Curry Chicken Salad
Published 8/22/2023 • Updated 8/29/2023
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Featuring a homemade Thai green curry sauce and all of the crunchy veggies we love in chicken salad, curry chicken salad is a flavorful twist on a lunchtime classic. You only need 20 minutes to make this quick and easy curry chicken salad recipe!
This curry chicken salad is a combination of all of our favorite flavors! We love Thai curry (and chicken salad) and Fit Foodie HQ, so this was a natural variation for our next chicken salad recipe. It’s a flavorful and protein-packed twist on a lunchtime classic ready in just 20 minutes!
Featured Comment
“My husband and 6 year old loved this recipe. Excellent flavors and really easy to make. Thank you!” – Nicole
What is in curry chicken salad?
There are two parts to this curry chicken salad: a creamy Thai green curry sauce and the actual “salad.”
Green Curry Sauce
Along with Thai curry paste, we use a mixture of spices and Greek yogurt in this chicken salad recipe. We tried to keep the ingredient list simple, yet still flavorful.
- Yogurt: No mayo here! Nonfat plain Greek yogurt is the base of this chicken salad sauce.
- Curry Paste: A great way to add quick and delicious flavor to any dish. We use Thai curry paste in our vegetarian cashew curry and sweet potato green curry quinoa casserole, too.
- Cilantro + Lime Juice: Add freshness.
- Spices: A blend of warm spices adds tons of flavor. You’ll need chili powder, turmeric, paprika, and salt.
- Honey: For a little sweetness.
Chicken Salad
- Chicken: You’ll need cooked shredded chicken breasts for this chicken salad.
- Veggies: English peas, red bell pepper, and onion add freshness and a little crunch.
Variations
Chicken: There are a few different ways you can cook chicken for chicken salad. No matter how you cook it, you’ll need shredded chicken for this curry chicken salad.
- Baked: For classic baked chicken breasts, place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet or in a baking dish. Drizzle with 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400ºF for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.
- Slow Cooker: If you have some time on your hands and want to cook a big batch of chicken breasts, follow our recipe for how to make slow cooker chicken.
- Instant Pot: Chicken breasts only take about 15 minutes to cook from start to finish in the Instant Pot – a major time saver! If you’re short on time, follow these instructions for basic Instant Pot chicken breast.
- Shortcuts: Pick up a rotisserie chicken or use leftover already cooked chicken.
Flavors: Mix things up with our fun chicken salad flavor variations including pesto chicken salad, smoked chicken salad, southwest chicken salad, classic chicken salad, Thai peanut chicken salad, and chicken salad 4 ways!
FAQ
This chicken salad recipe is full of flavor but isn’t too spicy. For the least spicy version, omit the chili powder.
Yes! For a total time saver, pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, shred it, and use it in this recipe.
Definitely. Chicken salad of any kind is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken breasts.
Storage
We like to meal-prep curry chicken salad on Sundays to enjoy for lunch or a quick dinner all week long. Store chicken salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Serving Suggestions
Decisions, decisions! Feel free to eat this chicken salad with a fork or:
- On top of greens
- On top of toast
- In a sandwich
- Wrapped in a tortilla as a curry chicken salad burrito
Curry Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Thai Green Curry Sauce
- 1 cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons green curry paste
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon honey
- salt
Chicken Salad
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, shredded
- 1 cup English peas
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1/4 red onion, finely diced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- optional: sesame seeds
Instructions
- Make the curry sauce. In a medium bowl, mix together the curry sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the chicken salad ingredients.
- Add the curry sauce to the chicken salad and mix until combined.
- Serve on top of greens or toast with fresh cracked pepper and sesame seeds.
Tips & Notes
- Storage: Store chicken salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Serving Suggestions: We like to each chicken salad on toast or in a lettuce wrap. Feel free to eat it alone or get creative!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe is delicious and makes such a change from my normal boring salads. I found that the curry powder in addition to the green curry paste was a bit too much for me so I left it out the second time I made it – but obviously that is just personal preference. Will continue making this for sure, it’s been a lunchtime hit!
Thanks so much for sharing your alterations!
Way too much curry paste. The paste is already concentrated and three tablespoons was too much for me. Couldn’t finish, a little disappointed.
My husband and 6 year old loved this recipe. Excellent flavors and really easy to make. Thank you!
This looks amazing! I want to make this without dairy. What can I sub the yogurt with? Also, what can I use in place of green curry paste?
Thanks so much, Shari
Hi! Feel free to use a dairy-free yogurt. You can use red curry paste instead of green!
This would be good with a finely diced apple or diced pineapple, added. If using canned, get unsweetened in pineapple juice. (Beware, if it says “sugar free” vs unsweetened it may have a zero calorie sweetener that’s bad bad bad.) Oh, I haven’t looked but frozen pineapple would be good if it exists.There are nutritional benefits to both but it does up the calories.
What would you recommend for anti-cilantro folks – leaving it out or subbing in another herb like parsley? Thanks!
Sweet Basil or Thai Basil if you like more bite. Basil is more Thai from my experience. I personally would sub it even though I like cilantro. I’m just not feeling cilantro in this Thai curry. It’s perfect in Mexican salsa and recipes though. If I’m growing mint I might experiment with finely chopped up leaf or two, in addition to Sweet Basil. Also a little lemon grass if growing it. Definitely not parsley.
Where does the 11 grams of fat come from? Am I completely missing something?
Chicken salad is the best! I often make chicken curry and chicken salad but never tried the type like this. So I’m gonna bring it to my list-do-do recipe <3
Gosh! It looks so delicious. I think I need to stop reading food blogs when I am on a diet.