Delicious and healthy Chicken Salad made with medjool dates, celery, and pecans that is loaded with flavor and textures. Perfect for an easy lunch, dinner, or recipe to meal prep. Gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free.
Chicken salad is one of those dishes that you can never go wrong with. It's an easy, flavorful dish to throw together that can be easily tailored to your liking! Great for picnics, bbq's, parties, or just everyday life as a nourishing lunch or dinner--especially on those days when you have nothing planned on the menu. Plus, it's so versatile in the ways it can be enjoyed--on a buttery croissant, toasted sandwich bread, with crackers, in a tortilla, on a fresh salad, or make into crunchy lettuce wraps!
You may be wondering what exactly makes this the Ultimate Chicken Salad...and we're here to tell you😉 It's a special little ingredient that also happens to be a fresh fruit... Joolies Organic Medjool Dates! One of the best things about chicken salad is how it can be created in a kajillion different ways! A traditional version calls for raisins, but we're swapping them for delicious medjool dates. The medjool dates really elevates this dish by adding a delightful natural sweetness and a richer, caramel-like flavor profile. We're sharing more ideas to mix up this classic salad.
Ways to mix it up/make it your own
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- Use greek yogurt or Siggi's. As a healthier alternative, leave out the mayo and use a creamy greek yogurt or my personal favorite, Siggi's, which is thicker and more tart! You can even half and half it with mayo + yogurt.
- Add more fruits. Throw in some sliced grapes or chopped apples for a more dominant fruity flavor.
- Change up the nuts! Almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, pumpkin or sunflower seeds add great flavor and help with the absorption of all those great fat-soluble vitamins in the salad.
- Experiment with different herbs. Changing up this seemingly minuscule ingredient will quickly and efficiently put your salad on a new flavor path! Fresh dill, thyme, chives, and tarragon pair well this blend!
Ingredients you'll need:
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- Chicken Breasts
- You can bake or poach the chicken breasts, but if you're in time-saver mode rotisserie chicken works phenomenally.
- Joolies Organic Medjool Dates
- Adding delicious nuggets of caramel instead of shriveled raisins!
- Celery
- Adds a yummy, fresh crunch into the mix and a bright bite of green.
- Red onion
- For a pop of color and balances out the sweetness with its great savory, onion flavor. If it's too strong for you, feel free to swap with green onions.
- Pecans
- Roasted, toasted, candied, or raw, however you like your pecans to add a little nuttiness. Feel free to swap to any nut or seed of your liking.
- Lemon Juice
- The citrus adds a lovely bright flavor. We always say fresh is best, but store bought lemon juice will get the job done (note: you might need to add a bit more than called for since it's flavor isn't as strong).
- Avocado Mayonnaise
- This creamy condiment binds everything together. Gradually add the mayo in by tablespoons to reach your desired consistency (everybody's mayo:salad ratio is different😊). Feel free to swap for regular mayo or greek yogurt.
- Parsley
- This versatile, common herb adds a fresh, mild peppery flavor and is rich in polyphenols (aka strong antioxidants) to help defend against oxidative stress. Dried herbs generally contain higher levels of polyphenols compared to fresh.
- Garlic, Salt, + Pepper
- These help to compliment the other flavors!
- Chicken Breasts
