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
-
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
-
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.
-
Cover bowl and allow flavors to meld for at least 2 hours.
- 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.
Nutrition Facts
Basic Chicken Salad
Amount Per Serving
Calories 138
Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 44mg15%
Sodium 143mg6%
Potassium 258mg7%
Carbohydrates 1g0%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 13g26%
Iron 1mg6%
Calcium 6mg1%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Vitamin A 63IU1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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
-
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
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-
Steam the broccoli until broccoli almost fork tender and drain.
-
Mix broccoli, soup, mayonnaise, salt, lemon juice and 1/2 cup of cheese into the chicken salad base.
-
Put mixture into a casserole dish sprayed with non-stick oil.
-
Top with the remaining cheese.
-
Bake for 40 minutes until cheese bubbly and starts to brown.
- 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.
Nutrition Facts
Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole
Amount Per Serving
Calories 223
Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 43mg14%
Sodium 474mg21%
Potassium 254mg7%
Carbohydrates 4g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 12g24%
Iron 1mg6%
Calcium 154mg15%
Vitamin C 28mg34%
Vitamin A 410IU8%
Net Carbs 3g6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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
-
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
-
-
Cut poblano peppers in half, seed and place skin side up on a baking sheet.
-
Broil poblano peppers for about 5 minutes. The skin should look charred and bubbly.
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-
Let the peppers cool and then remove the skins.
-
Mix pecans and 1 cup of cheese into the chicken salad base.
-
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.)
-
Layer chicken salad mix on top of the peppers. (Or you could mix poblano strips into the chicken salad.)
-
Spread salsa verde over top of the chicken salad mix.
-
Top with the remaining cheese.
-
Bake for 30 minutes until cheese bubbly or longer if you wish the cheese to brown
- You can swap out the pecans for almond or walnut pieces.
- You can serve this over riced cauliflower.
Nutrition Facts
Poblano Chicken Casserole
Amount Per Serving
Calories 200
Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 43mg14%
Sodium 343mg15%
Potassium 272mg8%
Carbohydrates 5g2%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 12g24%
Iron 1mg6%
Calcium 180mg18%
Vitamin C 41mg50%
Vitamin A 563IU11%
Net Carbs 3g6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
I hope you all enjoy these recipes!
Until next time… #lowcarb4ever
Dee
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