that idea!