With Indian-inspired flavors, this Curry Chicken Salad is delicious and nutritious. Easily made with antioxidant-rich curry powder, crispy vegetables, and crunchy cashews, this is one salad you’ll want to make again and again. Enjoy as a sandwich with gluten-free bread or in lettuce wraps to be Whole30-friendly curry chicken salad.
The best Curry Chicken Salad recipe
That might be a bold statement, but trust us, take one bite of this salad and you’ll fall in love! Made with creamy mayo, crunchy celery and apples, warm and spicy curry powder and the bright flavors of lime and cilantro this curry chicken salad is sure to win you over. As much as we love our Waldorf Chicken Salad, the spicy and antioxidant-rich curry makes this one a delicious and robust salad that we keep on rotation for our menu.
It’s simply one of our favorite recipes when we’ve got cooked chicken on hand – either leftover from a roast chicken or a store-bought rotisserie bird. Turning leftovers into a lunch wonder is what we’re all about!
Portable and Perfectly Craveable.
We’ve packed this chicken salad full of fresh veggies and suggest serving them in butter lettuce or leaves of fresh romaine lettuce to up your veggie quotient even more. No matter how you serve it, it’s the perfect high-protein lunch, really.
Ingredients for this Whole30 Curry Chicken Salad
- Chicken – cooked and cubed or shredded chicken. You can use leftover chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken.
- Mayonnaise – we like using Primal Kitchen mayo, but you can always use what you have on hand. Use vegan mayo for egg-free.
- Curry powder – we love this budget-friendly, organic curry powder, but you can use what you have on hand.
- Lime
- Salt
- Apple – any apple will work so use your favorite variety.
- Celery
- Red onion – we use a red onion for this recipe, but if you prefer a yellow or white, that will work too!
- Raisins – a little added sweetness from raisins, be sure to choose soft and plump raisins. We recommend organic raisins if possible.
- Cashews – dry-roasted cashews are our first choice because they don’t contain any added oils
- Cilantro
For the complete directions and ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below. All of our recipes include the nutrition information, listing kcals, protein, carbohydrates, cholesterol, fiber, sugar, sodium, total fat, and more per serving.
Confused about poultry labeling? Check this post out to learn all about how to choose the best chicken in the grocery store.
Let’s make this warm and spicy curry chicken salad
- In a medium bowl mix together the mayonnaise, curry powder, lime juice, and salt.
- Next, add the cooked chicken, diced apple, celery, and onions and stir until well combined.
- Fold in the raisins, cashews, and cilantro.
- Serve in a lettuce wrap, on a bed of greens, in a tortilla, or between slices of your favorite bread.
How to keep this curry chicken salad
Whether you’re prepping this curry chicken salad ahead of time for easy grab-n-go lunches, or you have leftovers after serving for your dinner, store the salad in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
How to serve this salad
As a sandwich – we all love a good sandwich, right? Grab your favorite kind of bread, gluten-free if you prefer, and whip up a classic chicken salad sandwich and top it with a large lettuce leaf, sprouts, an extra sprinkle of cilantro, and cracked pepper.
In a lettuce wrap – A light and crisp lettuce wrap is a delightful way to enjoy this chicken salad. Wrapping up a hefty spoonful of curry chicken in each lettuce wrap gives it an easy-to-grab feel and is perfect for packed lunches. Using a lettuce wrap makes this meal Whole30-friendly!
Wrapped in a tortilla – Grab your favorite tortilla and roll up a hearty spoonful of curry chicken salad for a splendid meal.
Over a bed of greens – Choose your favorite mixed greens, add to a large bowl, and top with curry chicken salad for another Whole30 option.
Served on top of cucumber slices and/or crackers – A lighter version of serving and enjoying this chicken salad is to top crisp cucumber rounds and/or crackers of your choice.
Wondering how to make the perfect chicken breast for this salad? We’ve got you covered with our How to Make the Perfect Chicken Breast tutorial.
Looking for more chicken salad recipes to try? Try these:
- Cranberry Chicken Salad with Apples
- Mango Chicken Salad with Avocado
- BLT Chicken Salad in Lettuce Wraps
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- Blueberry Chicken Salad with Rosemary
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Curry Chicken Salad
Crave-worthy Curry Chicken Salad is made with just 10 ingredients is quick to prepare and features tender cooked chicken, tart apple, celery, sweet raisins, and crunchy cashews.
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise (for egg-free use vegan mayo)
- 1–2 tsp. curry powder
- ½ lime, juiced
- pinch of salt, more to taste
- 2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
- ½ medium apple with peel, diced
- 1 celery rib, finely diced
- 2 Tbsp. red onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup dry-roasted cashews, roughly chopped
- 2–4 Tbsp. fresh cilantro
Instructions
- In a medium bowl mix together the mayonnaise, curry powder, lime juice, and salt.
- Next add the cooked chicken, diced apple, celery, and onions and stir until well combined.
- Fold in the raisins, cashews, and cilantro.
- Serve in a lettuce wrap, on a bed of greens or in a tortilla wrap or between slices of your favorite bread.
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Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/4 recipe
- Calories: 375
- Fat: 28g
- Sodium: 457mg
- Carbohydrate: 13g
- (Fiber: 2g
- Sugar: 9g)
- Protein: 23g
Dietary
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Sarah M says
This is so delicious and a great way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken. I subbed nonfat plain Greek yogurt for half of the mayonnaise to make it a little healthier. I wouldn’t sub all of it though, as the mayo makes it creamy and it’s a bit chalky with the yogurt. I typically have all of the ingredients on hand, which makes it a super easy meal! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Stacie Hassing says
I love the idea of subbing half yogurt for the mayo. I’ll have to try that next time. Thank you for sharing a review! It’s always so helpful to hear how others modify our recipes and how they turn out.
Joyce H says
I’m one of those people that made changes. That being said, it’s a very good recipe even with the changes. I didn’t have a red onion, and that was disappointing because I usually do. The sweet onion worked great. I use sliced almonds instead of cashews, because that’s what I had. Also out of celery, but used celery seed. Didn’t give the crunch, but it gave it flavor. I used more curry powder because we really love curry. All the things I usually have, I seemed to be out of. Wanted to eat before I went to the grocery store. This was great. Big hit with the family. Next time I make it, I’ll have all the ingredients. Thanks for a great recipe
Stacie Hassing says
So great to hear your enjoyed this recipe and were able to find substitutions to avoid a trip to the grocery store!
Lindsey says
This is SO DELICIOUS. My favorite local coffee shop serves a wonderful curry chicken salad on a croissant with greens and I had to try it at home. This was even better than expected. I used Frontier Co-op organic Vindaloo Curry seasoning and it was perfect. I like flavorful so I used the entire two tsp… And doubled the red onion because I love onion. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. This time I served on sourdough which was delish. We roast whole chickens when we eat it because it’s cheaper to eat organic that way, and this recipe is my new go-to for using the leftovers! Thank you so much!
Jessica Beacom says
We are thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe so much and that you’ve found an economical at-home version of one of your favorite lunches.
jaxn says
I use vegetarian chick’n pieces to make it vegetarian, and I subbed red grapes because I didn’t have raisins. Absolutely delicious.
dawnsun says
Love this recipes!
I did substituted the mayo with vegan mayo and used plant based chicken and added golden raisins, red cabbage, almonds, peanuts, cilantro and shredded carrots and it’s absolutely delicious! A keeper of a recipe
Stacie Hassing says
Sounds like you made some perfect substitutions that fit your dietary preferences and what you had on hand! Thanks for leaving a review!