I love chicken salad. But I’m also kind of picky when it comes to the kind of chicken salad that I will eat. Celery, no. Too many onions, no. Unidentified objects, no.

So, I’ve started making my own. And, frankly, I think it’s pretty dang good. AND it’s got a healthy twist on traditional recipes. Instead of using all mayo, I choose to use mostly Greek yogurt and mix it with mayo. More protein, less fat. Bingo!

I use this chicken salad recipe on toast, wraps, crackers or just plain with carrots and snap peas. I’ve made it 3 weeks in a row for our lunch and we’re not tired of it yet! I have made this for family occasions and everyone enjoys it, even my brother who is a total critic of anything I deem “healthy.” He doesn’t even know that it has Greek yogurt in it! That’s a good sign 🙂

Ingredients

• 20 oz shredded chicken (I used canned in this recipe)
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
• 1/3 cups chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup diced onion
• 2/3 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup lite mayo
• Pepper, to taste

What you do

• Shred (and drain from can) chicken in large bowl.

• Add pineapple, pecans, onion and pepper to chicken.

• Mix together the yogurt and mayo.
• Add dairy mixture to chicken mixture and stir to combine evenly.
• Enjoy!

You can make this chicken salad in a variety of different ways and use whatever add-ins you prefer. The general idea here is that you create a healthier version of the classic by substituting Greek yogurt for some of the mayo or salad dressing that you would more traditionally use. With that trade-off you are getting healthier calories with the protein from the Greek yogurt and cutting down on the fat content from the mayonnaise. I hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy it as much as we do!

*Notes:

I used canned chicken in this recipe. Obviously, a healthier alternative would be to boil and shred chicken for the recipe. I used canned chicken for convenience. To drain the fat, I add water to the can after opening and then drain it well.