Chicken Salad Recipe – Our Weekly Go-To
One meal I’ve been enjoying outside all week is my dairy-free chicken salad. In fact, I’ve had to make three batches already because Kyle keeps requesting it—we both can’t get enough. I’ve been adding it to toast, topping my salads with it, and my favorite way to eat the chicken salad is inside a gluten-free wrap with avocado, tomato, and kale!
If you don’t eat chicken, you can substitute it with tuna, chickpeas, tofu, or even tempeh!
Jump to Recipe
I think chicken salad is such an underrated recipe. It’s not something I’d usually order first at a restaurant, but every time I eat it, I love it! A few weeks ago, I was craving chicken salad, but I knew I’d have to make my own since I follow a dairy-free diet. While chicken salad is often dairy-free if it’s made with just mayonnaise, I noticed that some store-bought versions contained milk, likely from sour cream or Greek yogurt.
Lately, I’ve been loving Earth Balance vegan mayo. Some people think vegan mayo is gross, but I prefer it over egg-based mayo—it’s all about personal preference! I used vegan mayo for this recipe, but if you’re a fan of traditional mayo, feel free to stick with that. Both work perfectly!
Wondering what’s in vegan mayo? It’s made with ingredients like expeller-pressed canola oil, water, brown rice syrup, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, pea protein, salt, mustard flour, and lemon juice concentrate. So, it’s probably not as bad as you might have thought!
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There are so many different ways to customize this salad! The first time I made it, I added a ton of broccoli, but when I made it for wraps, I left the broccoli out and added more chicken. If you don’t like raisins, you can swap them for dried cranberries or grapes, or leave them out altogether. If you don’t have sunflower seeds, try using pecans or walnuts instead! I think this recipe could even work as a vegetable side dish for a summer party if I used all the extra broccoli and omitted the chicken. The sauce is what makes it taste so great!
This creamy sauce is perfect for any type of salad—add it to your kale, broccoli, potatoes, pasta, or seafood! For the first batch I made, I used agave, which is my favorite way to sweeten this dish. The second time, I used zero-calorie monk fruit, and that was just as good! If you’re watching your sugar intake, monk fruit is a great alternative. I plan to make a pasta salad with this combo for the weekend.
To keep this recipe easy and delicious, I used a rotisserie chicken. You can also prepare your chicken in the oven, crockpot, on the grill, or pan-fried. This recipe would probably be amazing with chargrilled chicken, so I may have to try that for next week’s meal prep!
Chicken Salad Ingredients
ROTISSERIE CHICKEN
Using rotisserie chicken for this recipe makes life so much easier! I’m not a fan of cooking chicken, so grabbing a pre-cooked chicken simplifies the process. I also think it tastes much better!
TURKEY BACON
You can use any kind of bacon in this recipe, but I always opt for turkey bacon to keep it lighter. I find that turkey bacon has a milder flavor, which doesn’t overpower the other ingredients.
RAISINS (or cranberries!)
I love adding a sweet ingredient alongside the agave. You can also use dates, figs, or cranberries—any dried fruit would be a great addition!
BROCCOLI
Adding broccoli to the chicken salad is a fantastic way to sneak in some vegetables! It’s like enjoying both a broccoli salad and a chicken salad at the same time. YUM!
RED ONION
I’m always on Team Red Onion! You can use white onion as well. The apple cider vinegar and the creamy mixture will pickle the onions, mellowing their strong flavor.
SUNFLOWER SEEDS
Sunflower seeds add an extra savory crunch! I can’t make a salad without my favorite ingredient.
TAHINI
Tahini is my secret ingredient for creamy salads!
DAIRY-FREE MAYONNAISE
The Earth Balance brand of dairy-free/vegan mayonnaise is by far the best! I use it in almost all my salad recipes.
AGAVE
You can use any type of sweetener or none at all! I love adding monk fruit or agave to these salads, but you could also use regular sugar or honey as a substitute. Sometimes it’s best to use whatever you have on hand.
APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
Apple cider vinegar adds an extra punch of nutrients and helps tame the flavor of the onions!
SEASONINGS: SALT / BLACK PEPPER / GARLIC POWDER / DILL WEED / ONION POWDER
Feel free to switch up the seasonings to make this recipe your own! I love using basic black pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and always dill weed with chicken recipes.
Have a sweet tooth? Try these healthier no added sugar cookies!
Healthier Flourless Monster Cookie Recipe (dairy-free)
Healthy Double Chocolate Cookies with Almond Flour Recipe
Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies | A Healthier Cookie
Dairy Free Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Mayonnaise (I used earth balance vegan mayo)
- 1/4 Cup Tahini
- 1 1/2 Tbsps Agave (or your choice of sweetener)
- 1/2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tsp Onion Powder
- 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
- 1 Tsp Dill-Weed
- 1/2 Small Red Onion Chopped
- 4 Cups Shredded chicken I used rotisserie
- 1/4 Cup Turkey Bacon Chopped
- 1/4 Cup Roasted Sunflower Seeds
- 1/4 Cup Raisins or cranberries!
- 1 Cup Broccoli Chopped
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, tahini, agave, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, sea salt, and dillweed.
- Add the creamy mixture to the bowl with the broccoli, chicken, bacon, sunflower seeds, raisins, and onion. Mix until all ingredients are coated. Give it a taste test to make sure it doesn’t need any more salt, sweetness, or garlic!
Place in the refrigerator for thirty minutes before serving.
This recipe will be featured in my upcoming meal-prep YouTube videos! It’s the ultimate dish to prepare when you want something easy to have in the fridge. For the wraps, I used Mission gluten-free wraps, and so far, they are my favorite! You can find them at Target, Sprouts, and most grocery stores!
Questions for you!
- Do you like eating lunch outside? (this time of year)
- Are you team raisin or craisin?
- How do you eat your chicken salad? A wrap, on toast, plain…or?
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