Curry Chicken Salad

I love salads like this curry chicken salad.  It’s really substantial and has complex flavors and textures – sweet and salty, crunchy, with some nice non-spicy warmth from the curry, ginger, and turmeric.  I love it for lunch with some tender butter lettuce or for dinner with my favorite easy avocado toast on the side (I tell you how to make it at the end of this post).

I had lunch at a friend’s house recently and she had some curry chicken salad from Trader Joe’s that was so great.  I jotted down the ingredients from the label and this is my at-home recreation.  I’ve never loved overly-mayonnaisey chicken salads and this dressing uses just enough mayonnaise to give some creaminess to the dressing without screaming MAYONNAISE!

As we’re heading into the busy school-year, you can bet I’ll be making big batches of this and keeping it on hand for easy weekday lunches.  My daughters loved it too and it would pack really easily for a school lunch!

Curry Chicken Salad – serves 4
Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. mayonnaise
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. turmeric 1/2 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. raisins
1/4 c. chives, chopped
1/2 c. sliced toasted almonds

Preheat oven to 450º.

Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven until cooked through, about 30 minutes.  Shred with forks or tear into bite sized pieces.

Meanwhile, whisk mayonnaise, lime juice, honey, curry powder, ginger, and turmeric in a large bowl.  Add carrots, raisins, chives, almonds, and shredded chicken.  Stir to coat everything with the dressing.  Serve cold or at room temperature.

Click HERE for a printable recipe.

Looking for some other make-ahead, easy lunch salads?  How about Herbed Greek Pasta Salad, Tuna, White Bean, and Avocado Salad, or Greek Chopped Salad!