This is your classic, flavorful chicken salad, but lightened up. Classic Chicken Salad with Herbs has the simplicity of a classic mayo-based chicken salad, but the addition of fresh herbs kicks it up a notch in the flavor department. Serve this delicious chicken salad on a bed of greens, in your favorite wrap, with crackers and fresh veggies, or as a classic sandwich for the ultimate lunch.
What you’ll need to make this recipe
Here’s your ingredient list for this recipe:
- chicken breast
- light mayo
- plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- lemon juice
- Dijon
- kosher salt
- celery seed
- poppy seed
- celery
- white onion
- scallions
- parsley
How I lighten-up this classic chicken salad with herbs
It took a lot of trial and error (mostly error) to figure out how to lighten up chicken salad without making it super dry and boring. Chicken salad should be moist and creamy, and usually that requires a ton of mayo… and that’s what makes it delicious, right? A lot of lightened-up chicken salad recipes call for yogurt in place of mayo, which I can appreciate. But mentally I couldn’t get over the fact that the salad was primarily yogurt. I just felt like I was tasting that yogurt tang. And if you don’t like yogurt at all, it’s just not an option for a mayo replacement. Over time I have realized that a combination of mayo and Greek yogurt provides the perfect base for chicken salad! The yogurt just kind of helps stretch the mayo, without changing the flavor whatsoever. These are the brands of mayo and yogurt I use on a daily basis, but any will work.
Trust me on the yogurt. A lot of people might shy away from this recipe because of the yogurt, but I promise you, you don’t taste it at all. Besides this switch, it doesn’t take much else to lighten up a chicken salad. Chicken breast is generally a light option, and the other ingredients we are adding here are just veggies and herbs!
How-To Video
All about poaching chicken
As always, for any of my recipes that call for poached chicken, you can use a cooked rotisserie chicken, you can use canned chicken, or you can roast your own chicken. Whatever is easiest for you, or whichever method you prefer!
I’ve included step-by-step instructions on the recipe card below for how to poach chicken. If you’ve never done it before, I recommend you trying it. It’s very easy to do, and it’s also more economical than buying a fully-cooked rotisserie chicken (or two, in this case).
I have been poaching my chicken for chicken salads for a while now. Not only is it SUPER easy, but the chicken comes out super moist.
When you’re poaching chicken, you can add any flavor you want to your pot. For example, when I make my Thai Chicken Salad, I use ground ginger and lime in the water. For this recipe, I keep it simple with my basic poaching method. This includes some dried bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt. This is the basic recipe I use for most of my chicken salads, since it can work with most flavor profiles.
To poach the chicken, simply place the raw chicken breast in a large pot. Next, add the salt, peppercorns, crushed garlic cloves, and bay leaves.
Next, cover the chicken with cold water. Make sure everything is submerged under the water. Place the pot on the stove with a lid, and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the water to a rapid simmer, and cook uncovered. Cook until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165F. You can determine that by using a meat thermometer like this one. When the chicken has reached the internal temperature of 165, remove it from the pan and place it on a cutting board to cool. Then, shred it using two forks. This method will yield 6 cups of cooked chicken breast.
Making the chicken salad
Once your chicken is cooked, it’s really just chopping some veggies and throwing it all together! Chop the onion, celery, scallions and parsley. Grab a large mixing bowl, and whisk together the Greek yogurt and mayo, followed by the other seasonings. Then fold in the cooked chicken and chopped veggies and herbs.
Classic Chicken Salad with Fresh Herbs
Equipment
- large pot
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
Poached Chicken
- 3 lbs chicken breast, raw
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves, dried
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
Salad
- 1/2 cup light mayo
- 1/2 cup plain non fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon
- 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup celery, diced
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1/4 cup scallions, fresh, chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley, fresh, chopped
Instructions
Poached Chicken
- Add the raw chicken breast to the bottom of a large pot.
- Add the salt, peppercorns, smashed garlic cloves, and bay leaves.
- Cover the chicken with cold water.
- Place the lid on the pot, and bring the water to a boil.
- Reduce to a low boil or rapid simmer, and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165F.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board to cool.
- Chop or shred the chicken.
- Yields 6 cups of cooked chicken. You can skip this altogether and purchase cooked chicken breast instead.
Salad
- Chop the onion, celery, scallions, and parsley.
- Combine the yogurt and mayo in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, dijon, celery seed, poppy seeds, and salt, and whisk together to form a dressing.
- Fold in the cooked chicken and the diced onion, celery, scallions and parsley.
- Taste for seasoning.
Notes
- 4 WW points (green plan)
- 2 WW points (blue and purple plans)
Nutrition
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Jennifer says
This is one of my favorite recipes! I was not a big fan of chicken salad until I tried this. Now it’s one of my favorite lunches! Tastes amazing, easy to make, low in WW points.
Stormy Thomas says
Love this!
Nadine says
This salad and the chicken Thai are my two favorites. I didn’t have have parsley in the house the first go around, but today I made sure I did. Well, I cannot believe how much it elevated the salad by just adding the parsley. A sure winner!
Nicola Rubinow says
How wonderful to come across a new and exciting recipe for Classic Chicken salad. No parsley here, either; dried dill weed was a good substitute, marrying well with the celery. Thank you, Steph!
Nikki says
SO DELICIOUS! I love chicken salad but don’t like all the usual add ins. These are all ingredients I had on hand – so convenient. Made into a wrap (well 2 – it was so good) and heated on panini press!
LeeAnn says
Delicious! Easy to prepare for lunches for the week and husband approved too! Love all your recipes!
Carrie says
This is delicious. Steph was brilliant to figure out just how much yogurt you could get away with without it tasting yogurty. It’s perfect and I’d never be able to tell. I didn’t have celery seed, so I subbed celery salt in place of the regular salt. I also added toasted sliced almonds, pepper, and seasoned salt. I’ll look forward to this for lunch this week for sure. Thanks Steph!
Aaron Judge says
Made this chicken salad for lunch today with a few substitutions due to what I had on hand. But that’s what I love about Steph’s recipes is they can always be adjusted depending on what is available. First I didn’t have dried bay leaves for the poaching so I used some fresh basil leaves and some extra cloves of garlic. For the salad part I omitted the raw onion and used extra celery and scallions. I didn’t have lemon juice so I used a splash of apple cider vinegar, and I substituted the celery seed and poppy seed for a sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning. I also added some fresh dill along with the fresh parsley… I ate it with carrot sticks and half a toasted English muffin for lunch. Delicious!
Emily C. says
I am working my way through so many of your fantastic recipes. This one is also a winner. Thank you for motivating me to meal prep on the weekend – it has been life changing.
Melissa says
One of my favorite recipes. So glad this is now able to pin. Thank you!
Alison Talbert says
Delicious!! Highly recommended!
Pauline says
I absolutely love chicken salad but am so picky about the Mayo to chicken ratio. Too much Mayo and it totally turns me off to chicken salad for like 5 years. This is the perfect amount and you can’t tell it’s lightened up with Greek yogurt. It’s DELISH. My whole family loved it. My Hubby ate it as a sandwich and I ate on lettuce wraps. Such a keeper!! We made it on vacation and it was an easy quick grab after the beach!!
Brittany S says
Substituted sour cream for the Greek yogurt because it’s all I had on hand and did my chicken in the instant pot – but followed the rest of this recipe for inspiration – soo good!
Lisa Quinn says
Holy delicious!! Every single ingredient in here comes together perfectly. Another great family recipe, Steph!!
Maureen Minahan says
Delicious Chicken Salad. I did not have poppy seeds so I substituted with dill. Yummy as are all your recipes. Thank you for all your work towards making healthier choices!
Madelyn says
How many does this last?
Jonna says
I made this tonight a thought it was delicious. Poaching the chicken breast was a great way to infuse them with flavor and keep them moist. I added a few slivered almonds (I loved the added texture, tho this recipe already has a lot of it!) I ate mine in lettuce wraps for a lovely light dinner. I will definitely make this again. And I will be doubling the recipe next time.
I’m now anxious to try the Thai chicken salad. It sounds delicious, too. Just added it to my menu for next week!
anna says
i am very particular with chicken salad. i’ve made different recipes in the past but one i never enjoyed. i genuinely cannot believe steph’s recipe is homemade and didnt buy at a deli. you would have no idea theres light mayo and greek yogurt in this. amazing!!!!!
Brittany says
Absolutely delicious! I made it as my lunch prep this week and paired it with slices of 647 bread, and it was so yummy! I will be sure to make it again!
Tarah says
Loved it! Meal prepped it for this week and it’s very good! Not overly mayonnaise-y and very light! Home run, Steph!
Carolyn Benoit says
I’ve made this twice and also found the mini pitas. The chicken salad recipe is wonderful.
Kerri says
I consider myself a chicken salad aficionado and this was SO good! I used shredded rotisserie chicken to save time as noted in recipe and oh my goodness! So creamy and tasty- this will be on repeat in my house! Thanks for a great recipe Steph!
Paula Karonika says
This recipe is on repeat at my house! I usually make it on Sunday to have as a quick lunch or snack during the week. I highly recommend. I am not a plain greek yogurt fan, but you seriously cannot taste it. Thank you Steph for another amazing recipe.
Melissa says
This chicken salad is so good. You can’t even tell there’s green yogurt in it. The celery seed and poppyseed add such a nice touch. It’s the perfect consistency, not too mayonnaise-y and not too dry. The only thing I did differently was add dill. Will definitely become my new go to chicken salad recipe.
Jolie Brown says
Made this for the 1st time and it’s wonderful. Lunch for the week. This will be my go to for easy and delicious lunch. Will be made at least twice a month. Another successful recipe by Steph!!
Steph says
Didn’t think I was going to like this salad that much but it was definitely a winner. It was fresh and delicious.
Meghan says
So perfect for summer meal prep. I ended up with more than six servings I think, but no complaints here and I’m keeping the point value. I add to a flat out wrap for 3 points on blue. I skipped poppy seeds because I don’t have them on hand. I definitely don’t taste the yogurt tang however it’s not offensive to me either. I will absolutely make again!
Michelle says
Made this for lunches this week!! It’s so easy and great taste. Can’t wait to enjoy it this week.
Amy says
This is the best chicken salad. Like Steph says, trust her on the yogurt. I do not like Greek yogurt at all, but you can’t taste it in this. This makes a great lunch for meal prep days, but during this heat wave, I served it for dinner last night and my husband can’t stop talking about how good it is. I like to prep the chicken in the crockpot – super easy, and sometimes I like to add some dill with the rest of the spices, it’s so good!!
Margaret says
Made this for weekly lunch prep. I did add a couple of Clementines and a few slivered almonds for crunch. Looks and tastes delicious! Excited for lunch this week.
Louise says
Steph’s chicken salads have become a staple in my meal prep routine, especially when I need something quick and easy! This traditional chicken salad is perfect for a quick meal prep and very flavorful! I did not have any fresh herbs but dried herbs worked and it still tasted great!
Ashley says
I love chicken salad and it makes me so happy to make my own and only have half the mayonnaise. This is a great classic version.
BD says
Hi Steph – Your recipes are amazing. Thank you for sharing. One quick question – how would you store the chicken in the fridge and for how long would it stay alright with the Mayo- yogurt dressing? Thanks
Joanna says
I made this yesterday and it is so delicious!! The only changes I made is I omitted the poppyseeds and added more salt. It tasted better after it sat for a while and all the flavors came together. Next time I may try adding some fresh tarragon. I will definitely make this again!
Sandy Kitchen-Brewer says
This is my favourite chicken salad recipe!
Angelina says
I do not like chicken salad at all, but this is absolutely delicious!
Marci says
Don’t sleep on this. I altered the spices a tiny bit and used rotisserie chicken and it is amazing. Second week in a row making it.
Steph is 100% honest when she says you don’t taste the yogurt.
Great recipe Steph.
Thanks!
Krissy says
This doesn’t taste lightened up at all – and you can’t taste the greek yogurt either! So delicious in a low carb wrap for a great lunch! Would be really good with grapes or apples added in too!
Robin S. says
From a chicken salad snob, this recipe is amazing! I followed the recipe exactly as is. When I first made it, I thought the parsley flavor/scent was too strong, but after it marinated a few hours in the fridge, it was absolute perfection. Paired a cup of this salad with Wheat Thins for a perfect WW-friendly lunch!
Lisa says
Absolutely delicious!
Tammy says
This is hands down the best chicken salad recipe I’ve tried. It’s good savory and you can add some diced apples or grapes to it to make it sweet&savory. Oh and I liked it even more the next day after the flavors melded together.
Linda D. says
The best chicken salad I’ve ever made. I love that it uses yogurt instead of all mayo and you would never know it. It’s tasty & light. I have made it using rotisserie chicken if I dont have the time to cook chicken.
michele says
OMG! I was nervous b/c I don’t like greek yogurt but can’t taste it at all and the calorie/points are so much better being able to use it. I just had it for lunch on a low carb wrap with swiss and jalapenos… I want more..lol
Joanna says
This is a great recipe, I’ve made it a bunch of times. I prefer using Fage 2% Greek yogurt for a tiny bit more fat, and I think it needs more salt added at the end. This week I made it and I added chopped fresh tarragon and red grapes and it really took it to the next level! Overall this is a great option for a much healthier chicken salad.
Shawna Peele says
This chicken salad was so amazing. Don’t skip any ingredients. I put it on a french baguette that I cut open the long way. Put it in the oven for 12 minutes and it was just delicious. Served it with roasted broccoli and brought leftovers to work to put on a toasted english muffin. Thank you Stephanie!
Shawna Peele says
And I forgot to add that I used a rotisserie chicken. Easy and awesome!
Cindi says
Where do you get those little round breads? What are they called? This was delish!
Maranda says
So delicious and easy to make!!
Lauren says
This chicken salad is so good I want to host a party just to feed it to people!!! I didn’t have onions parsley or poppy seeds so I had to omit those and I decided to add red grapes and it was incredible! I served it over toasted mini croissant halves and I’m seriously considering going back for seconds! Also I found the BEST hack for chicken breast – you can buy a 3lb pack of pre shredded Costco rotisserie chicken breast, so I used that.
Brenda White says
Excellent! I’m not fond of Greek yogurt, but you’d never guess it was in the dressing. We like to serve the chicken salad on a fresh croissant.
Carrie says
This is one of my most tried and true recipes. The greek yogurt to mayo ratio is spot on. I don’t want to taste the yogurt in chicken salad and you won’t with this! The calories saved in using juuuuuust the right combo is great. Thanks Steph! Now I need to venture out with some of your others.
Jennifer says
I made this last night for meal prep for the week and had to stop myself from eating it all right then! It was so delicious. I made the recipe almost exactly as written ( except I baked the chicken not poached ).
I love all your recipes. Thank you so much.
DOROTHY OLIVA says
Absolutely delicious. I an making it again next week!😋😋😋
DOROTHY OLIVA says
Absolutely delicious. I will be making this again next week.