Quick California Chicken Salad
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There is nothing better or easier than homemade chicken salad for lunch. There’s tons of ways to eat it and it’s even better the next day. I always make a double batch or else I find we eat the entire thing in one day.
The rotisserie chicken ensures tender chicken and the celery, pecans and sweet grapes give it the perfect crunch. The dressing is full of fresh flavors and comes together in minutes.
Turn this into a salad by serving it over baby spinach, add it to a sandwich or make it into a wrap or lettuce wrap with your favorite fresh veggies. Try my buffalo chicken salad for a spicy twist or my dill pickle chicken salad for you pickle lovers.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- No cooking needed.
- 210 calories per serving.
- Perfect for meal prepping so make a big batch!
Ingredients and Substitutes:
These are the main ingredients and substitutions. See recipe card below for full ingredients list and instructions for this rotisserie chicken salad recipe.
- Whole Rotisserie Chicken: using store-bought rotisserie chicken for this makes it incredibly easy and has a mix of light and dark meat, which I love for extra flavor. You can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts or leftover chicken for this, too.
- Red Grapes: and fresh grapes, including green grapes, but I prefer red juicy grapes. These add the perfect touch of sweetness.
- Crisp Celery: the crunchy celery adds the perfect crunch, giving it that great texture.
- Red Onion
- Toasted Pecans: or walnuts. I toast my pecans myself but you can buy them pre-toasted to make it simple.
- Plain Greek Yogurt: the tangy greek yogurt is what gives you a super creamy dressing. Use full-fat greek yogurt if you want it thicker. You can sub for avocado mayo if you want an even richer dressing, or do 50/50.
- Dijon Mustard
- Lite Pancake Syrup: or pure maple syrup.
- Milk: any type or any plant based milk. This helps thin it out.
- Poppy Seeds
Variations
- Squeeze in a little lemon juice to the dressing if you want to add a little tang.
- Add your favorite fresh herbs. I love fresh dill or green onions.
- Add curry powder to your dressing to make this a curried chicken salad.
- Add blue cheese.
Dietary Modifications
- This recipe is gluten-free, as is.
- For dairy-free, use a plant based yogurt and milk to the dressing ingredients.
How to make this chicken salad
Step 1: preheat and toast pecans
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and place the pecans on a baking sheet (image 1). Toast for 5 minutes until golden brown while you prep the salad ingredients (image 2). Remove all the meat from the rotisserie chicken and shred into bite-sized pieces. Discard the skin and bones. From a medium sized rotisserie chicken I removed 1 lbs. 4.7 oz. of meat. Shred, chop and place in a large salad bowl.
Step 2: prep dressing and salad
In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, dijon, syrup, milk, salt and poppyseeds. Mix well to combine (image 3). Quarter the seedless red grapes, dice and chop the celery and red onion and add to the bowl with the shredded chicken. When the pecans are toasted, chop and add to the chicken (image 4).
Step 3: add dressing and serve
Pour in the dressing (image 5) and mix together well to get everything evenly coated (image 6). Serve on regular bread, buns, in lettuce wraps, over a bed of lettuce or simply eat it by itself. I usually serve with a side of fresh fruit.
Expert Tips!
Using a stand mixer on low is an easy way to mix everything together. Make a large batch of this to have for the week.
Recipe FAQS
Of course not! Feel free to use any shredded chicken for this recipe. If cooking the chicken yourself, use boneless skinless chicken breasts and shred it yourself using two forks or a hand mixer (try it, you will be amazed). If you use shredded chicken or boiled chicken I suggest you add rotisserie seasonings to your chicken prior to combining it as it will be bland. A good spice combination would be salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, thyme and onion powder.Â
This creamy chicken salad recipe is even better the next day making it perfect for meal prep. If you plan to serve it the day of, make it at least 2-3 hours ahead of time and chill it in the fridge for when you’re ready to serve it.
Wrap in a pita, serve over a bed of greens, make lettuce wraps, put inside a toasted bun with lettuce and tomato, or as an open face sandwich with sprouts and avocado. There are SO many possibilities with this one, get creative!
Check out some of our other easy meals!
If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and/or comment! Tag me on Instagram @ohsnapmacros, I love hearing from you!
California Chicken Salad
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Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken, pulled from the bone 20 oz.
- 1 cup seedless red grades, quartered 150g
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1/2 red onion, chopped 100g
- 45 g chopped pecans, toasted
Poppy Seed Dressing
- 1 cup Fage Non Fat 0% Greek Yogurt 210g
- 2 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
- 2 Tbsp. lite pancake syrup
- 2 Tbsp. 1 % milk
- 1/2 tsp. Â salt
- 1 tsp. poppy seeds
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and place the pecans on a baking sheet. Toast for 5 minutes while you prep the California Chicken Salad ingredients.
- Remove all the meat from the rotisserie chicken and discard the skin and bones. From a medium sized rotisserie chicken I removed 1 lbs. 4.7 oz. of meat. Shred, chop and place in a large bowl.
- Quarter the red seedless grapes, dice and chop the celery and red onion and add to the chicken.
- When the pecans are toasted, chop and add to the bowl with the chicken.
- In a small bowl mix the greek yogurt, dijon mustard, syrup, milk, salt and poppyseeds until fully combined. Pour in the dressing and mix together well to get everything evenly coated.
- Serve on bread, buns, lettuce cups, in a salad or wrap, or simply eat it by itself. Nutrition facts are for chicken salad only.
Notes
- All nutrition facts are estimates and will change with any substitutions.
- Use 50/50 greek yogurt and mayo for a richer salad.
- Add your chicken salad to wraps, pitas, sandwiches and salads. So many options!
What is 1 serving size?
It’s listed in the nutrition facts in the recipe card next to the calories.
This has turned into a staple in my fridge.
I’ve made this recipe no less than 10 times and it still slaps! I love it so much. It’s so filling, delicious, and makes generous portions for such great macros. Anyone who’s a fan of the Whole Foods Sonoma Chicken Salad will love this much lower-fat alternative. I would give it 100 stars if I could.
I rarely rate recipes mainly cause I am bad at remembering to do so!! But this chicken salad is so bomb, I have been enjoying it so much this week!
That makes me SO happy to hear. Thanks for taking the time to comment : )
This has become my go-to lunch! I make a full batch and eat off it all week over salads, with veggies, or in wraps/sandwiches. Love this lightened up high-protein option!
Yes! That’s what I do too!
I can’t even! We absolutely devour this when we make it. So good!
So yummy and refreshing love it!
Do you have a recommended brand for the lite pancake syrup? Having a hard time finding some!
I just get the lowest calorie syrup in the syrup section. There are usually a few brands.
Do you know the weight of chicken? I usually cook mine in the Instant Pot and shred it so I’m not sure the weight of a rotisserie chicken. Thanks! This looks delicious – can’t wait to try it!
Maybe I missed it but what is the serving size or how many servings does this recipe make? Thanks!
8 servings, listed above the ingredients.