Chicken

Fresh and Light Chicken Salad

Name: Fresh and Light Chicken Salad
Yield: Serves 2 sandwiches
Ingredients: 1 cup diced roasted chicken, a combination of dark and white meat cut small is ideal; 1 tablespoon mayonnaise or plain yogurt; 1 small, ripe tomato, diced small, including seeds and skins; 1 scallion, green and white parts minced; 1 cup /1 handful clean, dried baby spinach, chopped fine; 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 3 grinds freshly ground black pepper

by: vvvanessa

October 4, 2022

0 Ratings

Serves 2 sandwiches

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Author Notes

I love an excuse to eat mayonnaise, and chicken salad is no exception. But in an effort to curb my mayonnaise intake a bit (too much mayonnaise is making for too much me-- in all the wrong places), I wanted to keep the salad from being too dry while also bulking it up with some fresh vegetables (since I was headed in a healthier direction anyway). There is just enough mayonnaise to bind the salad, and using lemon juice and all of the tomato helps maintain moisture and brightness. I like to load the salad onto either toasted whole grain or levain, but it's also great spread on crackers, mixed with salad greens, or rolled in lettuce leaves. —vvvanessa

What You'll Need

Ingredients

1 cup diced roasted chicken, a combination of dark and white meat cut small is ideal
1 tablespoon mayonnaise or plain yogurt
1 small, ripe tomato, diced small, including seeds and skins
1 scallion, green and white parts minced
1 cup /1 handful clean, dried baby spinach, chopped fine
¹/₄ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
¹/₄ teaspoon kosher salt
3 grinds freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Put all the ingredients in a bowl, and mix to combine well.
Serve on toasted bread, spread lightly with butter, or on crackers. A crisp apple or pear and a handful of toasted nuts on the side make for great accompaniments.

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3 Reviews

Food O. August 2, 2015

This was delicious. I also added grapes, and some sunflower seeds. I never would have thought to use plain yogurt in chicken salad, but it works well. Thanks!

minnie May 23, 2014

This recipe is great! A fresher, lighter version of your run-of-the mill chicken salad. I added halved seedless grapes as an ode to regular chicken salad that i'm used to, and it worked out well. Next time i'll try it with yogurt instead of mayo, i'm thinking it'll add a little more tang to it on top of the lemon juice.

vvvanessa June 2, 2014

Thank you, minnie! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. And I agree-- the more tang the merrier!