Green Goddess Chicken Salad

This Green Goddess Chicken Salad is full of bright, fresh flavors with loads of tender chicken, crunchy almonds and veggies, and a fresh creamy dressing! This makes the ultimate summer lunch, sandwiched between two slices of bread, wrapped in a tortilla, or served over some greens.

 

Okay, look…normally anything with the words ‘Green Goddess’ in them makes me a little hesitant.

Sounds a little too healthy for my tastes. A little too green. Sounds a lot like my kids are going to complain, if we’re being honest.

But oh boy, did I outdo myself with this chicken salad recipe. Even my kids ate this one. Hesitatingly, at first, because it IS green, but then with gusto, because it is also absolutely delightful.

It inspired us to make this Green Goddess Dip – another hit with my family even though it’s suspiciously green!

The chicken salad itself is your standard mix of goodies, like shredded chicken (try shredding up my Instant Pot Whole Chicken!), slivered almonds, celery, and red onion. But the dressing? It’s a little different.

We’re using loads of fresh herbs, a combination of Greek yogurt and mayo (tangy protein + creamy dreamy goodness), plenty of garlic, plenty of acid (both lemon & lime, because hello fresh summer vibes, we’re here for you), and a couple of green onions because blending them up in a salad dressing is absolute magic.

You want this sandwiched between two slices of bread. You need this wrapped in a tortilla. You’re dying to try this as a dip for crackers or tortilla chips. You cannot survive another minute without dropping a big scoop of this over a pile of lettuce and digging in with a fork.

Looking for a salad that’s more of a salad? Made with lettuce and such? Try our grilled shrimp salad. It’s perfect for a summer meal!

Ingredient Notes:

Chicken Salad Ingredients:

Chicken – First up you’ll need some cooked, chopped or shredded chicken. Check out my easy crockpot shredded chicken recipe! It’s the perfect way to make chicken ahead of time for later use in recipes like this one! Canned chicken also works, but can get a bit salty.

Slivered Almonds – These almonds will add the perfect amount of crunch and nutty flavor to this Green Goddess chicken salad recipe!

Celery & Onion – You’ll also mix in some chopped celery and minced red onion for additional flavor and crunchy texture!

Green Goddess Dressing Ingredients:

Mayonnaise & Greek Yogurt – We’re doing half and half here, because we love the flavor and texture of mayo, but we love the protein and low calories that Greek yogurt brings to the dressing. It’s a good balance of decadent and healthy.

Lemon & Lime – A key component in the Green Goddess dressing and a great way to add fresh, bright flavor to the salad! Highly recommend squeezing these fresh rather than using the bottled stuff.

Herbs & Spices – Some packed parsley, cilantro, fresh dill, green onion, and loads of garlic to start. Plus some salt and cracked black pepper to round out the flavors.

Helpful Tools:

Lemon Squeezer – This handy tool makes squeezing limes or lemons for juice quick, easy, and mess free!

Food Processor – It’s a kitchen essential that’ll make your life a lot easier! A blender will also work for this recipe.

How to Make Chicken Salad:

Salad: To prepare the chicken salad you’ll simply add all of the salad ingredients including the shredded chicken, slivered almonds, celery, and onion to a mixing bowl and stir together until it’s well combined. Simple!

Dressing: Now for the Green Goddess dressing! Add all of the dressing ingredients to the bowl of your food processor or blender and process until smooth. Give it a taste test and add additional lemon or lime juice and salt if necessary! We want these flavors to pop.

Combine: You can now pour the Green Goddess dressing over the chicken salad and toss to coat in the dressing. I would recommend refrigerating this for at least one hour before serving so that the flavors meld and the dressing thickens a bit.

FAQs:

Serving Suggestions:

There are so many ways to serve up chicken salad for lunch or dinner! Here are a few of our favorite ways to deliver the goodness:

• Sandwiched between 2 slices of white or wheat bread
• Wrapped in a tortilla
• Sandwiched between 2 bagel thins or a croissant
• In a hollowed out tomato (like our Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad)
• Wrapped in crispy romaine or tender butter lettuce
• As a dip with crackers or tortilla chips
• Over a bed of lettuce
• Straight up, with a fork

• Chicken Salad with Grapes
• Amish Macaroni Salad
• Baked Potato Salad
• Avocado Chicken Salad
• Snickers Apple Salad
• Deviled Egg Potato Salad
• Dill Pickle Potato Salad