I love chicken salad! A friend of mine makes phenomenal chicken salads and actually makes a living doing it. I can never compare to the chicken salads she makes, but I do make a very good salad that I have discovered is pretty darn versatile on it’s own or as a base for chicken casseroles. I thought I would share those recipes with you!
I thought I had made pictures of all these, but apparently they are missing. I wanted to post the recipes. As soon as I find pictures, or make new ones, I promise to add them on here!
Basic Chicken Salad
A versatile chicken salad
Ingredients
- 5 cups Chicken Breast Cooked, boned and cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Mustard
- 1 cup Celery Chopped small
- 1/4 cup Onion Chopped very small
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- Salt To taste
- Pepper To taste
- Garlic Powder To taste
Instructions
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In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.
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Cover bowl and allow flavors to meld for at least 2 hours.
Recipe Notes
- If you have a Costco near you, the rotisserie chicken breast is exactly five cups for this recipe. I use this often when I don’t feel like roasting or boiling chicken breasts.
- You can use light mayonnaise, but I use the original Hellman’s Mayonnaise. You can save some calories and fat this way.
- If you like a little more mayonnaise, add it in. Some people like more, some people like it barely there.
- If you don’t like as much onion, lower the amount to about 1/8 cup.
- I use Paula Deen’s House Seasoning that I always have on-hand instead of individually using the salt, pepper and garlic powder. I then lightly cover the whole mixture in the bowl and that seems to be the right amount to my taste. Maybe a teaspoon or so.
- Eat plain or on lettuce or in a large wedged tomato. If you have found breads like ThinSlim, Sola or other lite breads that fit into your carb counting, then by all means, this works great as a sandwich too.
Now then, it is just my husband and I at home. We will eat about half of this chicken salad and then just can’t eat anymore. I then take the rest of the chicken salad as a base for one of two casseroles: a Chicken Broccoli Casserole or a Mexican Chicken Casserole.
First up is the Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole.
Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole
A delicious casserole using a chicken salad base
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups Chicken Salad See recipe
- 4 cups Broccoli pieces or crowns
- 1 can Mushroom Soup
- .5 cup Mayonnaise
- 2 cups Cheese grated
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Steam the broccoli until broccoli almost fork tender and drain.
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Mix broccoli, soup, mayonnaise, salt, lemon juice and 1/2 cup of cheese into the chicken salad base.
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Put mixture into a casserole dish sprayed with non-stick oil.
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Top with the remaining cheese.
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Bake for 40 minutes until cheese bubbly and starts to brown.
Recipe Notes
- I like to use sharp cheddar cheese.
- Basically, the seasoning added here is to season the broccoli that was added.
- I like to add sliced almonds into the recipe.
- I love how lemon juice “brightens” dishes.
- You can serve this over riced cauliflower.
Next is a Mexican casserole that I could honestly eat all portions of it in one sitting!
Poblano Chicken Casserole
A delicious casserole using a chicken salad base
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups Chicken Salad See recipe
- 5 Poblano Peppers
- 1 cup Salsa Verde
- 2.5 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese grated
- .5 cup Pecans chopped
Instructions
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Set broiler on high.
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Cut poblano peppers in half, seed and place skin side up on a baking sheet.
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Broil poblano peppers for about 5 minutes. The skin should look charred and bubbly.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Let the peppers cool and then remove the skins.
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Mix pecans and 1 cup of cheese into the chicken salad base.
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In the casserole dish, spray with non-stick oil and layer the peppers in the bottom. (or you can cut in strips and layer or add into the chicken salad itself.)
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Layer chicken salad mix on top of the peppers. (Or you could mix poblano strips into the chicken salad.)
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Spread salsa verde over top of the chicken salad mix.
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Top with the remaining cheese.
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Bake for 30 minutes until cheese bubbly or longer if you wish the cheese to brown
Recipe Notes
- You can swap out the pecans for almond or walnut pieces.
- You can serve this over riced cauliflower.
I hope you all enjoy these recipes!
Until next time… #lowcarb4ever
Dee