This creamy keto chicken salad is a great lunch or light dinner option on a low-carb diet, as it’s packed with protein and low-carb veggies like tomato, celery and chives in a creamy mayo dressing.
» Also try this delicious and light Greek Salad Bowl and these Quick & Easy Keto Chicken Recipes.
You don’t need bread to enjoy a delicious creamy chicken salad. There are lots of options for serving chicken salad, from lettuce to stuffed peppers to low-carb bagels, cloud bread or wonder bread chaffles.
I like this salad so much because it’s a whole food option. It’s simple, healthy, & naturally low carb and it can be mixed up in just a few minutes, so it’s always an option. This keto avocado egg salad mixes up quickly as well.
Ingredients for Keto Chicken Salad
Here’s what you will need to make this simple low-carb chicken salad.
- Cooked cubed chicken – you can use any pre-cooked leftover chicken breast. If you like to make a whole roast chicken, using the left overs for this recipe the next day is perfect.
- Veggies – Cherry tomatoes and celery are the perfect additions to this salad because they are low-carb and add some great crunch and acid to the salad.
- Mayonnaise – use the best quality mayo you can for this salad, because quality has a big impact on the flavor and outcome of the salad. I use Hellman’s or Best Foods Real Mayonnaise.
- Chives – I’m not a big fan of raw onions, so to give that bit of onion flavor, I use fresh chopped chives. You can add red onion if you like it. Remember that onion has a higher carb count.
- Dried cranberries – This is an optional ingredient. They add an extra element of sugar to the dish, so you might want to leave them out if you don’t want the extra carbs. I like that they add to the texture and give a bit of a sweet element to the salad.
- You will also need a few other ingredients such as yellow mustard, salt & pepper.
How to Prepare this Keto Chicken Salad
Since this salad isn’t cooked, you just need a bit of chopping time.
If you’re not using left over chicken, you might need to simmer the chicken breast on the stove top for 20 minutes until cooked through, then cool and cube the chicken.
Once the chicken is cooled and cubed, add it to the bowl. Chop the celery and tomato and add those to the bowl, along with the mayonnaise, chives, salt and pepper. Stir it all up. Cover and refrigerate the salad for at least 10 minutes before serving.
How to Serve Keto Chicken Salad
You don’t need bread to serve this chicken salad. The joy of it is that it’s delicious to eat all on its own, without bread. You can eat it by itself, stuff it in a pepper, lettuce leaf or half an avocado, or serve it on a keto alternative bread. See some options below.
Alternatives and Add-ons
The flavor of chicken salad can be changed up by adding in different ingredients to make it new an exciting every day. Try adding:
- Pickles
- Toasted pecan
- Dill, fresh or dried
- Hard boiled eggs
- Cucumber
- Bacon
Frequently Asked Questions
If mayonnaise keto friendly?
Yes it is. In fact, it has almost no carbs and is high in fat making it the perfect keto condiment. Try and stay away from Miracle Whip as it has sugar and high fructose corn syrup.
Can you eat yellow mustard on a keto diet?
Yes. It is a carb free condiment. There is no sugar, artificial sweetners or refined oils in it.
Bread Alternatives
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Creamy Keto Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken breast cooked and cubed
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 celery stalk halved and chopped
- 8 cherry tomatoes quartered
- 1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon fresh chives chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon dried cranberries optional
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before serving.
- Serve in a lettuce wrap, stuffed in a pepper, or with keto bagels or cloud bread.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Other Chicken Recipes To Try
Click for Even More Chicken Recipes
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Laura is dedicated to a low-carb lifestyle after losing 52 pounds on the keto diet. As many of us do, she struggles with her weight and has found that one of the only diet lifestyles that allows her to maintain a healthy weight is a low-carb diet. She shares her favorite low-carb recipes here that are both easy to make and full of flavor, so you don’t even miss the carbs.
I love how easy and delicious this recipe is, and I am so excited to make this at home!