Everyone has their favorite chicken salad recipe, but I dare you to try something a wee bit different! With a hint of sweetness from the raisins and crunchy almonds, this Curry Chicken Salad with Raisins is a flavor explosion! Hungry? Read on and I, Chef Jenn, will show you how to make this easy peasy and oh-so yummy dish!
Perfect as a curry chicken salad sandwich or just on a bowl of greens, this delish and easy chicken salad recipe is a quick fix. Plus, it tastes even better after a day or two in the fridge! Grab your favorite curry powder and let’s get cooking!
Ingredients
- Cooked chicken – leftover rotisserie chicken is perfect in this dish!
- Mayonnaise
- Sour cream
- Curry powder – use a mild or medium curry powder
- Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- Raisins
- Onion – red onion is my suggestion
- Almonds to garnish – toast them lightly so they’re extra crunchy
How To Make This Easy Chicken Salad Recipe
- Cut the chicken into smallish bite-size pieces. Nobody wants to chew on a giant hunk of chicken, and besides, the smaller the chunks, the more the deeeelish dressing will spread through it.
- Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, curry powder and lemon juice together in a bowl. Add the salt and pepper.
- Fold in the raisins and add the dressing to the chicken. Add the onion and mix well.
- Top with toasted almonds and chopped parsley if you like. Serve and enjoy!
How to Toast Almonds
Ask me how many almonds I’ve burned while trying to toast them? I’d have to answer “A LOT!”
You see, almonds are the pesky nut that waits until you’re not looking to finally go from pale white to black and burned. I’m convinced it’s a conspiracy. OK, so not really a conspiracy, but nuts will go from untoasted to burned in a matter of seconds, but I’ve got some tips to help you out.
- Don’t walk away! However you choose to toast them, don’t walk away or you could come back to burned almonds.
- Pick your cooking method – I have done them in a skillet on the stove, in the toaster oven, in my air fryer, and in the regular oven.
- Get them off the heat (and out of the skillet or off of the cooking sheet) as quickly as possible. They will continue to brown if they’re in contact with the heat.
- You can use frozen nuts or fresh – they’ll both toast just fine.
Make It A Meal
I looooove this dish and think it makes the most amazing curried chicken salad sandwiches, but I also like it straight out of the bowl. It’s a low-carb curry chicken salad recipe, so it’s great on days when I’m looking for less carbs.
You can also eat it in a wrap, on a bowl of greens, or just on the end of a spoon. It also makes an elegant appetizer if you serve it canape style on cucumber rounds or small crackers. Or, make this hamburger bun recipe and serve the salad on a bun. Don’t forget about dessert – these Peaches and Cream Cookies are terrific!
Recommended
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- Using rotisserie chicken makes this dish sooooo easy to make. If you’ve got a Costco membership, you can buy rotisserie chicken meat in a vacuum-sealed bag and divide it up and freeze portions for recipes like this.
- Curry powder gets stale and loses its flavor if it’s too old. Make sure your spices are fresh!
- I prefer golden raisins in this recipe. They just blend so much better with the color of the salad.
- Chef Jenn, why mayo AND sour cream? You may not know this, but I’m not a fan of mayo. I think that mayo-based salads end up being too sweet, too oily, and too…well….mayonnaisey. Cutting the mayo with the sour cream adds loads of creaminess, a touch of acidity, and a bit of tanginess that goes so well in this dish.
Variations
Don’t like raisins? Here are some other tasty ways to jazz up this chicken salad.
- Try curry chicken salad with apples and cranberries
- Try this curry chicken salad with grapes
- Go fruitless and just add some celery
Is This Chicken Salad Dairy-Free?
No, not as it is, but you could make it dairy-free by swapping out the sour cream and using mayonnaise instead. Give it an extra tablespoon of lemon juice and it’ll be just as tasty!
Storage
This healthy curry chicken salad recipe will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge. Just be careful if you’re using leftover rotisserie chicken that the chicken isn’t already several days old.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Simply swap out the mayo and sour cream for an equal amount of Greek yogurt. Reduce the lemon by half because the yogurt is already plenty tangy.
Technically, yes, you can freeze curry chicken salad. However, the chicken may give off some of its liquid during the thawing process, which will result in a runnier chicken salad. The almonds will also lose their crunch. If you’re in a pinch, freeze it. But, I recommend eating this dish fresh.
I love this salad with a bowlful of greens and my favorite salad dressing, or I’ll enjoy it on bread along with soup. It also makes a tasty snack on crackers.
Step by Step Process
Curry Chicken Salad with Raisins
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chicken cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 2 tbsp curry powder or to taste
- 2 tbsp red onion diced
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds toasted
Instructions
- Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, raisins, onions, and curry powder together. Season with salt if necessary.
- Toss this dressing with the cubed chicken.
- Top with toasted almonds and serve!
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
