Crazy flavorful 15-minute curry chicken salad with creamy tahini dressing is guaranteed to become a staple! Just like its sister Curried Chickpea Salad, we're adding major flavor and texture vibes with raisins, celery, crunchy cashews, green onion and cilantro--no mayo needed. Serve this lightened up lunch with with crackers, in a toasty pita, or with a spoon!
Dontcha just love a no cook lunch? Totally the reason I have lots of healthy salad recipes for your face!
Chicken salad can be hit or miss, ya know? In putting my healthy spin on this retro classic, flavorful creaminess was top of mind. And what sets this recipe for curried chicken salad apart is the dreamy spiced tahini dressing in lieu of mayo!
If you've made my famous creamy broccoli salad without mayo, you know healthier stand-ins like yogurt or tahini for creaminess can taste even better than mayo and are so much better for you--pinky promise.
The low down on ingredients
- Chicken: I used two small, well seasoned chicken breasts that I cooked in the Instant Pot. Rotisserie chicken is great here, too.
- Tahini: Why tahini, you ask? Because sesame seed butter is savory, loaded with healthy fats, creamy, and satisfying so you can ditch the mayo.
- Olive oil: Like my healthy tuna pasta salad with Greek yogurt, a smidge of heart-healthy olive oil with the tahini adds more creaminess in lieu of extra mayo.
- Maple syrup: My go-to unrefined sweetener, which is essential to combat the inherent bitterness of tahini.
- Curry powder: Make sure its mild! We're using a bit more than most recipes call for.
- Celery: Just like in my Healthy Tuna Salad, I love it for crunch, but you can totally omit it or use red bell pepper. Pretty!
- Cilantro: Just goes so well with this recipe.
- Green onion: I find green onion far less annoying to chop than red onion, plus I love the extra pop of green. For more punchy flavor, you can use the white parts, too.
- Cashews and raisins: Chicken salad with raisins (hello crunch and sweet chewiness, respectfully) is my jam for irresistable texture. Toasting the cashews (or buying pre-roasted) brings out the nuttiness.
- Lemon: Fresh lemon juice brings lovely brightness that wakes up the whole dish.
- Salt: You'll need a good amount of salt to make the flavors pop, depending on how seasoned your chicken is.
Let's make it!
Place dressing ingredients in a blender.
Blend until smooth and gaze adoringly add that impressive creaminess sans mayo!
Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Serve!
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I like to add a spritz of fresh lemon to bring it back to life!
I hope you're as obsessed with this fun recipe as I am!
I'd be super grateful if you'd take a moment to leave a quick star rating and review below. Comments mean the world to me and your honest feedback helps me to continue to share recipes you'll crave!
This is hereby the least boring and most crave-worthy chicken salad there ever was. I mean just look at that gorg golden glow!
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Lightened Up Curry Chicken Salad (No Mayo!)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Meals
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Indian-Inspired
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Crazy flavorful curried chicken salad with a vibrant tahini dressing comes together in no time and is guaranteed to become a staple! Studded with raisins, cashews, green onion and cilantro, this lightened up lunch is a total crowd pleaser. Serve with crackers, in a toasty pita, or with a spoon. Dairy free!
Ingredients
For the chicken salad:
- 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- ⅓ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 celery rib, finely chopped
- ¼ cup roasted cashews, chopped
- 3 tbsp raisins
For the tahini dressing:
- 1 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp water
- ½ lemon, juiced (1 ½ tbsp)
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 2 tsp curry powder
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt, plus lots of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place chicken, onions, cilantro, celery, cashews and raisins in a medium mixing bowl.
- Place dressing ingredients in the order listed in a blender or Nutribullet (if you're salt sensitive, you can start with ½ tsp and season to taste). Blend until smooth.
- Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Serve!
Libby says
This is amazing! Definitely going in my lunch rotation. I did half the maple and thought it perfectly sweet!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Yay I’m so glad! I’m working on a honey mustard version now 🙂
Libby says
Yay, can’t wait!!
Kristy says
Best chicken salad recipe I've ever had! We love tahini in our house so when I saw this recipe, I knew we had to try it. We couldn’t find raisins because apparently in Florida there is a shortage so we ended up using dates and that worked out great. Such a good meal prep option too!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Omg this comment is the best! Yay for dates, I’ve used those too.
Claire C says
Simple and delicious!! Excited to have for lunch this week with your brussels sprouts recipe!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Oh i love that! Great combo!
Sherry says
I made this for my family yesterday and we loved it! It was so good that I started eating it out of the mixing bowl before serving it. It smells and tastes amazing. Can’t wait to make it again!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Hahaha I totally did the same thing, Sherry! Thank you 🙂