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.
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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
Is curry chicken salad spicy?
This chicken salad recipe is full of flavor but isn’t too spicy. For the least spicy version, omit the chili powder.
Can you use rotisserie chicken?
Yes! For a total time saver, pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, shred it, and use it in this recipe.
Can you use leftover chicken?
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!
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.