My curried chicken salad is a cool, creamy, scrumptiously sweet and savory recipe to whip up to keep on hand in the fridge, or take along to a potluck or picnic. Filled with spices such as curry powder, turmeric, black pepper and a pinch of cayenne, plus tasty morsels such as crunchy cashews and golden raisins, this curried chicken salad recipe is delicious straight out of the bowl or spooned onto naan bread to enjoy as a sandwich!
A Sweet and Savory Chicken Salad with Kick
As the season begins to turn warmer and the sun's rays abundantly fill the skies, I find myself gravitating towards cool, refreshing recipes that are simple to prepare and enjoy in any number of ways.
Curried chicken salad is a favorite of mine because it's delightfully creamy with a lovely golden hue, with both sweet and savory flavors, a little kick of spice and some tasty additions in the way of crunchy roasted cashews and golden raisins.
It's so vibrant, rich and flavorful, perfect to scoop onto some salad greens, enjoy with crackers, or my personal favorite, spooned between a couple of pieces of toasted naan bread for a scrumptious sandwich!
Curried chicken salad is a tasty departure from traditional chicken salad with its warm, slightly spicy flavor. It's wonderfully versatile and easy to prepare as a light meal at home, or a bring along as a tasty offering for a potluck or a picnic!
My Curried Chicken Salad Recipe
When it comes to making a delicious, homemade curried chicken salad, you can either quickly cook up some chicken yourself, or use pre-cooked chicken, such as a rotisserie chicken from your local market.
The rotisserie chicken is a good shortcut and a time saver, and a great ingredient to use in chicken salad. For my recipe here, I opt to quickly sear up some chicken breast tenders (or tenderloins), which are small and extra juicy, perfect for a salad like this.
I typically just season the chicken with some salt and pepper, brown them in a hot skillet for a few minutes, then allow them to cool before dicing into small pieces.
For the delicious warm flavors (and color) in my curried chicken salad, I opt for a good sprinkle of curry powder and turmeric, as well as some black pepper and a little dusting of cayenne pepper for a bit of heat. Those spices offer up some nice savory notes.
For that little bit of sweetness I add a touch of honey into the mix and plump golden raisins. And for crunch, roasted cashews do the trick.
Here's a peek at my curried chicken salad recipe: (or justjump to the full recipe below...)
- First, I season my chicken breast tenderloins, and sear them for a few minutes until cooked through; once cooled, I dice them and add them to a bowl.
- To the diced chicken I add some mayo and honey, my spices, some raisins and roasted cashews, plus a sprinkle of cilantro and green onion, then mix to completely combine.
- The, I chill the curried chicken salad in a covered container until ready to enjoy; or, I serve immediately spooned onto toasted naan bread, with crackers, or over greens.
Recipe
Curried Chicken Salad
by Ingrid Beer
Category: Salad
Cuisine: American
Yield: Serves 4
Nutrition Info: 463 calories per serving
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 pound (or roughly 12) chicken tenderloins, (or about 3 cups rotisserie/pre-cooked, diced chicken)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Olive oil
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 ¾ teaspoons curry powder
- 1 (slightly scant) teaspoon turmeric powder
- Pinch or two cayenne pepper (for a little extra heat)
- ¼ cup roasted, chopped cashews
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- 4 green onion, finely chopped
- ¼ cup chopped, fresh cilantro leaves
- If cooking the chicken, add a sprinkle of salt and pepper to the tenderloins, and heat a pan/skillet on medium-high; once hot, drizzle in a small amount of olive oil and sear the chicken for a few minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through; allow the chicken to cool, then diced.
- To prepare the curried chicken salad, add the cooled diced chicken to a large bowl, then add all of the remaining ingredients and mix everything together with a large spoon until well combined; check to see if additional seasoning is needed.
- Spoon into a serving bowl, cover and chill until ready to enjoy, or enjoy immediately.
Tips & Tidbits for my Curried Chicken Salad:
- Chicken tenderloins, or pre-cooked rotisserie chicken: Because chicken tenderloins are small and very quick to cook (not to mention quite juicy and tender), I like to simply sear them off in a hot pan for a few moments, then cool and dice them up. As a shortcut, you can use pre-cooked chicken you have on hand, or even rotisserie chicken, diced up.
- Sweet and crunchy additions: I opt for golden raisins for this recipe, but feel free to use regular raisins or even dried cherries or cranberries. Also, feel free to substitute another nut for the cashews if you don't have those on hand—almonds, walnuts or pistachios are delicious!
- A sprinkle of green for fresh flavor: The combination of green onion and cilantro is my favorite with curry chicken salad, but you can use simply green onion, or chives, or even parsley if you prefer.
Hungry for more delicious salad recipes similar to this? Check out this traditional Chicken Salad, this Lemon Chicken Salad, this Tuna Salad, or this BBQ Chicken Salad Wrap!
Cook's Note: This recipe was originally published in 2013, and has been updated with even more love!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Eleanor, thank you for your comments; it seems like we're all looking for those moments, aren't we?
MC
Amen-just trying to keep my head above water- I feel like this all the time! I love your cozy lunchbox posts! Makes me really just love LUNCH!
The Cozy Apron
Aw, that's very sweet of you MC - thank you much!
Brooke Schweers
Yum I love this twist of chicken salad! Your beautiful photography makes it look very tempting 🙂
bilbaobab
this looks and sounds delish! great idea for lunch!
Katherine
I made this yesterday, and it was scrumptious! Thank you for yet another fantastic recipe!
The Cozy Apron
Thanks so much, Katherine! I appreciate that!
Karen @ The Food Charlatan
Talk about awesome!! This was probably the best chicken salad I've ever had. Naan! Curry! I love you! Thanks so much for an awesome recipe.
The Cozy Apron
Hi Karen, glad you enjoyed this salad! Thanks for sharing your comments with me!
Katherine
Love, love this recipe! I made it for my Mom today (who is on a gluten, dairy, and egg free diet). I used dairy/egg free mayo and served it on gluten free bread. Delicious!
The Cozy Apron
Thanks so much for sharing how you prepared this tasty little recipe to your own specifications - so happy that both you and your mom enjoyed this! Thanks for stopping by!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Briton! Unfortunately, I don't; typically, I just eyeball it for when I make larger portions. But going back and looking at the recipe, if you want to prep this salad for about 12 people, I think I'd probably use about 6 chicken breasts (cooked and diced); about 6 celery ribs, diced; about 1 cup mayo (use more or less as you prefer); about 1/4 cup honey (again, see if you need more); about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder; about 1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric; and about 3/4 cup each cashews and raisins; about 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves. Just taste as you go, to see. Hope that helps a little!
Konna
Oh yum! I used dried cranberries, chopped, instead of raisins. I also used tortillas & made them wraps. Picky hubby liked them too! Thank you!
The Cozy Apron
Konna, that's great! Glad you made it your own, and that you and your hubby enjoyed!
Pat Holman
This is very similar to a recipe I make and sounds just as good!
In my recipe I use mango chutney instead of honey and for a lunchbox salad instead of a sandwich I mix in pieces of cold cooked potato (ordinary or sweet potato work fine) in the same way one makes potato salad. A little more Mayo might be necessary but to keep the fat down I mix it with fat free natural yogurt.
Jade
I know this was posted a loooong time ago, but I just stumbled upon it. Strangely enough, I was looking for a recipe to recreate a Curry Chicken Salad panini I had last summer in Key West, of all places! The only thing I switched up (per their menu's description of their sandwich), was to substitute Greek yogurt for the mayo & add a little grated cucumber. This recipe was either copied from their kitchen... or it's just so good that the other has been wiped from my memory and I just don't care. And bonus!... It was 7-year-old boy approved. Anything healthy & flavorful that we can both agree on is a definite repeat in our house. I can't wait to take it on picnics and camping when it warms up. So, thank you, belatedly, for posting this recipe!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Jade! I love that the other recipe was "wiped" from the memory and replaced by this one, haha! 🙂 I appreciated your comments so much...so glad you enjoyed the recipe, and that it was also "7-year old boy approved", as I know how challenging getting that approval can be! Thanks so much for sharing with me...
Shawn D
Made this multiple time with the chicken tenderloins, today decided to use 8oz of rotisserie chicken instead. It was just as delicious.
The Cozy Apron
Hey Shawn, that's great! Rotisserie is perfect for this. Thanks so much for sharing!
Anita K
Excellent. Made it exactly like the recipe. It's mild but flavorful. A keeper to be made often. Thanks for a wonderful tecipe.
The Cozy Apron
Hi Anita, very happy to read that! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Meagan
Goodness gracious cozy apron, you can do no wrong! Like every other recipe I’ve tried on this blog this was amazing! I give it two thumbs up! I was looking for way to mix up lunch and this was just the ticket. I made it for the first time today, it’ll be the first of many!!!!I love curry and this did not disappoint at all!
The Cozy Apron
Aw, thanks so much Meagan! That's music to my ears. I'm so, so happy to read that you're enjoying my recipes. 🙂
Glad this curry chicken salad hit the spot for you, happy cooking!
Melissa
Ingrid, my goodness. This is THE best curried chicken salad we've ever had. We ate it with mixed greens as suggested (and, let's be honest...just with a fork during the "quality control" phase, haha) since we're trying to watch carbs, and I reduced the honey down to 2 tsps. I took your advice on using other nuts and added some pistachios in with the cashews. Oh! And, I know the original recipe used a chopped celery stalk, so I just added some chopped celery leaves in the same proportion as the cilantro. So very good. We're going to eat leftovers here shortly for lunch, and my only regret is that I didn't double this recipe. It's fabulous. Can't wait to try it on some naan when carbs don't matter. 😉 Love, Melissa
The Cozy Apron
Oh, fantastic, Melissa! This is a good one, perfect as a light meal with a bit of kick. Love your tweaks, as always, and that you love to get creative and make things your own. 😉 And may you ultimately get to enjoy with naan...once you loosen the carb restrictions, haha! xoxo