Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe with Greek Yogurt (2024)

This site contains affiliate links. Please seePoliciesfor more information.

This healthy chicken salad recipe is a great choice for lunches, dinner on the go, and snacking in-between meals. Using premade chicken (there are links in this post telling you how to make chicken in your crockpot, pressure cooker, grill, and oven) and a few other ingredients, you can make this easy recipe in just a few minutes.

This healthy twist on classic chicken salad, this recipe adds in some unflavored Greek yogurt (or regular yogurt, if you’d like) for some extra protein.

Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe with Greek Yogurt (1)

Table of Contents

Where’s the recipe?

Recipes on My Crazy Good Life are written so that anyone can make them–whether this is your 1st or 500th time in the kitchen. The post below will give you every detail that you need, along with recipe tips, ingredients information, and healthy eating plan counts.

If you’re not looking for all of the details, scroll down to quickly view the Healthy Chicken Salad recipe at the bottom of the post in the printable recipe area.

Ingredients in this Crockpot Chicken Salad:

List of ingredient amounts is in the printable recipe. This section will explain what ingredients are needed.

  • Cooked and chopped chicken breast You could buy a whole rotisserie chicken, or make your own. Choose your favorite method here:
    • How to make Crockpot Chicken (takes
    • How to make Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (if you want to use boneless skinless chicken breasts, this is the recipe you need)
    • How to make Instant Pot Whole Chicken
    • How to Make a Ninja Foodi Chicken
    • How to Grill a Whole Chicken
    • How to Bake a Whole Chicken
  • Green and Red Seedless Grapes, halved
  • Apple, cored and diced
  • Greek yogurt or Regular yogurt, unflavored I always recommend lowfat or full fat, not fat free.
  • Vanilla (optional)
  • Mayonnaise You can easily omit this and use all yogurt if you’d like
  • Black Pepper
  • Pecans (optional)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe with Greek Yogurt (2)

How to Make Healthy Chicken Salad with Greek Yogurt:

  1. Prepare your ingredients by removing the chicken from the bones, chopping the chicken, cutting the grapes in half, dicing the apple, and chopping the nuts.
  2. Blend together the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, and pepper. You can do this with a fork, a spoon, or a small blender or food processor.
  3. Stir in the chopped chicken, halved grapes, diced apple, and chopped nuts.
  4. Your chicken salad is done! You can eat is as is, spoon onto a large leaf of lettuce to eat as a lettuce wrap, make a chicken salad sandwich, or topped on a bed of lettuce to eat as a salad.

It’s important to note that you can use store bought rotisserie chicken or make your own whole chicken or use chicken breasts. The crockpot is definitely the easiest way to make a whole chicken, but if you don’t have 3-4 hours to wait, any of the other methods work!

Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe with Greek Yogurt (3)

Recipe Tips

  • If possible, use cooled/cold chicken and not chicken that has recently been cooked. Using warm chicken will result in your yogurt and mayo warming and I’d advise refrigerating it for a bit before eating.
  • In addition to apples and grapes, celery and other crunchy vegetables are a delicious addition to this recipe! You can add them in the same measurements as whatever you’re replacing. This recipe is very easy to modify, which is one of the reasons we love this recipe!
  • Looking for more protein? Go ahead and remove mayo from the recipe and use all yogurt.
  • There is no cooking time set for this recipe because it assumes you’re using precooked chicken. If using a slow cooker, this chicken salad is an easy recipe to make after your chicken is cooked.
  • I love meal prepping this recipe–it lasts in the fridge for about 5 days. I wouldn’t recommend freezing it because the fruit would be soggy after thawing.
Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe with Greek Yogurt (4)

Healthy Eating Plans

If you are looking for a healthy chicken salad recipe this is it! The information below is to help you fit this recipe into your healthy eating plan. If you’re on a WW plan, you’ll want this recipe instead, as the ingredients are a little different.

Portion Fix / 21 Day Fix Chicken Salad:

  • Entire Recipe:2 1/2 Red containers, 2 Purple containers, 3 oil teaspoons, 2 Green containers, 1 Blue container (I give you the counts for the entire recipe so it’s easier for you to recalculate the containers if you need to)
  • Per Serving (Makes 2 Servings):1 1/4 Red container, 1 Purple container, 1.5 teaspoons, 1 Green container, 1/2 Blue container

2B Mindset Chicken Salad:

This recipe is a great lunch paired with veggies to fill your plate. You could also add veggies instead of the fruit or in place of some of the fruit in the recipe. Good veggies for this recipe would be celery, cucumbers, or thinly sliced carrots or jicama.

More easy recipes using cooked chicken:

All of these recipes can be made using precooked chicken, which means you’re spending less time in the kitchen! Go ahead and skip the directions about cooking the chicken and enjoy saving that time.

  • Rotisserie Chicken Soup
  • Easy Enchilada Casserole
  • Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip
  • Healthy Crack Chicken
  • Chicken Gyro Bowls
  • Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe with Greek Yogurt (5)

4.91 from 11 ratings

click the stars to rate!

Healthy Chicken Salad with Yogurt

Created by: Becca Ludlum

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Approximate Serving Size: about 1 cup

Servings 2 Servings

This healthy Chicken Salad is made with crockpot chicken and uses Greek yogurt and green grapes for flavor. A high protein recipe that's perfect for snacking.

Equipment

  • Crockpot

  • Kitchen Knife

Ingredients

  • ½ cup yogurt plain
  • 1 tbsp mayonnaise
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1 ½ cup chicken cooked and chopped
  • ½ cup seedless red grapes halved and chilled
  • ½ cup seedless green grapes halved and chilled
  • 1 apple cored and diced
  • tsp vanilla optional
  • 10 pecans or 8 walnuts, chopped

Instructions

  • Stir together yogurt, mayonnaise and pepper. This makes your creamy base for the salad. ½ cup yogurt, 1 tbsp mayonnaise, ¼ tsp black pepper

  • Stir in chopped chicken, halved grapes, diced apple, and chopped nuts. 1 ½ cup chicken, ½ cup seedless red grapes, ½ cup seedless green grapes, 1 apple, ⅛ tsp vanilla, 10 pecans

  • Your chicken salad is finished! Eat as is, spoon onto a large leaf of lettuce for a lettuce wrap, serve as a chicken salad sandwich, or use as a topping for a salad.

Notes

For the 21 Day Fix, the entire recipe counts as: 2 1/2 Red Containers, 2 Purple Containers, 3 teaspoons, 2 Green Containers, and 1 Blue Container. Each serving (half of the recipe) counts as : 1 1/4 Red Container, 1 Purple Container, 1.5 teaspoons, 1 Green Container, and 1/2 Blue Container.

Nutrition

Calories: 364kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 220mg | Potassium: 835mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 174IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 137mg | Iron: 1mg

Make This Recipe?

Make sure to follow on Pinterest @bludlum and on Instagram @beccaludlum

Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe with Greek Yogurt (6)

Becca Ludlum

Healthy recipe creator, self-confessed food snob, and certified Level 1 Precision Nutrition Coach. I create healthy recipes with minimally processed ingredients, but have never turned down a homemade brownie. ;)

Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe with Greek Yogurt (2024)

FAQs

How many calories are in 1 cup of homemade chicken salad? ›

Chicken Salad (1 cup) contains 2.3g total carbs, 1.6g net carbs, 31.9g fat, 29.4g protein, and 417 calories.

Is chicken salad healthy to lose weight? ›

Chicken salad can assist with weight loss, but there are some factors to consider. Firstly, you should control your portions. Eating too much, even hearty and healthy foods, is a barrier to losing weight. Chicken is one of the lower-fat foods, and its proteins promote satiety.

Is homemade chicken salad good for you? ›

Chicken salad is rich in lean protein and a decent source of iron. Depending on what other ingredients it contains, it might also provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Still, using ingredients such as mayonnaise or serving the salad on a croissant adds calories and fat.

What can I add to Greek yogurt to make it taste better? ›

How to Make Plain Greek Yogurt Taste Good: 10 easy tips
  1. Add fresh fruit.
  2. Add frozen fruit.
  3. Mix with canned pumpkin and spices.
  4. Drizzle with honey or maple syrup.
  5. Mix with nuts or seeds.
  6. Blend into a smoothie.
  7. Add cereal.
  8. As a marinade.
Feb 17, 2023

How to make Greek yogurt taste good without sugar? ›

Natural sweeteners like honey, pure fresh maple syrup, agave, or stevia can provide a delicious sweetness to your Greek yogurt. Start with a small amount and adjust to taste.

Is chicken salad good for high cholesterol? ›

If you use breast meat (as opposed to dark meat or chicken cooked with the skin on) the salad will have less cholesterol and saturated fat. Celery, onion and any other produce incorporated in the salad will add vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Is salad with mayonnaise healthy? ›

Worst: 'Salads' With Mayonnaise

Tuna, lean chicken, and boiled eggs can be good sources of protein, but that benefit is canceled out if you drown them in mayo, which is loaded with fat, salt, and calories. For a healthier version, use a small amount of light mayonnaise and some fat-free sour cream or plain yogurt.

How many carbs is in homemade chicken salad? ›

Generally, a basic chicken salad with chicken, mayonnaise, and vegetables may contain around 2-5 grams of carbohydrates per serving. However, the addition of other ingredients like fruits, nuts, or sweeteners can influence the total carb count.

What's the ingredients in chicken salad? ›

Image of What's the ingredients in chicken salad?
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world. Owing to the relative ease and low cost of raising chickens—in comparison to mammals such as cattle or hogs—chicken meat and chicken eggs have become prevalent in numerous cuisines.
Wikipedia

What to avoid in salad for weight loss? ›

Crunchy Noodles, Wontons, and Tortilla Strips

“Crunchy noodles are like eating chips,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, R.D.N., creator of BetterThanDieting.com and author of Read It Before You Eat It. All they add to your salad are calories (around 120 per half cup) and fat (half of those calories, at around 60 grams).

Can I lose weight if I eat 3 salads a day? ›

You might lose weight as a result of eating fewer unhealthy foods. One of the reasons why salad is considered a healthy choice when you're aiming to maintain your weight or shed pounds is that they are usually chock-full of fiber—which is considered to be helpful in aiding with weight loss.

Are rotisserie chickens healthy? ›

A rotisserie chicken is better than some of the other alternatives. Even with additives, a rotisserie chicken is a far healthier choice than a fast food run, says Allers. “It's still lower in fat and calories than fast food. It's serving its purpose – it's fast, but it can still help you create a balanced meal.

Is chicken salad healthier than tuna salad? ›

If your iron levels are solid but you could use some more zinc, potassium, or phosphorus, then chicken is a better choice. In the end, the choice between tuna and chicken boils down to what you need. Whichever you choose, you're guaranteed lots of lean, low-calorie protein, with vitamins and minerals galore.

What is best to eat chicken salad on? ›

Put it in a sandwich: A chicken salad sandwich is a classic dish that you truly can never go wrong with. Simply toast up some sourdough bread, add in a few lettuce leaves, and top this chicken salad on top. It's delicious! Eat it on lettuce wraps: Want a lower-carb way to enjoy this chicken salad?

Can you swap Greek yogurt for mayo? ›

Just incase you haven't figured out that you can substitute Greek yogurt for almost all mayo/sour cream… 😉 Use this as a base recipe. You can adjust your ratios, omit the mayo entirely if you want a super healthy ranch, or add more if you want it richer.

Can you use plain Greek yogurt as mayo? ›

Greek yogurt is one of the best mayonnaise substitutes. It has a very similar consistency, and the flavor generally isn't altered much by this replacement. It's perfect for dressings, dips, salads, spreads, and even baked goods. Be sure to use plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt.

How does Greek yogurt get its thick creamy and tangy texture? ›

Yogurt is milk that goes through a culturing process with a starter culture to convert its lactose to lactic acid. Greek yogurt is regular yogurt that has a thicker, more dense consistency due to a filtering process that removes whey and liquids or through the addition of whey protein and milk protein concentrates.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Barbera Armstrong

Last Updated:

Views: 6047

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (59 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Barbera Armstrong

Birthday: 1992-09-12

Address: Suite 993 99852 Daugherty Causeway, Ritchiehaven, VT 49630

Phone: +5026838435397

Job: National Engineer

Hobby: Listening to music, Board games, Photography, Ice skating, LARPing, Kite flying, Rugby

Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.