When I first posted this Curry Chicken Salad recipe 13 years ago, I never realized what a staple it would become in my meal-prep rotation. Tender pieces of chicken, crunchy almonds, sweet raisins, and crisp celery are wrapped up in a creamy, tangy, curry-spiced dressing. It’s texture heaven! Plus, this recipe is an absolute winner when it comes to convenience. Got leftover chicken? Perfect. Need an easy dish for a potluck, BBQ, or special occasion? This salad is it. I love it by the spoonful, but it’s also delicious stuffed in a pita or rolled up in a tortilla!
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“I was looking for a no-heat lunch for work with protein and this one fit the bill. I ate it this week on toast or on crackers and it was excellent. I used craisins and pecans instead and these worked well. I’ve already meal-prepped a second batch for next week too!”
Victoria
Out of all the recipes I’ve made with curry spices, this chicken curry salad might just be my favorite, which isn’t surprising given I’m obsessed with chicken salad in general. Something about the curry with the creamy mayo/yogurt dressing is just perfect! Not to mention the subtle sweetness of the raisins to balance the earthy spices and ALL THAT CRUNCH…Mmmm!
Budget-Friendly Tips
- Shop the sales: Chicken is never really “cheap”, per se, but when you get it on sale, it approaches affordable. And then when you consider the fact that you can sometimes pay $10/lb. for pre-made chicken salad at the deli, this recipe is actually quite a steal!
- Use what you’ve got: I use both mayonnaise and yogurt in the dressing for this curry chicken salad because they each have their own unique flavor qualities that they bring to the party. Yogurt is light and tangy and is a classic pairing with curry spices, while mayonnaise offers a deep creaminess. I’m telling you that the combination of the two is magic. 😉 However, if you need to, you can just use yogurt or just use mayonnaise and save some pennies.
- Use any color raisin: I went for golden raisins because I already had them in my pantry. But really, any raisin will do. Go for whatever is priced the best!
Curry Chicken Salad
Servings 4 servings (1 cup each)Ingredients
Dressing
- ¼ cup mayonnaise ($0.80)
- ¼ cup plain yogurt ($0.34)
- 1 tsp lemon juice ($0.01)
- ½ tsp honey ($0.02)
- 1 tsp curry powder (* , $0.10)
- ¼ tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly cracked pepper (to taste , $0.02)
Salad
- 2.5 cups chopped cooked chicken (** , $6.67)
- pinch salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 2 stalks celery ($0.18)
- 3 whole green onions ($0.28)
- ½ cup sliced almonds ($0.61)
- ½ cup raisins ($0.59)
Instructions
- Make the dressing by stirring together the mayonnaise, yogurt***, lemon juice, honey, curry powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Taste the dressing and adjust the curry powder or salt if needed.
- Season both sides of the chicken breasts with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook the chicken breast in either a countertop grill or in a skillet until cooked through. Allow the cooked chicken breast to cool while you prepare the rest of the salad.
- Finely dice the celery and slice the green onions. Place the green onion, celery, sliced almonds, and raisins in a large bowl.
- Chop the chicken into small cubes and place them in the bowl with the celery, onion, almonds, and raisins. Stir to combine. Pour the dressing over top and stir to coat.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Curry Chicken Salad Step-By-Step Photos
Prep the ingredients: Gather all of your ingredients.
Make the dressing: To make the dressing for your curry chicken salad, combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp honey, 1 tsp curry powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper.
Mix the dressing: Stir the dressing together, give it a taste, and adjust the salt, honey, or curry powder if needed (every brand of curry powder is a bit different, so you may prefer more or less). Refrigerate the dressing until you’re ready for it.
Prepare the chicken: You’ll need about 2.5 cups chopped cooked chicken, which for me was two chicken breasts, or about 1.5 lbs. when raw.
To cook the chicken yourself, season it with a pinch of salt and pepper, then cook it using a grill or in a skillet. I used a grill plate that fits on top of my range top, but you can also use something like a George Foreman Grill, or a cast iron skillet. Another easy option is to use a store bought rotisserie chicken. Allow the chicken to cool while you prepare the rest of the salad, then chop it into small pieces.
Dice the veggies: While the chicken is cooling, you can prepare the rest of the salad. Finely dice 2 ribs of celery and slice 3 green onions.
Make the salad: Add the chopped chicken, diced celery, sliced green onions, 1/2 cup sliced almonds, and 1/2 cup raisins to a large bowl (I used golden raisins).
Pour in the dressing: Add the prepared curry dressing to the salad ingredients.
Combine and serve: Then stir until everything is coated in dressing. And then it’s ready to eat!
How to Serve
I remember when I first made this recipe for curry chicken salad, I just ate a bunch by itself with a fork. It’s honestly that good. But since then, I’ve used it as a dip for crackers or stuffed into a homemade pita and loved it just as much! It’s also amazing piled onto a croissant for an easy (but indulgent!) sandwich or wrapped in crisp lettuce for a lighter option. Or, whenever I’m craving a protein-packed salad with fresh veggies, I’ll serve it on top of a simple salad. And if I’ve got any leftover hard-boiled eggs in my fridge, I add them to the mix, too!
Storage Instructions
This curried chicken salad is great for meal-prepping. Depending on the freshness of your ingredients, it’ll easily last for up to 3-4 days in the fridge. I like to portion my salad out into separate airtight containers so I can just grab one each day for lunch. I also sometimes double-batch the dressing and use it in other recipes, like my curry chickpea salad!
More Chicken Salad Recipes
Our Curry Chicken Salad recipe was originally published 7/16/12. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 3/25/25.
This is probably my family’s favorite of your recipes (and we like a lot of them!). The only things I do differently is to omit the raisins (we’re not fans) and increase the curry powder by A LOT! I’ve wondered if I’m just using the wrong brand of curry powder but have tried several brands and always have to at least double it. But it’s so delicious! I serve it with crackers and fresh veggies with dip. It’s perfect for picnics or just to eat at home
I wanted something fast, so I used canned chicken. Followed the recipe otherwise. It was delicious. Thank you for taking the time to share this recipe.
I’d give it a five but I’m not white enough. 🤷
Hi, just made this but substituted 2 cans of rinsed, drained and patted dry chickpeas for the chicken. I also pulsed the chickpeas a few times in a food processor with a couple of tablespoons of the dressing before adding it to everything else including the remaining dressing to combine. I used vegan mayo and yogurt but otherwise followed the recipe. It turned out really yum!
DELICIOUS!! I added a little more curry and lemon juice as I found the dressing a little on the sweet side. Didn’t have celery so I used celery seed, and used minced onions instead of the green onion. It was the most perfect salad!
The dressing wasn’t quite spiced enough for me, so I added extra curry powder and also 1/2 tsp of garam masala. Made it much better!
The first time I made this, I didn’t have any Greek yogurt so I just made it with Mayo and it was amazing. I told everyone how much I loved it.
THEN today, I made it as written and it blew me away all over again! Definitely doable to do without the yogurt but it adds so much to the dish. Thanks for sharing thi!
I wanted to make this, but DID NOT want to go to the store, so I subbed for what I had on hand – cashews, dried cranberries, and lime juice. It was SO good! Will buy the proper ingredients to try as written but imagine it will be just as good!
Delicious! I’ve already sent this to friends, and will be adding it to my regular rotation! I used just mayo and no yogurt (I’m dairy free and the store was out of plain dairy-free yogurt), pecans instead of almonds because I wanted to use some up, and a mix of craisins and regular raisins because that’s what I had. I still have 2-3 servings left, and already can’t wait to make more!
I was looking for a no-heat lunch for work with protein and this one fit the bill. I ate it this week on toast or on crackers and it was excellent. I used craisins and pecans instead and these worked well. I’ve already meal-prepped a second batch for next week too!
cooked chicken for this and seasoned it with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne for a little kick! i also picked up some hot curry powder from my local middle eastern grocery store for the dressing and it made all the difference. it was so delish! thanks for the recipe, love it! will be adding even more celery and green onion next time for more crunch :)
This was so yummy! Had this with some wheat thins and sharp cheddar cheese for lunch, felt like an adult lunchable haha. The only substitution I made was craisins instead of raisins.
I’ve made this so often and everyone loves it. I use cranraisins instead of raisins and I’d I don’t have celery on hand I substitute celery seed. It is the dressing that makes it!
um, this is so good. I love you
Simple, delicious and customizable curry salad. Recommended.