This creamy and flavor-packed Madras curry chicken salad recipe is a great way to punch up a traditional chicken salad!
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An Indian spin on chicken salad!
Whipping up some chicken salad? Don’t you dare make a bland-tasting version tossed with plain old mayonnaise. Instead, punch it up with smoky, aromatic Madras curry powder, crisp apples, fresh herbs, and toasted almonds. With just a few pantry items, you can radically transform a ho-hum dish into an elegant and flavorful meal.
This South Asian-inspired Madras chicken salad recipe is a fan-favorite oldie-but-goodie from our first cookbook! When I’ve had a long day, I just throw this salad together and serve it on a giant bed of organic lettuce mix. Hosting a party? Spoon it into cucumber cups or on endive spears to make a fancy hors d’oeuvre. No one’ll guess how little time it took!
What chicken should you use for chicken salad?
If you have leftover roast chicken, your main ingredient’s all set to go. These days, I like to cook Air Fryer Whole Chicken and use the leftovers for this curry chicken salad recipe because it’s so fast, delicious, and easy.
Of course, if you don’t have any cooked chicken on hand and decide to purchase a rotisserie chicken instead, don’t worry—I won’t tell anyone. Confession: in a pinch, I’ll pick up Whole Foods Market’s Classic Organic, Salt and Pepper, or Perfectly Plain rotisserie chickens (prioritized in that order). These birds are minimally seasoned (if at all); in fact, according to my buds at Whole Foods, they’re roasted at the top of a vertical rotisserie oven so that the non-paleo seasonings on the birds at the bottom of the oven can’t drip on ’em. (Still, a word of caution for allergy sufferers: because the birds are cooked in the same oven, wheat and soy contamination is nonetheless possible.)
So grab your cooked chicken, your paleo mayonnaise, and the rest of the ingredients, and let’s do this!
Chicken salad ingredients
- Cooked chicken breast or thighs: See above for my cooked chicken recommendations.
- Paleo Mayonnaise: The main ingredient for the creamy dressing is mayonnaise so use a tasty one! If you don’t feel like making it yourself, you can buy a paleo-friendly one like Primal Kitchen Mayo. If you hate mayo and tolerate dairy, you can substitute Greek yogurt for extra protein.
- Indian Madras curry powder: Because the two main ingredients for the salad dressing are mayo and curry powder, the choice of curry blend makes a difference. I like using Sun Brand Madras curry powder the best because the blend of spices is perfect, in my humble opinion.
- Small apple: I like to use Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp apple (peeled, cored, and cubed) to add a touch of sweetness to the chicken salad. You can also substitute grapes or golden raisins if you prefer. If you want to leave out the fruit, you can add some celery for crunch.
- Lime juice: The fresh lime juice adds a nice touch of acidity to the curry chicken salad. Feel free to substitute fresh lemon juice.
- Fresh cilantro (or fresh coriander): Yes, I know some of you hate the taste of cilantro. If that’s the case, you can use Italian parsley or leave it out.
- Green onions
- Toasted almond slivers: For crunch and nuttiness! Feel free to substitute walnuts or cashews if you prefer.
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
How to make curry chicken salad
First, make the curried mayonnaise. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Madras curry powder, salt, and pepper to taste.
Yes, folks—whenever possible, it’s important to taste your food so you can adjust the seasoning as needed.
In a separate bowl, toss the apple chunks with the lime juice. This will ensure that your apples won’t oxidize into brown, splotchy cubes—and the acid adds a nice zing to the salad, too. Shred the chicken by hand, and toss it into the bowl with the acidulated apples.
Add the cilantro, scallions…
…and curried mayonnaise.
Mix well.
Plate it up! (I like to plop it on a bed of lettuce leaves because I’m fancy like that.)
Top with toasted almond slivers.
Done! How easy was that? If desired, you can serve with lime slices for a bit of extra zing!
How do you serve the chicken salad?
You can eat the curry chicken salad as is over a bed of lettuce leaves or spooned into lettuce wraps. Not trying to eat paleo? Serve the chicken salad with crackers or as a sandwich, tucked in a croissant.
How do you save leftovers?
Leftover curry chicken salad can be stored in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Do not freeze the salad because the dressing will be too watery when you thaw it.
More chicken salad recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Curry Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup Paleo Mayonnaise if you don’t feel like making it, buy Primal Kitchen Mayo
- ¾ teaspoon Indian curry powder
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small Gala Fuji, or Honeycrisp apple, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch dice
- Juice from ½ medium lime
- 1 pound cooked chicken breast or thighs
- ½ cup packed fresh cilantro roughly chopped
- 2 scallions trimmed and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup almond slivers toasted
Instructions
- First, make the curried mayonnaise. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, curry powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Yes, folks—whenever possible, it’s important to taste your food so you can adjust the seasoning as needed.
- In a separate bowl, toss the apple chunks with the lime juice. This will ensure that your apples won’t oxidize into brown, splotchy cubes—and the acid adds a nice zing to the salad, too.
- Shred the chicken by hand, and toss it into the bowl with the acidulated apples. Add the cilantro, scallions, and curried mayonnaise, and mix well.
- Top with toasted almond slivers and serve. The salad will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My family loves this salad. Thanks for the recipe. We have made it several times.
The salad will keep in the fridge for about an hour, by which time I will have gone back into the fridge & finished it off. Sooooo tasty.
This is the BEST chicken salad recipe, yes, even though its Paleo. I have 3 teenage boys, one of which hates chicken, one of which hates curry and one of which who hates mayo. I cannot keep this in my frig – they ALL love it! Make ahead tips: keep shredded chicken on hand in glass freezer container and don’t forget to put a little chicken broth in there to keep chicken moist when you bring it out to defrost (in micro or frig); when ready, warm chicken and juice so chicken is ready to absorb flavors; add all ingredients and you are all set in 15 minutes.
So good! Easy and delicious!
Soooo delicious! I can’t believe I waited so long to try this! Now I’ll be making it all the time. Thanks for another great recipe!
This salad is the best and very easy to fix. As others have noted, it doesn’t last long because it is so tasty!
I made this today at the fire house and it was a hit!! I added crushed red peppers for a little zing and decreased the salt.
Made this today at the fire house and it was a hit!! For ease I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, added crushed red peppers for some zing, and decreased the salt.
Would absolutely make this again!
This recipe is sooooo good!!! I followed it to a T and wouldn’t change a thing about it.
Love this recipe! So fresh. Great for summer.