Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad Sandwich
From the plump grapes to the sweet cranberries, this lightened up sandwich won’t even taste healthy! PROMISE!
This is one of my favorite (and easiest – DUH!) ways to whip up a light, healthy lunch when I’m in a rush.
All you need is some leftover rotisserie chicken from the night before, Greek yogurt, some grapes and apples, and you’re golden.
Yes, Greek yogurt. I promise you.
You won’t miss the mayo. At all.
Trust me on this one. You’ll thank me tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. And pretty much for the rest of your life.
Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 cups leftover rotisserie chicken
- ½ cup diced red onion
- ½ cup diced apple
- ½ cup grapes, halved
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more, to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 slices bread
- 4 leaves Boston bibb lettuce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, red onion, apple, grapes, dried cranberries, sliced almonds, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve sandwiches on bread with chicken mixture and lettuce.
Did you make this recipe?
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This was… crazy good. Like insanely good. I left out the onion (didn’t sub anything). Just amazing. My mouth will never be the same.
Can you use whole milk plain yogurt instead of Greek yogurt? Wondering about the right tangy taste and correct consistency.
Seriously the very best chicken salad recipe!
ok delish. all i have to say. like everyone else said, i dont even miss the mayo and didn’t feel like poo after eating it either. and all them fruits? juice.
This was so good, at the same time very filling for something so healthy! This recipe is a keeper!
I was skeptical and really thought I would miss the mayo. Not at all. Delicious and very easy to adapt to personal taste or whatever you have on hand.
I don’t like yogurt can you use Mayo in place?
sure, but that defeats the big health benefit of this recipe.
I have always struggled making homemade chicken salad. I love the stuff in the deli but oh so many calories! This recipe was amazing. Couple things I did was switch almonds for toasted pecans and added about a tablespoon of honey to the dressing. I felt it made all the difference. But all in all a terrific recipe.
Excellent heathy option! I made some tweaks based on what I had on hand but found this to be an excellent guide for a tasty and healthier option. Thank you for sharing this with us.
This is quite interesting. How many sandwiches do you get out of this mixture?
I’m on my feet for a 10-hour shifts four days a week and walk about 14 miles each day…I’m looking for something I can make on a Saturday or Sunday and eat it all week. Two cups of chicken seems small for four days.
recipe says yields 4 sandwiches.
Just made this, super yummy. Whats the difference in the nutrition information? Are the Nutrition Facts with 522 calories with the bread since the lower calorie one says “filling only”? Sorry if this is a silly question, just want to make sure I’m tracking correctly. Thanks!
yes
Very high in sodium! The sodium can be greatly reduced by not using Rotisserie Chicken, since they are injected with copious amounts of sodium, flavor enhancers, & goodness knows what else. A good choice of chicken is a fresh ‘Unenhanced’ chicken, which you can season to your liking, BUT you’d have to cook it yourself. The bonus is that you’d get a much larger chicken, and at least it would be healthy. I do however, must say that except for the use of a Rotisserie Chicken, this Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad sounds delicious.
I almost never give 5-star reviews. I’m also a disaster in the kitchen. I’ve made this a couple times. It’s my favorite recipe in years, & no, I don’t miss the mayo. Practically perfect. Thank you very much.
Made it today for lunch. Great.I did not have any almonds so I used pecans.
This stuff is very tasty and has a nice creamy texture like “real” chicken salad. I made these modifications:
I didn’t have rotisserie chicken so I poached (boiled) 4 small thin chicken breasts and it was exactly enough for the recipe.
I didn’t use onions or cranberries in mine.
Since I didn’t use onions and cranberries, I went heavy on the pepper and garlic powder and it helped this have more flavor.
You can really bulk this recipe up by adding more applies/grapes/almonds or whatever else it calls for.
This only makes enough for about 4 sandwiches. I didn’t put mine on a sandwich, but keep in mind that if you want a lot of leftovers or are cooking for a group, you’ll need to make more.
This is a great, actually healthy diet food if you’re looking for low fat, low sugar, and high protein (I am). Just eat the filling without making it a sandwich and you’re set! Will make again.
Some folks have mentioned not liking onion flavor – I personally like the onion, but if you prefer to omit the red onion I would suggest adding a fresh herb of your choice. It might feel like “something is missing” if you don’t have that kick from the onion. I personally added fresh parsley because I want to use up the parsley I have – I bet fresh basil, tarragon or cilantro would be great too! (That’s something I love about your recipes Chungah!! They are a wonderful inspirations on the days I have to just work with what I’ve got in the pantry & fridge!) // Also, If I don’t have any chicken leftovers at home, I just get a few scoops of the chopped chicken breast from the salad bar at the grocery store 😉
How long does this keep in the fridge?
Thanks! 🙂
As I am not an expert on food safety, I cannot really say with certainty. Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with. Hope that helps, Erica!
I am not trying to be rude, But I really didn’t like this without onions. I don’t like onions to be honest. w/o them it taste horrible.
Tyra, if you do not like onions, you can omit the onions completely.
this comment was weird…she didnt like it without onions..but she hates onions?
I have an allergy to nuts, is it worth keeping the walnuts out?
Yes, you can omit!
This is the best chicken salad ever! I ditched my old recipe. I also used pine nuts instead of almonds. I serve it over a nice green salad, it is a great light dinner.
This is now my go to recipe for chicken salad. I’ve mixed up a batch almost every week for the last month. It’s perfect as a light meal before I go to work without blowing my calorie goal. I even have friends trying it out now! Thanks for sharing!
Love this healthy version Chicken salad!!! My picky eater kids loved it!!!! This will be our go to sandwich 🙂
Mayo is the single most vile thing I can think of. One whiff of the stuff sends me into waves of nausea. I can’t believe people just gulp the stuff down like they do, and the standard chicken salad has always gagged me. Using greek yogurt is genius. I have previously discovered I can use avocado/hummus in egg salad, and greek yogurt/tahini in tuna salad. And along with this, I can expand my lunch options to include recipes that typically make use of that disgusting rotten egg slop. This recipe is so much fresher and healthier.
I just made the recipe. Sorry, but it was horrible. Hubby took one bite and threw it away.
Just made this for lunch today, we used Pita pockets instead of sliced bread and left out the Craisins and lettuce, very delicious!! Thanks for a great recipe!!
Could I substitute the rotisserie chicken with chicken breasts? Like boil chicken breast and shred them to mix them in?
Yes, absolutely.
If this yields about 4-5 servings then is 1 serving about a cup?
About 3/4 cup.
Love this recipe, it was sooo good. I put chopped celery in it bc, for some reason, I though the recipe called for it, and it was really great add on.
Everything you post is awesome! Keep up the great work, my family at I appreciate it!
Just made this for a playdate lunch today. Amazing!! And everyone loved it. 🙂 I made it exactly as written (doubled). This is now going to be my go-to chicken salad recipe! Thank you!!
THIS IS MY KIND OF RECIPE. LOOKS SIMILAR TO THE ONE I MAKE BUT BETTER. OR PRETTIER. YOU SEEM TO BE SO YOUNG. HOW DID YOU LEARN TO COOK SO WELL AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE?
Hello! My son can’t tolerate probiotics on their own and not in yogurt for some reason. What can I use instead of yogurt? Thank you!
Mayonnaise would be a great substitute.
What sides do you recommend with this?
My absolute favorite side dish is the garlic parmesan roasted potatoes. But please feel free to check out all of my side dish recipes here.
Chicken salad sandwiches are a classic and always delicious! I was so excited when I found your lightened up version. I featured it in my latest post, “Kick Start The New Year #3: 15 Healthy Lunches”!
Made the recipe exactly like it said..to me it needed a little something extra, so I added a couple of tablespoons of mayo. Was much better.
I usually don’t like chicken salads because of the heavy mayo and the celery, so this recipe is perfect for me. I made it exactly as described here, and it’s insanely good, with or without bread! Looking forward to having this for lunch all week!
I will say that I tried this recipe a year ago and didn’t love it. Mainly because I am not a greek yogurt an. But today I was craving chicken salad and love the idea of this recipe because I am not a celery fan or an egg fan like most recipes have. So I got the idea to try this again and use all the same ingredients except I subbed light mayo for the greek yogurt and OMG! One of the best things I’ve ever made! So if you are like me and do not like greek yogurt just sub for light mayo and it turns out exceptional!
I’m not a huge fan of raw red onion..do you think that celery would be a good substitute?
Yes, absolutely.
I made this this afternoon and also skipped the bread and put it on top of raw spinach, absolutely wonderful! Thanks for the great recipe!
I added a few tablespoons of olive oil for a savory twist. Also added salt and pepper, and enjoyed on an english muffin with some leafy lettuce. Delish 🙂
ufff!!!!! really can’t wait to test it
So good! I’ve been craving something healthy and homemade and this hit the spot. Even with my crazy pregnancy hormones and food aversions – this pretty much knocked my socks off. It was delicious. And I’ll be having it again for tomorrow’s dinner.
LOVING the greek yogurt instead of mayo. Yum!
Just caught your website.
Thank you for the delicious (and healthy) recipes!
Trying to live and get healthy, and from looking at your recipes I think I can get there from here, and enjoy the journey!
Thanks so much!
Cheryl
made this was very delicious instead of the bread piled on crackers and omitted the onion simple to make great tasting will from now on use Greek yogurt in place of mayo in salad recipes thanks
This was awesome! Like others, I was looking for a chicken salad recipe WITHOUT mayo and stumbled upon this. I used chopped pecans instead of almonds (because that’s what I had on hand), and I added a teaspoon of honey to the dressing to balance the tartness. Wrapped it up in romain lettuce leaves instead of serving it on rolls. Delish! Looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for yet another great recipe! You never disappoint! =)
Hi, looked thru all the questions but didn’t see one asking if you use fat free or whole milk yogurt? Looks delish, cant wait to make it!
Thanks!
Yolanda
I made a meatless version by using chickpeas in place of the chicken. They’re a good replacement for chicken or tuna. I smashed them with a fork to replicate the shredded texture and it turned out very well with no other altercations to the recipe! As a vegetarian I was happy to have a mock chicken salad.
How long does this salad stay fresh in the fridge? Going to the mountains this weekend and am responsible for lunch on Sunday for group of 7 or 8. Planning to make on Friday afternoon before we leave town. Should I double the recipe for this size group?
Anne, this should keep in the fridge for 1-2 days. The recipe also yields roughly 4 servings so please make the adjustments as needed to suit your group.
Can’t wait to try it:)
I made it this morning and used honey Greek yogurt and replaced almonds with walnuts. All I can say is this is my new favorite salad! I’m officially an addict. Thank you
I have an allergy to apples. What would you recommend in place of them?
Amie, you can omit the apples as needed.
Hi, you say that this recipe makes 4 servings. Can you tell me how large those servings are, or approximately how much the total recipe makes? I am wanting to scale it for a larger audience.
Thank you.
This recipe should yield about 4-5 cups.
Anyone have an innovative idea instead of bread? Maybe even an appetizer portion. Thanks
With using the Greek yogurt, does the salad dressing turn watery if it is refrigeratord till the next day. This happened when I used Greek yogurt for egg salad.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have not tried storing the leftovers. There were no leftovers to store! 🙂
I put some dijon mustard in it and used a rotisserie chicken…2 cups shreded and it turned out amazing. going to eat it on brown rice rice cakes!
Gosh! This looks amazing!
I am going to link you in my blog this Friday 🙂
Kristin // The Peculiar Treasure
athisfeetdaily.blogspot.com
I don’t have grapes on hand right now, what can I substitute with?
You can certainly try substituting something else for the grapes but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. Using a substitution may also result in a mediocre outcome.
i made this recipe and i hated it, others liked it, but the taste of the yogurt was too much for me since im not a yogurt person, would try again but i think i would try mayo to replace the yogurt and a bit less of the red onions they’re so overpowering. Thanks
Allison, if you are not a yogurt person then I just don’t think this recipe was meant for you.
Hello!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I absolutely loved it! I decided to make a couple changes and thought I would share. I wanted to give the chicken some more flavor so I decided to boil the chicken breast in coconut milk and chicken broth. The chicken turned out super moist and very flavorful. I also had some lavender on hand which I added to the chicken salad- I highly recommend it!!
Can I use regular yogurt instead of Greek, I’m not a yogurt fan, but I have some regular handy
Yes, regular yogurt should work just fine.
damn good !!!!!
There are two “Nutritional Information” boxes. What are they for? It the top one for the roll, and the bottom one for the chicken salad?
Julie, the top nutritional box is for the entire recipe. The bottom is for the filling only, clearly indicated next to: Servings Per Container.
Love it.. I make on with just chicken, yogurt, red grapes, celery, red onion, orange zest, and just a squeeze of Orange juice on a ciabatta roll and romaine lettuce.. and served with beet and carrots chips. our customers went crazy over..
Chef Ashley, what is that beet and carrots chips recipe….if you will share..thanks I am going to love making this recipe JUST LIKE CHUNGAH SAYS…this recipe is sounds great !!! Also, to Chungah is that red apple thanks in advance.
You can use any kind of apple for this recipe – it’s up to you!
Thanks for the amazing recipe! I used non-fat Greek Yogurt and instead of the ciabatta roll, used Food for Life Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain tortillas- better choice!!
This recipe is so good. Added some dijon. Also so filling! so much protein!
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I am in Australia but follow a lot of American sites on facebook and this one came up today. We don’t have anything similar to “chicken salad” over here so it is not something I am familiar with but I saw your recipe and had an instant pregnancy craving 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight, omitted the onion and garlic powder, and added celery and baby spinach leaves. I didn’t follow the amounts as wasn’t sure how it translated to Australian cups but just added what I thought looked and tasted good, the end result was amazingly yum and moreish, thanks!
You are my HERO! I am trying to change my eating habits instead of straight dieting, which has never worked, and am trying to build a catalogue of meals and good for me snacks. I love greek yogurt and love chicken salad but with the mayo it is not good for me. This recipe is great! I plan on eating it with small whole wheat tortillas with baby spinach and halved grape tomatoes. I also plan on making the Honey Salmon in Foil at the earliest opportunity. Your recipes are great and with the fresh ingredients they are a perfect addition to my new recipe catalogue! It’s people like you posting delicious good for me recipes that are making my life change seem attainable. Thank you!
What brand of Greek yogurt would u recommend??
I personally love Chobani and Fage.
Hi.. Any idea I can keep this filling for how long? As I really like to do it.. But I do not think I will be able to finish the whole serving in a day…
Rachel, the filling should last a few days.
I made this & love it but I have a question. Is the chicken 1 lb. before or after cooking? I used 1 lb. cooked & it seemed a little dry. Or maybe because I used fat free Greek yogurt? Still good though!
Sabrina, it really depends on how the chicken was prepared. I personally like to pan fry it in a little bit of olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, to taste.
Thanks! I’ll definitely try again (& again & again!) lol
I’ve always liked the idea of chicken salad, but I hate mayo. So I was very excited when I came across this recipe…and I LOVE it! I make it at least twice a month. I’ve found that I like a more subtle onion flavor, so I use green onions instead of red. It’s delicious and pretty. 🙂 I’ve recommended this recipe to lots of friends who, like me, are counting calories. Thanks for sharing!
Can I make this a day in advance? Or will it get soggy??
I’m sure it’ll be fine if you make it 1-2 days before. You can even hold off on the dressing and toss it right befor serving.
Had left over chicken and want to use up a large container of greek yogurt! Started searching for recipe and came upon your site! This recipe is amazing!!! LOVE! Thanks!
Yum! Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it for my stamping class this weekend and they loved it! I will make this one again!
Surfing for this recipe and landed on yours… Making this tonite – might add a bit of honey and/or dijon to the greek yogurt? Deliciousness!!!!
Kathi
Ha Ha! Cooking for one person means you might have 4 meals from a store-bought rotisserie chicken. My long-time version of this chicken concoction is to leave out the apple, but add a bit of very finely chopped celery, chopped little red onions and then add to taste a spoonful or two from a jar of Red Thai Curry Paste and perhaps some chopped
cilantro…….with or without bread!! Great year-round salad pr sandwich filler!
If it tastes as good as it looks and sounds, I’m all over this. It’s on the menu for tomorrow!
I’ve got to admit, I too was a bit skeptical about using Greek yogurt but as everyone else said, you couldn’t even tell. This is a great and healthy recipe, thank you!!
I love chicken salad but I know it’s full of calories. I tried this recipe and I loved it. I used golden raisins and cranberry’s too.
This was delicious, fresh, and juicy! I was hesitant at first with the Greek yogurt but it was really good!
Didn’t change a thing – this chicken salad is perfectly delicious!
so good
This is THE best chicken salad I’ve ever had!! I was so nervous about the Greek yogurt because sometimes it can taste a little tart, but this is delicious!
Thank you for this recipe! Trying to cut back on the lunch meat. I just made and it and it taste very good!
I love this recipe! I’ve made it several times. I wanted to try something different; I omitted just the dried cranberries, lemon juice and garlic powder, and instead added 1tsp of curry powder, and a stalk of diced celery, and and it tasted amazing! 🙂
Love the curry idea!
I used Moroccan spice raz el hanout. Delicious!
I absolutely loved this! I had it on sprouted wheat bread and it was delicious. I really love your blog. I like how you keep it simple and fresh. I am trying to cook more and eat healthy; your recipes are perfect. Thank you for sharing.
-Hilda
How do you prepare the chicken for the salad?
Thanks!
Maggie, that’s really based on personal preference. You can use leftover roasted chicken or you can cook them in a skillet. It’s really up to you.
Poaching the chicken will keep it very moist. There are a lot of recipes for poaching chicken on the web, but it’s a very simple process.
Just made this last night and boiling works really well.. very easy and hard to over-cook it
One of the easiest ways to cook chicken is to use a pressure cooker. Add about 3 cups of water fpr 4 chicken breasts and put it on a high heat for 10 mins and then on a low heat for 10 mins. However, please do not use a pressure cooker if you’re not familiar with it. It would be easier to just boil or poach it if you’re not familiar with a pressure cooker.
I make the chicken, cube it and then make the chicken salad a serving at a time the night before work. This way, I can make it last more than 2-3 days. It still tastes fresh and yummy every day!
Love it!
How long would you say the chicken salad would keep in the refrigerator? I plan on making it for lunches and was wondering if it would still be good a week later.
Kate, I would not recommend keeping this for a week. I’d say it should hold up for about 2-3 days.
Have you ever used canned chicken breast?
I actually have not. I try to use fresh ingredients whenever possible.
Hi. can you freeze this recipe?
I do not advise freezing.
I love this! Thanks for sharing. I’m counting calories and was wondering do you have the nutritional information already available? And also, the 4 servings, would that be 1 cup servings or more of 1/2 cup servings. Thanks so much! It’s very good!!!!!!
Oh and I added celery with all of the above. 🙂
The addition of celery sounds amazing! Unfortunately, I do not post nutritional information of my recipes here as I am not a registered dietician. I recommend using online resources (ex. calorie count) to obtain caloric information. Serving-wise, I’d say 1 serving is anywhere from 1/2-1 cup.
Do you use plan Greek yogurt?
Yes, this recipe calls for plain Greek yogurt.
Tasty and easy – great way to cut out the extra fat from mayo! Substituted diced celery for the apples to add crunch. Added Trader Joe’s Hot & Sweet mustard to the yogurt mix for extra tang. Toasted the sliced almonds and in lieu of bread, we used the chicken salad atop salad greens.
This sounds so yummy and I plan on making it for my mom and aunts when they come over for a visit and tea. My question is what is something else I could make with it? Its cold here and the sandwich is good and different should I do a nice soup??? I need some advice as to what would be a good fit thank you!!!!
I suggest serving a light soup, perhaps a roasted tomato soup. I would avoid any kind of chowders as it may just be too thick and heavy to go along with a sandwich like this.
I made this today with butternut squash soup. My family loved it together!
My go-to chicken salad from now on, just love the Greek yogurt. Very tasty!
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Use this same recipe (leave out onion and garlic) and add pineapple/almonds/mandarin oranges, or cranberries/walnuts/sunflower seeds. I even do one with chicken, greek yogurt, curry powder to taste, golden raisins and pine nuts! It’s a great base to add whatever you like! I even throw in some ground flax seeds! Thanks for sharing!
Just tried this recipe, I have to say it was delicious. I was unsure about the greet yogurt, but I couldn’t even taste it with the grapes and everything else. Yum..will definitely make again!
Wow! This is the best chicken salad I’ve ever tried. Delicious!
I just made this recipe this afternoon and it is delicious! Grapes aren’t in season right now so I used pomegranate seeds instead and it came out great- thanks for the inspiration!
That sounds like an amazing substitution. Will definitely have to try that next time!