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Tucked inside a sandwich, stuffed in a pita, paired with fruit, or served on a bed of lettuce, this Curried Chicken Salad is a light and easy dinner or lunch idea for the warm weather months! The prep ahead recipe is loaded with a variety of textures and flavors, including grapes, slivered almonds, and diced celery in a creamy, zesty dressing.

Curried chicken salad with grapes and garnished with parsley in a serving bowl

Curried Chicken Salad is basically just a jazzed up version of a classic chicken salad. The mayonnaise-based dressing includes a touch of curry powder for a little exotic twist, which pairs beautifully with the sweet and savory ingredients in the rest of the dish.

This salad feels fancy enough for a special occasion — whether you’re hosting a ladies lunch, a bridal shower, or a baby shower — but it’s so simple that you can throw it together for an easy weeknight dinner as well! Best of all, this prep-ahead option makes mealtime simple and stress-free.

Curried chicken salad sandwich on a croissant

How to Make Curried Chicken Salad:

If you’re starting with cooked, diced chicken, this recipe comes together in about 15 minutes — no baking required!

First, toss together chicken, grapes and celery in a large bowl.

Glass mixing bowl full of diced chicken celery and grapes

Next, prepare the dressing by whisking together the following ingredients:

  • mayonnaise
  • soy sauce
  • lemon juice
  • curry powder, salt and pepper
Mayonnaise based dressing for curry chicken salad

Toss the dressing with the chicken mixture until everything is nicely combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or overnight).

Curry chicken salad in a glass mixing bowl

Just before serving, stir in the toasted almonds. The nuts add a perfect crunch to the salad!

Toasted slivered almonds on a plate

Garnish with a bit of fresh parsley, and that’s it! Your beautiful dish is ready to serve — any way that you like it!

Overhead shot of curry chicken salad in a bowl

How to serve Curry Chicken Salad:

Here are a few good ways to serve the salad:

  • Make a Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich on rolls, French bread, or a croissant;
  • Make a Curried Chicken Salad Wrap by rolling it up in a tortilla with lettuce and tomato;
  • Keep it simple and light and serve the salad on top of a bed of lettuce;
  • Or for an impressive presentation, scoop out the seeds from a cantaloupe melon and serve the salad inside the center of the fruit. It’s a delicious combination!

Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:

  • To toast slivered almonds quickly, I like to place the almonds in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave the almonds on high for about 1 minute, or until they’re just fragrant and golden brown.
  • Feel free to substitute cashews, pecans or walnuts in place of the almonds if you prefer.
  • Wait to stir the nuts into the salad until just before serving. This way the nuts will still be crunchy and won’t get soggy in the dressing.
  • I used grapes in this recipe, but you can also prepare a curry chicken salad with apples, with canned mandarin oranges, or with chopped mango!
  • Add a can of sliced, drained water chestnuts for some extra crunch.
  • A handful of raisins gives the salad nice texture and sweetness.
  • A garnish of fresh parsley or fresh cilantro adds a nice, bright, colorful finish!
  • Prepare this salad up to 2 days in advance. It keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
  • You can use leftover grilled or roasted chicken, store-bought rotisserie chicken, or chicken that you cook at home. If you prefer to cook your chicken at home, I use 1.5-2 lbs. of raw chicken tenders (breast meat is fine too, but the tenders cook faster). My preferred cooking method is to place the chicken tenders in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Cover with foil and bake in a 400F (200C) oven for about 30 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through). Allow to cool before chopping and using in the recipe.
  • For a healthy Curry Chicken Salad, try using low-fat mayonnaise or substituting plain Greek yogurt for half of the mayonnaise called for in the recipe.
Front shot of chicken salad croissant sandwich on a blue and white plate

Other easy chicken salad recipes that you might enjoy:

Ceramic bowl full of curried chicken salad with a silver serving spoon

Curried Chicken Salad

5 from 2 votes
Prep: 15 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 5 1/2 cups (11 1/2-cup servings)
Calories 156 kcal
Tucked inside a sandwich, stuffed in a pita, paired with fruit, or served on a bed of lettuce, this Curried Chicken Salad is a light and easy dinner or lunch idea for the warm weather months!

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups cooked, diced chicken
  • 1 ½ cups halved grapes (or 11 ounces mandarin oranges, drained)
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • ½ cup slivered almonds, toasted
  • 1 cup mayonnaise (I used light mayonnaise for purposes of calculating nutrition information)
  • 2 teaspoons less sodium soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Garnish: fresh cilantro or fresh parsley

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, toss together chicken, grapes, and celery. In a separate bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, soy sauce, lemon juice, curry powder, about ¼ teaspoon salt and a dash of pepper.
  • Add mayonnaise mixture to the chicken mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Just before serving, stir in the slivered almonds.

Notes

  • To toast slivered almonds quickly, I like to place the almonds in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave the almonds on high for about 1 minute, or until they’re just fragrant and golden brown.
  • Feel free to substitute cashews, pecans or walnuts in place of the almonds if you prefer.
  • Wait to stir the nuts into the salad until just before serving. This way the nuts will still be crunchy and won’t get soggy in the dressing.
  • I used grapes in this recipe, but you can also prepare a curry chicken salad with apples, with canned mandarin oranges, or with chopped mango!
  • Add a can of sliced, drained water chestnuts for some extra crunch.
  • A handful of raisins gives the salad nice texture and sweetness.
  • A garnish of fresh parsley or fresh cilantro adds a nice, bright, colorful finish!
  • Prepare this salad up to 2 days in advance. It keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
  • You can use leftover grilled or roasted chicken, store-bought rotisserie chicken, or chicken that you cook at home. If you prefer to cook your chicken at home, I use 1.5-2 lbs. of raw chicken tenders (breast meat is fine too, but the tenders cook faster). My preferred cooking method is to place the chicken tenders in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Cover with foil and bake in a 400F (200C) oven for about 30 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through). Allow to cool before chopping and using in the recipe.
  • For a healthy Curry Chicken Salad, try using low-fat mayonnaise or substituting plain Greek yogurt for half of the mayonnaise called for in the recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 156kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 13gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 218mgPotassium: 201mgSugar: 4gVitamin A: 75IUVitamin C: 1.3mgCalcium: 26mgIron: 0.8mg
Keyword: curried chicken salad recipe, curried chicken salad with grapes, curry chicken salad
Course: Lunch or Dinner
Cuisine: American
Author: Blair Lonergan
blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

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Comments

  1. Excited to try this. Unfortunately, I looked at the total time earlier this evening and saw 15 minutes. Went to make it and saw that it needs to be chilled for at least an hour. Guess we will have to try it tomorrow. Would it be possible to add that to the total time, or does it mess up the chances of someone making it?

    1. Thanks for that heads-up, Caitlin! Normally the “Total Time” is automatically calculated by the recipe card plugin, so it’s not something that I have to enter in separately. I’m not sure why it didn’t update correctly that time, but I’ve gone back and fixed it now. Hope you enjoy the meal!

  2. 5 stars
    Hi Blair,

    This is so delicious! I made it about a week ago, and it was such a complex interesting flavor, could not wait to make it again.
    This time, are used it as a pasta salad. I just had to take noodles to it, and it was an all in one meal. Love the flavor…
    Thanks for the suggestion of mandarin oranges, as I didn’t have any grapes, and the Mandarin oranges worked out perfectly. I think this is going to be my go to chicken salad recipe.
    Thank you for sharing your talents and so many wonderful pictures. Hope your week is going well

    1. That’s wonderful, Kris! It’s definitely my go-to chicken salad recipe as well. I’m so glad that you made it work with the ingredients that you had on hand. Adding the pasta is such a great idea!