California Chicken Salad

5 from 4 votes

This easy California Chicken Salad is incredibly creamy and delicious with cubed chicken, sweet grapes, and crunchy toasted pecans. The lightened-up Greek yogurt dressing is bright yet bold. It's the best salad for summer picnics or BBQs, or if you simply want a healthy meal for the week!

Prep Time 20

Fridge Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings servings

Calories 198

Author Jessica Kwon

Ingredients

⅓ cup pecans chopped
3 cups cooked chicken cut into ¼" cubes; about 1-2 chicken breasts (I used rotisserie chicken)
1-2 stalks celery cut in half lengthwise and sliced; about 1 cup
1 cup seedless red grapes quartered
1-2 green onion thinly sliced

Dressing

½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
2 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoon honey
1½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon poppy seeds
½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the chopped pecans and toast for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Let cool completely.
In a large bowl, combine Greek yogurt, dijon mustard, honey, vinegar, poppy seeds, salt, and pepper. Whisk together and season to taste.
To the same bowl, add chicken, celery, grapes, green onion, and pecans. Stir everything together and season to taste. Let chill in fridge for minimum 30 minutes, best if overnight. Serve chilled.

Notes

Chicken: You can use canned, rotisserie, or leftover chicken from last night's dinner - I recommend fresh over canned, if possible. If you don't have any pre-cooked chicken, you can easily poach, roast, grill, or pan-sear chicken breast or thighs. Instead of dicing it, you can also shred the chicken if you prefer.
Greek yogurt: I recommend using full-fat (3.5% milk fat or greater) to get as much creaminess as possible. Also, skim yogurts can have more sugar or additives to make up for the lack of richness and flavor.
Replace pecans with your favorite nuts like almonds or walnuts.
If you don't have apple cider vinegar, try red wine vinegar or lemon juice instead.
Make sure all the ingredients are completely cooled before dressing it to prevent it from becoming too watery.
Don't leave this chicken salad out on the counter for more than 2 hours since the yogurt is perishable. If serving outdoors on a hot day (90°F or hotter), only leave it out for 1 hour max.

Nutrition