With the bold, warm spice of curry powder, this Curry Chicken Salad is rich and savory, with sweetness from apples and raisins, and the perfect amount of crunch!
It’s easy to make a delicious curried chicken salad in just one bowl, and this dish makes a wonderful lunch or light dinner.
Chicken salad can be made in so many tasty ways, but this recipe for chicken salad with curry powder, apples, and cashews is definitely one of my favorites!
A creamy dressing with the perfect blend of spices coats tender chicken, veggies, fruits, and nuts to create a healthy, hearty salad that checks all the boxes.
Love chicken salad? Be sure to try my Classic Chicken Salad, and Tarragon Chicken Salad too!
Why You’ll Love This Curried Chicken Salad Recipe
- One Bowl Recipe – This chicken salad recipe might look complicated, but it’s really super easy! Mix up the whole thing in one bowl to save time at the sink washing dishes.
- Great Make-Ahead Meal– Curry Chicken Salad is a wonderful option for meal-prepped lunches. Mix this up on the weekend, and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Versatile Recipe – Maybe the best part about this recipe is that you can adjust it however you like to suit your preferences and needs. Skip any ingredients that your family doesn’t love, and add in any of your favorite fruits and veggies instead.
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this delicious curry chicken salad:
- Cooked Chicken: Already cooked chicken, cut into small pieces is the main ingredient in Curry Chicken Salad. Use leftovers, or chicken that you’ve cooked just for this occasion. I prefer to use breast meat, but dark meat is also fine.
- Creamy Curry Dressing: The perfect ratio of mayonnaise to Greek yogurt makes this salad wonderfully creamy but also healthy! Mix that with curry powder, honey, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper for an easy and flavorful salad dressing for your chicken salad.
- Tasty Mix-Ins: There is so much crunch in this chicken salad! Sliced almonds, whole cashews, and fresh celery do the trick. We’ll also add sweet raisins and diced apples, and some green onion and parsley for color and flavor.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Curry Chicken Salad
I always make chicken salad in one bowl! Start by mixing up the dressing in the bottom of your salad bowl, then stir in everything else. It’s simple and quick this way.
- Make the Dressing: In a large mixing bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, curry powder, honey, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Use a whisk to be sure that all of the spices are evenly mixed.
- Add the Rest of the Ingredients: Add the cooked chicken, green onions, diced celery, diced apple, raisins, sliced almonds, cashews, and chopped cilantro to the same bowl.
- Stir: Toss all of the ingredients until the chicken is well-coated with the dressing. Serve immediately, or chill for an hour to let the flavors develop.
Tip!
While you can eat curry chicken salad right away after mixing, the flavors get stronger and tastier if you let it chill in the fridge for an hour or so first.
Recipe Tips
- Rather than using just mayo, I like this recipe with mostly Greek yogurt. In place of yogurt, you can use sour cream or more mayo if you prefer.
- Regular or golden raisins work well in this recipe. To soften the raisins, you can soak them in warm water for about 15 minutes before adding them to the salad.
- Keep the apples from turning brown by tossing the pieces with lemon juice.
- Any cooked chicken will do. This recipe can be used with leftovers from last night’s dinner, the meat from a grocery store rotisserie chicken, or chicken that you’ve cooked just for this purpose. Check out my recipe for how to boil chicken breasts if you need it!
- Be sure to chop the chicken small enough so that the chicken salad is easy to eat. You can also shred the chicken if you like that texture better.
- The mix-ins in this recipe give the curry chicken salad the perfect balance of textures and flavors, but you can leave out any that you don’t love.
- Feel free to adjust the amount of curry powder based on your preferences.
- I suggest tasting the dressing before mixing, and adding salt if needed. Taste the salad again after adding the chicken and adjust it to make it perfect.
Storing Tips
Keep homemade curry chicken salad in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It should stay fresh for up to 3 days this way.
If the chicken salad seems dry when you go to eat the leftovers, stir in a little bit of extra mayo to make it nice and creamy again.
How to Serve Curry Chicken Salad
I enjoy serving curried chicken salad on large lettuce leaves. You can roll them up like a low-carb wrap sandwich, or eat the chicken salad with a fork.
Curry Chicken Salad is also delicious stuffed into a fresh buttery croissant, or as a sandwich on homemade seed bread.
It’s perfect with crackers too, especially if you’re packing it up as lunch to go.
Recipe FAQs
This depends on how you’re serving it! As a main entre, you should plan for at least 6 ounces/180g per person. In that case, this recipe will serve 5 people. As an appetizer or part of a multi-course meal, you can plan for 3-4 ounces per person and get 8-10 servings from this chicken salad recipe.
Yes! Simply double all of the ingredients. You can also scale it up larger than that, or divide everything in half to make a smaller amount.
I don’t recommend freezing chicken salad. It becomes watery and unpleasant after it’s thawed. You can make chicken salad with frozen chicken though! Freeze diced leftover chicken and keep it in the freezer to use in this recipe. Thaw it before mixing.
More Sandwich Spread Recipes
All Sandwiches→
Curried Chicken Salad is a delicious twist on a classic, and perfect for sandwiches! Be sure to try this recipe as well as my Tarragon Chicken Salad Recipe the next time you need a tasty lunch or party idea.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Curry Chicken Salad
Recipe Video
Equipment
- Large Salad Bowl
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
- ¼ cup (63 grams) mayonnaise
- ½ cup (125 grams) Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) honey
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Salad:
- 2 ½ cups cooked chicken breast shredded or diced into ½ inch pieces
- ⅓ cup sliced green onions
- ½ cup diced celery
- 1 apple diced
- ½ cup raisins
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup cashews
- ¼ cup freshly chopped cilantro
Instructions
- To prepare the dressing: In a large mixing bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, curry powder, honey, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper.
- To the same bowl add the cooked chicken, green onions, diced celery, diced apple, raisins, sliced almonds, cashews, and chopped cilantro.
- Toss all of the ingredients until the chicken is well coated with the dressing.
- The salad can be served immediately or chilled for an hour to let the flavors meld together. It can be served over romaine lettuce leaves, sandwiched between your favorite bread or croissants, or as a dip with crostini or crackers.
Notes:
- This is an excellent way to use a rotisserie chicken or any leftover chicken you may have.
- Regular or golden raisins work well in this recipe. To soften the raisins, soak them in warm water for about 15 minutes before adding them to the salad.
- Feel free to adjust the amount of curry powder based on your preferences.
- I suggest tasting the dressing before mixing, and adding salt if needed.
- Keep the apples from turning brown by tossing the pieces with lemon juice.
- Storing: Store the chicken salad in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I do not recommend freezing this salad, it becomes watery and unpleasant when thawed. However, you can freeze leftover chicken, thaw it, and use it to make the salad.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Kara says
Delicious in a lettuce wrap or flour tortilla. The whole family loved it! (I did leave out the raisins because no one else in my family will touch them.) A perfect summer meal!
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Thank you so much for the kind review, Kara! I’m glad everyone loved it!
Sharina says
Never thought that curry chicken salad is incredibly delicious and satisfying! It is bursting with flavors and so impressive!
Little Sunny Kitchen says
I’m so happy you tried this recipe and loved it, Sharina! Thank you for the great review!
Kristyn says
This is the most tasty chicken salad recipe!! Love the curry twist! It’s great in croissants too!
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Thank you, Kristyn! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!