How to Make Chicken Salad – Clean Eating Recipe

Do you want to know How to Make Chicken Salad that is delicious and perfect if you are trying to follow a clean eating diet? This simple but absolutely delicious recipe for chicken salad will become a family favorite. Tons of flavor and crunch make this a great option on salad greens, toasted bread, or just by itself!

How to Make Chicken Salad a Clean Eating Recipe

Chicken salad has always been a spring and summer food to me but we’ve been making this one year round! I am sure that you will find it is a perfect lunch no matter what the temperature is outside.

Even though I don’t like mayonnaise, miracle whip, or anything similar… Scott’s mom always made an amazing chicken salad. This was my first attempt to make a clean chicken salad and I’m proud to say that IT IS AMAZING! Everyone in my family loved it – even those who don’t care about healthy eating!

Easy Ways to Make Shredded Chicken

Part of this recipe involves shredded chicken. We usually boil ours but you could also cook it in a pressure cooker or use rotisserie chicken. A great hack for shredding your chicken is to remove from the liquid it was cooked in, and use a hand mixer or stand mixer to shred in seconds. I love this for making less mess and not burning my hands if it is freshly cooked. Below are a couple of great ways to cook chicken for this chicken salad recipe.

• How to Boil Chicken
• How to Cook Chicken in a Pressure Cooker

How to Make Chicken Salad Kid Friendly

If you are also wanting to make this a family-friendly option, there are a few simple things that make this a little more kid-friendly. I love the crunch and flavor that onions provide, but most kids do not. You can easily remove the onions for their portion, or simply pulse the onions in your food processor so they are such tiny pieces your kids won’t even notice!

Another great tip for making it a bit more kid-friendly is to skip the nuts. Some kids just don’t like walnuts or pecans. That’s okay! Just don’t add those to their portion.

How to Serve Chicken Salad

If you are on the clean eating diet, you may prefer to simply add this to the top of fresh greens as a regular salad. Alternately, it is an excellent option to serve with homemade bread you have toasted or even some whole grain crackers. More more variety for your family, you may find this is a perfect recipe to add to a toasted bagel, or even served with sesame seed crackers.

More Great Salad Recipes

I love salads year-round, but especially in the warmer months. They add so much nutrition to your diet and are lighter than other meals. This tutorial below for how to make chicken salad is one of my favorites, but don’t miss out on our other great salad recipes linked below.

• Avocado Chicken Salad
• Grape Salad Recipe
• Three Bean Salad
• PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps (these are lettuce wraps but we actually tend to eat the chicken on top of a salad instead of lettuce wraps)
• Healthy Egg Salad
• Healthy Broccoli Salad with Bacon

This was originally published on April 28, 2014, and updated April 11, 2019.

Clean Eating Chicken Salad

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★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Whitney Carlson
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (approx 2 pounds)
• 1 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 4 Tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 cup celery
• 1 cup onions
• Bunch of organic grapes (approx 2 cups)
• Sea Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• Onion powder (optional)
• Pecans or Walnuts (optional)

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Instructions

1. Boil your chicken breasts until cooked through. This is very important! Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to boil the chicken. We season ours with organic chicken broth, minced garlic, sea salt, and pepper. It is very important to not over-cook your chicken! Boiling instead of baking the chicken for the recipe makes a huge difference.
2. Dice celery and onion. Place aside. You could also half or quarter your grapes.
3. Let chicken cool to room temperature. Once cooled, shred (I just used my hands) or cut into pieces.
4. Combine Greek yogurt and unsweetened almond milk using a whisk.
5. Add chicken to a large bowl and cover with Greek yogurt/almond milk mixture. Stir.
6. Add grapes, sea salt, black pepper, and onion powder (optional). Stir.
7. Garnish with pecans or walnuts (optional, this will add healthy fats).
8. Refrigerate for 30-45 minutes before serving.

Notes

• The longer this stays in the fridge the better it is!  It is really good the next day
• The nutrition facts below do not include any walnuts or pecans

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Boiled
• Cuisine: American