Curry Chicken Salad

I first made this Curry Chicken Salad for a friend’s baby shower. My friend’s ‘baby’ is now a teenager and still, for me, this salad is a go-to dish for picnics, celebrations, and even weekday lunches.

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It’s the flavor combination of this curried chicken salad: spicy, salty, and sweet, that keeps me coming back. And I love how every bite is different.

It’s unusual for this kind of salad to be so light. Often curry chicken salad is goopy and the flavor is all about the dressing. This one is flavor-rich without the goop. The dressing is just yogurt, curry powder, apricot preserves, salt and freshly ground black pepper: creamy and subtle. Instead the buttery cashews, tangy-sweet grapes, tender chicken and crunchy celery are the focus flavors.

You can make enough to last for a few days, but you’ll want to stir in the cashews just before serving so they keep their crunch. Perfect for a desk lunch, quick weeknight dinner, or get-together dinner contribution.

More Must-Try Salad Recipes

• Strawberry Spinach Salad (Loaded with sweet strawberries, pecans and creamy goat cheese!)
• Spinach Salad with Bacon (This one has been a favorite in my family for decades!)
• Corn Salad (When corn is in season, we eat this salad on repeat!)
• Zucchini Salad (It took me about a dozen tries to perfect this recipe! SO GOOD!)
• Chicken Salad with Grapes (A new riff on this salad sans curry with toasted almonds and dried apricots!)

How to Make Curry Chicken Salad

Step 1: Whisk yogurt and curry powder together in a small bowl. Add apricot preserves and whisk until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 2: When you’re ready to eat, combine chicken, grapes, cashews, and celery in a serving bowl. Pour dressing over and gently stir to coat. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Serve.

Curry Chicken Salad

5 from 4 votes

By: Marissa Stevens

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Total: 15 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Calories: 491

Servings: 4 people

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Simple, healthy and packed with summer flavors, this is one of my go-to salads. When you BBQ chicken this summer, make extra so you can throw this salad together the next day.

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Ingredients  

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For the Dressing

• ▢ 1 cup plain, whole milk yogurt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon curry powder
• ▢ 2 tablespoons apricot preserves
• ▢ salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Salad

• ▢ 1 pound cooled chicken breast cooked, cut into 1″ pieces (baked, barbecued, or poached in salted water)
• ▢ 1/2 pound red or green seedless grapes
• ▢ 4 ounces roasted cashews
• ▢ 4 ribs celery coarsely chopped
• ▢ 16 leaves butter lettuce or romaine (optional)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon minced chives (optional)

Instructions 

• To make the dressing, whisk yogurt and curry powder together in a small bowl. Add apricot preserves and whisk until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Combine chicken, grapes, cashews, and celery in a serving bowl. Pour dressing over and gently stir to coat. Serve as is or scooped over leaves of butter or romaine lettuce and sprinkle with chives. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Serve.

Notes

Can easily be doubled.

Nutrition

Calories: 491kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 467mg | Potassium: 961mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 2380IU | Vitamin C: 6.9mg | Calcium: 154mg | Iron: 3.9mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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