Take your chicken salad up a notch with my easy and nutritious Chicken Salad with a Twist. It features juicy chicken tossed with crunchy almonds, celery, and sweet grapes. A secret ingredient adds a pop of flavor to this classic dish!
I love classic dishes but sometimes I like to break from tradition and spice them up a little. My Chicken Salad with a Twist is one of those dishes. I created this dish when I was looking for something to jazz up my basic chicken salad recipe. I loved it so much, that I actually put the recipe in my Natural Pregnancy Cookbook. And no, you don’t have to be pregnant to enjoy this dish or any of the dishes in the book! It has over 125 of my best nutritious and wholesome recipes for anyone trying to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Chicken Salad- A Blank Canvas
The Secret Ingredient- Za'atar
This chicken salad recipe was born when I was rummaging through my spice drawer one day and found a bottle of za’atar way in the back (after all, I keep my spice drawer alphabetized- I can’t help it!). Za'atar is a versatile Middle Eastern spice blend that commonly contains sumac, sesame seeds and other spices like oregano and thyme. It’s typically eaten with pita bread that’s dipped in olive oil and then za’atar but it can be used on a wide variety of foods including meat, veggies, rice, and hummus.
More Tasty Salad Recipes
- Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken and Berries
- Blueberry Farro Salad
- Curried Chicken Salad
- Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
- Maple Citrus Salad with Grilled Chicken
- Quinoa Salad with Spinach, Strawberries and Goat Cheese
Chicken Salad with a Twist
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounces cooked, shredded or diced chicken breast (about 3 cups)
- ½ cup sliced celery
- ½ cup red grapes, halved
- 3 tablespoons sliced almonds
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ teaspoon za’atar
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place the chicken, celery, grapes and almonds in a large bowl. Mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, and za’atar together in a separate bowl. Pour the mixture over the other ingredients and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
EA-The Spicy RD says
Great recipe Sonali! My kids love chicken salad, so this would be a big hit for dinner at our house 🙂 Chosen Foods sent me some of there products to try and i was impressed with all of them, including this avocado oil mayo. Can't wait to make this!
Kristina LaRue says
Oh this is so good. I love chicken salad!!
sonaliruder says
Thanks for stopping by Saska! Just search vegan or vegetarian on my site and you'll find plenty of recipes 🙂
Victoria says
This sounds like my kind of chicken salad! Love the idea of all the spices, Greek yogurt and the avocado oil mayo- genius!
sonaliruder says
Awww, thanks Victoria!!
Tara Rochford says
This does have a TWIST! I've never even heard of za'tar, but now I'm intrigued. Also, that avocado oil mayo looks perfect. I don't eat a lot of mayo, but my husband likes to have it around so I'm always searching for the brand with the cleanest ingredients. Thanks for sharing so many tidbits!
sonaliruder says
Thanks so much Tara! Za'atar is sooo good, you have to give it a try some time!
Jessie says
This chicken salad looks amazing! I love the unusual spice addition and the helping of yogurt! Perfect for summer 🙂
Also, would you like to come alphabetize our spice cabinet? 😉
sonaliruder says
Thanks Jessie! I'll send my husband right over, he's the organizer 😉
Elizabeth Shaw says
I loved this recipe when I saw it in your cookbook, so I'm thrilled you're sharing it again today to remind me to whip this up again! I have seen this in the stores but never tried it, I'll have to be on the lookout! I think Chosen Foods is based here in SD too!
sonaliruder says
It's totally based out of SD! Definitely give it a try, so good! Thanks for the love 🙂
Lisa Lin says
I love the addition of za'atar in the chicken salad, Sonali! YUM!
sonaliruder says
Thanks Lisa, it's definitely one of my favorite spices!
athletic avocado says
I love that avocado mayo! great idea adding it to chicken salad! YUM!
sonaliruder says
Thanks! It was so tasty!
Kristy Sayer @ Southern In Law says
I've never actually had chicken salad like this but this looks incredible! I loveee using greek yogurt and mayo together so this sounds perfect!
sonaliruder says
Thanks Kristy! I hope you guys enjoy it if you try it out!
Beverley says
I already cook with greek yogurt and now that you are introducing me to Avocado Oil Mayo, I'm so looking forward to eating this recipe xoxo
sonaliruder says
Yay! I hope you love it! Thanks for stopping by Beverley 🙂
Farrah says
Yayyyy! I am all about chicken salad, and this looks delicious! <3 I usually don't ever use mayo, but avocado oil mayo sounds awesome (and hooray for bulk cooking)!
sonaliruder says
The mayo was awesome! Thanks so much Farrah 🙂