Creamy, fruity, and full of warm spices, this Curried Chicken Salad recipe is an easy make-ahead dish that's perfect for lunch, meal prep, or a summer picnic.
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Why You'll Love This Curried Chicken Salad
Packed with juicy rotisserie chicken, golden raisins, crisp apples, and toasted nuts in a tangy curry-yogurt dressing, this savory-sweet salad comes together in minutes-and tastes even better the next day. There's a lot to love about this Curried Chicken Salad-starting with the fact that it's:
- Fast & Easy: Just mix and chill-perfect for meal prep or entertaining.
- Healthy & Protein-Rich: Yogurt, chicken, fruits, and nuts = nourishing and satisfying.
- Packed with Flavor & Texture: Sweet, savory, crunchy, creamy, and just the right amount of spice.
- Adaptable: Make it your own with simple substitutions and variations.
- A Royal Classic: Inspired by Coronation Chicken-a dish fit for a queen.
Did you know this curried chicken salad has royal roots? The original dish-known as Coronation Chicken-was created in 1953 for the banquet celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. The recipe was developed by Constance Spry, a royal florist and cookbook author, along with Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rosemary Hume. Their version featured poached chicken in a creamy curry dressing with a touch of sweetness from dried fruits and chutney-a flavor profile that felt exotic yet approachable for postwar Britain. Over the years, the recipe has evolved into countless variations, including this one, which honors the original's sweet-and-savory balance while keeping things fresh, simple, and picnic-ready.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: We like to use rotisserie chicken for this chicken salad, but any skinless, boneless chicken will work.
- Coconut: Use sweetened shredded coconut.
- Almonds: We use slivered almonds, but sliced or chopped almonds also work fine.
- Celery: The celery gives the salad a nice fresh crunch: don't leave it out.
- Golden raisins: (i.e., sultanas) Golden raisins are smaller than regular raisins and are sweeter, juicer, and lighter in color.
- Apple: We prefer to use a Granny Smith for its tart-sweet flavor. You can use any kind of apple you like.
- Onion: (Oops - forgot it in the ingredient image; onions are optional) Use finely chopped sweet or red onion, or thinly sliced green onions, for a sweet, mild oniony bite.
- Yogurt: We like to use vanilla Greek yogurt, but plain yogurt also works fine. Avoid using non-fat yogurt, as it may make the sauce runny.
- Mayonnaise: Use a full-fat mayo for the richest salad.
- Curry powder: Curry powder is a spice mix that varies wildly from one spice combination to the next. Our current favorite curry powder is from Rani, an all-natural, mild Indian curry blend.
- Ground ginger
- Paprika: I prefer using a sweet Spanish paprika for this recipe.
- Kosher salt: (optional) I find that I don't always need salt in this chicken salad, depending on how salty the chicken we use is.
- Lemon juice: Use fresh or bottled lemon juice.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Curried Chicken Salad
Prep the Apples: Dice your apple and toss the pieces in a small bowl with one tablespoon of lemon juice and a splash of water. This keeps them from browning and adds a little brightness to the final salad.
Make the dressing: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mayo, yogurt, curry powder, ground ginger, paprika, and a pinch of salt. You're looking for a smooth, creamy blend of spice and tang.
Recipe Note: This curried chicken salad is made with a yogurt-mayonnaise base. Both ingredients bring something important to the table: the vanilla yogurt is creamy and slightly sweet, and the mayo gives the sauce a rich, robust texture and taste. You can make the curry sauce with one or the other, but both together is so much better.
Mix it up: Drain the apples and add them to the bowl, along with the chopped chicken, raisins, almonds, shredded coconut, celery, and green onions.
Give it all a good stir so everything's evenly coated in that creamy dressing.
Chill & Serve: You can serve this right away, but it's even better after a few hours in the fridge once the flavors have had time to mingle.
Substitutions & Variations
This curried chicken salad is delicious as is; however, you can add your favorite fruits, nuts, and vegetables, and omit any you don't like.
- Protein: Curried chicken salad is a perfect way to using leftover roast chicken, rotisserie chicken, or turkey from the holidays.
- Nuts: You can use chopped cashews, pecans, macadamia nuts, or walnuts, alone or in any combination.
- Fruit: Substitution regular raisins, or use ¼ cup of mango or apricot chutney in place the raisins. You can also substitute in halved table grapes.
- Yogurt & mayonnaise: You can use all yogurt and no mayo, or vis versa.
- Spices: You can substitute a teaspoon of garam masala for the curry powder, or you can also make your own curry powder if you prefer.
- Fresh ginger: You can use a ½ -1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger in place of the powdered ginger.
Storage Tips
Chicken curry salad can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days. We do not recommend freezing this recipe.
What to Serve with Curried Chicken Salad
This curried chicken salad is surprisingly versatile. Serve it with crusty bread, buttery crackers, or pita wedges for scooping, or pile it high on a croissant or toasted sourdough for a satisfying sandwich. It also pairs beautifully with rice pilaf, roasted vegetables, or a simple side of potato salad or creamy soup.
Bringing it along for a picnic? Just pack it in a cooler and serve it as a salad, in a sandwich, or tucked into lettuce cups for an easy, no-fuss outdoor meal.
More Rotisserie Chicken Recipes
Looking for more rotisserie chicken recipes? Try one of these!
Curried Chicken Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound cooked chicken diced
- ½ cup coconut
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 3 tablespoons finely diced red onion (optional) or sweet onion
- 1 large granny smith apple skinned, cored, and diced
- ¾ cup Vanilla Greek yogurt or plain yogurt
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2½ teaspoons curry powder or more, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt (optional) to taste
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- In a small bowl, soak diced apples in lemon juice and water.
- In a medium bowl, whisk mayo,yogurt, curry, ginger, paprika, and salt.
- Drain apples and add to dressing along with chicken, raisins, almonds, coconut, celery, and green onion. Stir to coat.
- Chill before serving.
Notes
Substitutions
- Protein: Curried chicken salad is a perfect way to using leftover roast chicken, rotisserie chicken, or turkey from the holidays.
- Nuts: You can use chopped cashews, pecans, macadamia nuts, or walnuts, alone or in any combination.
- Fruit: Substitution regular raisins, or use ¼ cup of mango or apricot chutney in place the raisins. You can also substitute in halved table grapes.
- Yogurt & mayonnaise: You can use all yogurt and no mayo, or vis versa.
- Spices: You can substitute a teaspoon of garam masala for the curry powder, or you can also make your own curry powder if you prefer.
- Fresh ginger: You can use a ½ -1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger in place of the powdered ginger.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Beth says
This recipe is a delicious twist on the classic chicken salad! Fast and flavorful - Perfect!
Renée B. says
Thank you - so glad you enjoyed it!
Kristen says
This chicken salad was the perfect lunch. Loved the flavors!
Jess says
This is a great light lunch for my work week. Thanks for sharing!
Renée B. says
It's one of my favorite lunches, too!
Sophie says
Curried Chicken Salad is my go-to for a flavor-packed, satisfying meal. The mix of tender chicken and that delightful curry kick is pure perfection!
Chelsea says
The addition of fruit and nuts truly takes this chicken salad sandwich to the next level of deliciousness! It's SO good!
Renée B. says
Agreed! I love the additional texture and crunch they bring.