Chicken Salad with Yogurt Dressing: Tangy Goodness

Add tangy goodness and a healthier twist to your chicken salad with this recipe for Chicken Salad with Yogurt Dressing. It’s pretty and yummy enough to serve at a party or picnic.

Enjoy this recipe!

Roasted Chicken Breast Salad with Yogurt Dressing

Rebecca Forstadt Olkowski

This tasty salad is creamy, colorful and nutritious. It’s an entire meal on a plate.

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Course Salad

Servings 2 -4 servings

Ingredients

  

• 2 chicken breasts roasted or pull off the meat of a whole roasted chicken
• 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt thick and strained is best Try Sheep or Goat Yogurt
• 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard whole grain or plain
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp wine vinegar champagne or apple cider
• 2/3 cup celery chopped
• 2-3 large carrots peeled and grated
• 1 small cucumber chopped I love Persian cucumbers
• 2 scallions chopped
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds toasted
• salt and pepper to taste to taste
• mixed baby lettuce Try a herb mix if available
• 1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts or another type of sprouts

Instructions

 

• If you are using the meat of a whole roasted chicken, pull the meat from the bones and shred it into small pieces. (use both breast and dark meat if you prefer)
• Whisk together the yogurt, mustard, olive oil and vinegar in a medium-sized bowl.
• Stir in the celery, carrots, cucumber, and scallions. (save about 1 Tbsp of grated carrots to top the salad)
• Add the chicken pieces to the mixture.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste
• Serve over a plate of mixed baby lettuce
• Top with toasted almonds, the remainder of the grated carrots and a sprig of sprouts

History of chicken salad

The Chinese were the first to mix a variety of spices and oils with chicken to create variations of what we now call a chicken salad. But, don’t confuse this with Chinese Chicken Salad as that is more of a Western invention. It was deemed Chinese because it contains deep-fried wonton and rice vinegar.

There is a French recipe that is over 200 years old that mixes cooked chicken with oil, lemon juice, parsley, shallots, and anchovies.

The first American version of chicken salad was created in 1863 in an establishment called TownMeats in Rhode Island. The owner, Liam Gray, mixed up some cooked chicken with mayonnaise, tarragon, and grapes. 

Hold the mayo

Mayonnaise is typically what is used but can be heavy. I substituted yogurt instead because it not only adds tang but gives you health benefits as well.

Yogurt adds a probiotic element to the salad which aids in digestion and my particular favorite is Greek yogurt because it’s creamier and thicker. Greek yogurt, in particular, makes an even better binding agent than mayonnaise but works better with chicken than with tuna. Yogurt also makes a great substitute in potato salad, coleslaw, white sauce, shrimp salad, and fish tacos. However, if you’re making a BLT, mayonnaise is much better.

Give it some crunch

There’s something about a salad that crunches that always makes it more fun and that’s why I added some almonds and celery. I do the same thing with tuna salad by adding celery or chopped dill pickles rather than relish. And, the Dijon gives it zing. So, that’s why I love it. It’s a zingy, tangy salad!

Find salad bowls on Amazon, here.

What’s your favorite way to make chicken salad? Please leave a comment below.