This curry hen salad takes the idea of a traditional hen salad and provides it a novel, spiced-up twist! It options candy raisins, crunchy cashews, and crisp celery tossed in a creamy, curried dressing with recent cilantro.
If this recipe is your form of jam, you’ll additionally love my Avocado Hen Egg Salad and this unbelievable Hawaiian Macaroni Salad!
Right here’s a narrative about how I jazzed up a traditional hen salad into one thing actually spectacular. I used to be interested by how a lot we like to shake issues up within the kitchen right here, all the time including slightly twist to our favorites. Thus, one afternoon, I used to be within the temper for one thing acquainted but with a little bit of a kick, so I added some daring spices to my traditional hen salad recipe and got here up with this curried hen salad!
It has all of the classics—succulent hen, crisp celery, and crunchy nuts—however I threw in some candy raisins and spiced all of it up with curry powder and a touch of turmeric within the creamy mayo dressing. It’s severely tasty!
You possibly can slap it on some bread, scoop it into lettuce cups, or seize some do-it-yourself naan and dig in. Any method you serve it, this curried hen salad is a enjoyable and flavorful twist on a great previous traditional that you just’ve obtained to strive. Belief me, it makes lunch something however boring!
Why You’ll Love This Curry Hen Salad Recipe
A singular twist on a traditional. Everybody loves a great old style hen salad. This recipe takes the much-loved traditional and provides an Indian-inspired spin with curry powder, turmeric, and cilantro.
Versatile. There are such a lot of other ways to serve a hen salad. Between two slices of sandwich bread, on a salad, in lettuce wraps, with Lavash bread—you title it!
Customizable. Within the temper to get inventive? This recipe is a superb canvas for experimentation. Swap out the hen for chickpeas, strive totally different nuts or dried fruits, or go along with a completely totally different taste profile. It’s all as much as you.
What You’ll Want
Take your buying cart and wander the aisles whereas grabbing all of the elements you’ll have to make a curry hen salad recipe. Scroll to the recipe card beneath for exact measurements.
For the hen
- Boneless skinless hen breasts – Boneless skinless hen thighs or hen tenders would additionally work.
- Salt and black pepper – To season the hen for taste.
- Olive oil – To coat the hen.
To make the dressing
- Mayonnaise – Not a mayo particular person? Use plain or Greek yogurt as a substitute.
- Greek yogurt – If you wish to skip the yogurt and use simply mayo, that’s Ay-Okay.
- Honey – Agave would work simply as properly.
- Spices – Curry powder and turmeric. The turmeric is non-compulsory, but it surely does convey a reasonably yellow/orange colour to the salad.
For the salad
- Veggies – Celery and crimson onion.
- Raisins – You could possibly swap the raisins out for cranberries or chopped dried apricots should you’d like.
- Apple – I used a Honeycrisp apple, however you should use any varietal you’d like.
- Dry roasted cashews – Be happy to make use of walnuts or pistachios as a substitute.
- Contemporary chopped cilantro – Not a cilantro particular person? Parsley will work simply positive.
- Salt and pepper – Used to reinforce the flavors of the salad.
How To Make Curry Hen Salad
This not-so-classic hen salad brings a scrumptious twist to your desk. Observe these easy steps to create a curried hen salad that’s full of taste and textures.
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Roast the hen. Rub the hen with salt, pepper, and olive oil till well-coated. Bake for 20 minutes or till an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest a part of the most important breast reads 165°F. Take away the hen from the oven and relaxation for five to 10 minutes earlier than reducing it into cubes.
- Make the dressing. Whisk collectively the mayonnaise, yogurt, honey, curry powder, and turmeric in a small mixing bowl.
- Assemble the salad. Mix the hen, celery, onion, raisins, apples, cashews, and cilantro in a big bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat.
- Season. Style the salad and season it with salt and pepper. In the event you’d like so as to add some further curry powder, you are able to do that too.
- Chill. Let the hen salad cool to room temperature, then cowl it with plastic wrap and chill it within the fridge for a few hours or in a single day.
- Serve. Serve it chilly in lettuce wraps or between two slices of bread.
Ideas for Success
- Let it relaxation. Give the hen about 5 minutes to relaxation after roasting and earlier than reducing into it. It will give the juices an opportunity to redistribute all through the meat, leaving you with extra tender, flavorful bites.
- Costume it whereas it’s sizzling. It’s finest to decorate this hen salad whereas the hen remains to be sizzling. The meat will soak up the flavors of the dressing higher that method.
- Don’t skip the coolness. Whilst you might eat this hen salad immediately, it’s finest to let it cool to room temperature after which chill it within the fridge for a few hours (or in a single day) to offer the flavors an opportunity to meld.
Enjoyable Variations
- Save a while. Use rotisserie hen as a substitute of roasting your individual. Simply take away the meat from the carcass, dice it, and toss it with the dressing and elements for the salad.
- Make it vegetarian. As a substitute of roasted hen, strive toasted chickpeas or cubed tofu or tempeh. The meat eaters in your life will adore it too.
- Totally different nuts. I really like cashews, however you could possibly swap them for walnuts or pistachios. Macadamia nuts or sunflower seeds could be enjoyable too.
- Dried fruit choices. As a substitute of raisins, strive chopped dried apricots. Cranberries are another choice.
- Go conventional. The curry and turmeric are so nice on this salad however, if you would like a extra “conventional” hen salad, you may depart them out. Possibly combine in some Dijon mustard and swap the cilantro out for chopped recent parsley and dill.
Serving Options
My favourite method to get pleasure from this hen salad is between two slices. Seize your favourite loaf of bread from the shop or make your individual gradual cooker bread. I’ve even been recognized to serve it wrapped up in a flour tortilla or depart the bread behind and scoop it up with lettuce wraps.
A hen salad sandwich pairs properly with cajun fries (they’re SO good!) or with a aspect of lemon rice, too! In the event you want one thing lighter, strive my berry avocado salad or another salad. For a tasty twist, substitute the hen in my well-known cobb salad with this curry hen salad.
Methods to Retailer & Reheat Leftovers
Seal any leftover hen curry salad in an hermetic container. You possibly can retailer it within the fridge for as much as 4 days or within the freezer for as much as 3 months. Permit it to thaw within the fridge earlier than diving again in.
Extra Straightforward Salad Recipes
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Prep. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
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Roast the hen. Rub the hen with salt, pepper, and olive oil till well-coated and prepare it on the ready baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or till an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest a part of the most important breast reads 165°F.
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Relaxation. Take away the hen from the oven and permit it to relaxation for 8 to 10 minutes earlier than reducing it into cubes.
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Make the dressing. Whereas the hen is baking and resting, whisk collectively the mayo, Greek yogurt, honey, curry powder, and turmeric in a small mixing bowl.
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Assemble the salad. In a big mixing bowl, mix the hen, celery, onion, raisins, apples, cashews, and cilantro. Add the dressing and toss to coat the entire elements.
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Season. Style the curry hen salad and season it with salt and pepper to style. You may also add further curry powder.
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Chill. Permit the hen salad to chill to room temperature earlier than protecting it with plastic wrap and chilling it within the fridge for a few hours or in a single day.
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Serve. Serve it chilly in lettuce wraps or between two slices of bread.
Serving: 8 ounces | Energy: 436 kcal | Carbohydrates: 24 g | Protein: 15 g | Fats: 32 g | Saturated Fats: 6 g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 14 g | Monounsaturated Fats: 11 g | Trans Fats: 0.1 g | Ldl cholesterol: 50 mg | Sodium: 1146 mg | Potassium: 544 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 8 g | Vitamin A: 244 IU | Vitamin C: 5 mg | Calcium: 54 mg | Iron: 2 mg
Dietary data is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values might fluctuate based on the elements and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed data.