This easy Curry Chicken Salad is full of irresistible flavor from a creamy curry dressing, sweet golden raisins, red onion, and crunchy celery. Use store-bought rotisserie chicken for a delicious meal that is ready in about 10 minutes!
If you’re a fan of chicken salad, you’ll also want to try my Classic Chicken Salad, Napa Almond Chicken Salad, and Pesto Chicken Salad.
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Whether it’s over the holidays or the summer months, it’s so convenient to have an easy to assemble lunch ready and waiting for the random assortment of people wandering through my house. Having a fresh batch of chicken salad in the fridge is always a good thing, especially when it’s this delicious Curry Chicken Salad.
This recipe has a lot going on from the creamy curry dressing, the sweet, chewy bite of golden raisins, and a bit of texture from finely diced red onion and celery. It all works together in a glorious way.
I’ve never seen anyone try it and not come back for more.
There are several ways you can customize Curry Chicken Salad to suit your taste (see below) but as written, this is exactly how I make it every single time.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken: Definitely go with shredded store-bought rotisserie chicken breast to make this recipe incredibly fast and easy.
- Dressing: I’ve lightened up this simple curry dressing by replacing part of the mayonnaise with nonfat or 2% plain Greek yogurt. You’ll also need some curry powder, a little sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Veggies: Diced celery and diced red onion.
- Raisins: Golden raisins are milder and sweeter than black raisins and complement the curry dressing perfectly. Be sure to use fresh, soft raisins.
- Fresh parsley: To add a subtle fresh quality that enhances the salad in a really nice way.
How to Make Curry Chicken Salad
- Combine the chicken, raisins, celery, and onion in a medium mixing bowl.
- Combine the dressing in a separate small bowl and pour it over the chicken salad mixture. Mix until salad is well coated in dressing. Sprinkle with parsley and mix until combined.
Variations
- Fruit: Substitute either halved red grapes or chopped apple for the raisins. If you love grapes in your chicken salad, definitely give my Napa Almond Chicken Salad a try.
- Nuts: For even more texture, try adding lightly toasted and chopped cashews or sliced almonds.
- Lighter Curry Chicken Salad: Increase the amount of plain Greek yogurt to replace as much of the mayonnaise as you’d like to lighten this recipe up even further.
Serving Suggestions
Sandwiches: I could honestly just dig right into that bowl with my fork, but Curry Chicken Salad is SO delicious served on King’s Hawaiian Hamburger Buns. They are just a bit bigger than a slider roll, which I love. The perfect size for your little ones and great for portion control for the rest of us. Just add some green leaf lettuce for an easy, light, and delicious meal.
Tortilla Wraps: Serve the chicken salad as a filling for tortillas or wraps with spinach and thinly sliced tomato. Add a slice of meunster or havarti cheese for even more flavor.
Lettuce Wraps: For a low-carb option, spoon the Curry Chicken Salad into large lettuce leaves, like romaine or butter lettuce, and roll them up for a crunchy and refreshing wrap.
Stuffed Pitas or Naan: Stuff warm pita bread or naan with the chicken salad, shredded lettuce, and sliced tomatoes for a super yummy meal.
Salad Bowls: Spoon Curry Chicken Salad over a bed of mixed greens or baby spinach for a colorful and nutritious salad. Add additional toppings like cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, and avocado for extra flavor and nutrients.
Party Appetizers: Serve Curry Chicken Salad as a dip or spread for crackers, chips, or toasted baguette slices. You can also stuff mini phyllo cups or endive leaves with the salad for bite-sized appetizers.
Storage Tips
Store Curry Chicken Salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It’s great for meal prep lunches. Or, make it in advance and have it ready in the fridge to feed overnight guests an easy lunch the next day (or in my house, a midnight snack!).
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Curry Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Chicken Salad
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken breast, (I used rotisserie chicken)
- ⅓ cup golden raisins
- 1 rib celery, sliced
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
Curry Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, nonfat or 2%
- 3 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the chicken, raisins, celery, and onion in a medium mixing bowl.
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a separate small bowl and pour over the chicken salad mixture. Mix until salad is well coated in dressing. Sprinkle with parsley and mix until combined.
- Serve on sandwich rolls or add a scoop to salad greens.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Like this? Please rate & comment below!
This post was originally published on July 7, 2016. It has been updated with new text and images.
So, I made the dressing exactly according to the recipe. But I modified the chicken salad, because I despise celery and didn’t have raisins. I used chopped chicken, dried cranberries, diced dried apricots, and chopped almonds for crunch. Really yummy!
Sometimes you just have to make use of what you have on hand! Your changes sound delicious. 🙂 Thanks so much for your comment and rating.
Super easy. Super delicious.
The textures and flavors blend perfectly. (And, yes, prepare at least 24 hours ahead of serving, if at all possible)
This is what I’m taking to all of my 2024 spring/summer pot lucks.
Happy to hear you loved it! Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂
Absolutely delicious! As suggested in the recipe, I prepared it a day in advance so the flavours could develop. I happened to have on hand some tandoori chicken, and of course it made the sandwiches even better. I also added diced sweet pepper, for more veg. Served on sourdough, it was a gourmet sandwich truly worth of a birthday picnic. Thank you for the recipe
I’ve made this a couple of times now, my latest take on it involved Craisins and cashews, DEE-FREAKIN’-LICIOUS!
Also, was reluctant to fully commit to the yogurt, but I got with the program this time, and it really gave it a lighter feel that enabled the other ingredients to shine, less greasy texture and packed with flavor. Awesome!
Oh, I love your additions! Sounds incredible! I’m glad you took the leap with the Greek yogurt. It’s so thick and luxurious, it really does make a great sub for some of the mayo. Thanks for the feedback, RL 🙂
Ya know, I love curry. I put it in all kinds of stuff you don’t typically find curry in, like split pea soup and mac & cheese. It’s got a unique, piquant flavor I can’t get enough of.
I was already dosing my chicken salad with the stuff, but I love the addition of the golden raisins, and the dressing, mmm-mmmm, mmm-mmm, MMMMMMM!
Can’t wait to try it.
Thanks, Valerie!