A low carb chicken salad with pesto + tomatoes. You need just 5 ingredients and ready in 5 minutes! Plus, my chicken salad chopping hack that will blow your mind!

keto pesto chicken salad on cauliflower thins on a white plate with a white background

5 Ingredients or Less from Trader Joe’s

Aren’t Thursdays so fun?! Each week I am delivering “5 Ingredients or less from Trader Joe’s” recipes that are super yummy and super affordable! If you’ve missed out on previous recipes, and want to catch up, click here.

This week, I’m sharing my newest recipe: Keto Pesto Chicken Salad!

Watch The Recipe Video

Note: You can also watch this recipe video on YouTube.

ingredients for keto pesto chicken salad in a red trader joe's basket

Keto Pesto Chicken Salad

Okay, you *know* how much I love cauliflower thins, so of course one of these recipes was bound to include them! This week, they come together to create the tastiest chicken salad sandwich!

In just 5 minutes, you can whip together lunch or dinner for the family, or meal prep for the week! Additionally, this Keto Pesto Chicken Salad would go perfectly on a bed of lettuce, a jicama wrap, and more! You just can’t go wrong!

keto pesto chicken salad ingredients in a glass bowl on the left side, and all of the ingredients mixed together in a glass bowl on the right side.

Trader Joe’s Ingredients Needed

Here are the ingredients I grabbed for this recipe:

  1. Just Chicken (already cooked!)
  2. Jar of Mayonnaise
  3. Cherry Tomatoes
  4. Pesto (in the refrigerated dips and sauces section)
  5. Cauliflower Thins
keto pesto chicken salad on cauliflower thins on a white plate with a white background

Expert Tips + Tricks

Chicken: I got Trader Joe’s “Just Chicken”. You could also use a rotisserie chicken, leftover cooked chicken, or roast off 1 pound of chicken breasts that have been drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper in a 425ºF oven for 20-25 minutes.

Pesto: I got Trader Joe’s Genova Pesto, which is in the refrigerated section near the cheese. You could also use their vegan kale + cashew pesto if you need it to be dairy free. Any store bought pesto would work. I even have a recipe for pesto that is dairy free!

Mayonnaise: I seriously never buy store bought mayonnaise. I always always always make my own. But for convenience purposes store bought mayonnaise works just fine.

Tomatoes: For sure don’t skip the step of straining the tomatoes, otherwise this chicken salad will be watery. You could also use larger tomatoes. Strain those too after chopping. Sun dried tomatoes would be delicious also!

Serving: I served this on cauliflower thins that I get at Trader Joe’s. Outer Aisle Gourmet also makes cauliflower thins, I often see them at Costco. But you can serve this on your favorite keto friendly bread, on lettuce leaves, a big scoop on top of baby greens and eat it as a salad, etc.

Dairy Free: If you need this to be dairy free, make sure you use my homemade dairy free keto pesto, or a store bought dairy free pesto. The cauliflower thins also have dairy, so instead use a different keto friendly bread or serve on lettuce leaves.

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keto pesto chicken salad on cauliflower thins on a white plate with a white background

Keto Pesto Chicken Salad

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
A low carb chicken salad with pesto + tomatoes. You need just 5 ingredients and ready in 5 minutes! Plus, my chicken salad chopping hack that will blow your mind!
5 from 12 ratings
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Ingredients 
 

  • 1 pound cooked chicken
  • 7 ounces pesto, about 1 cup, store bought or homemade
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise, or more to taste, store bought or homemade
  • 10 ounces cherry tomatoes, roughly 2 cups
  • cauliflower thins
  • kosher salt

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Add the cooked chicken to your food processor. Pulse until the chicken is finely chopped. It will resemble the texture of canned tuna. Transfer the chopped chicken to a large bowl.
  • In the same food processor, add the cherry tomatoes and pulse to roughly chop.
  • Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl or your sink. Pour over the chopped cherry tomatoes and discard any of the juice.
  • Pour the strained, chopped tomatoes to the same bowl as the chicken. Then add the pesto and mayonnaise. Stir to combine. Season to taste with kosher salt if needed.
  • Serve the pesto chicken salad cold or room temperature on cauliflower thins.
  • Leftovers will keep in an airtight container refrigerated for at least 5 days.
  • As always, lots of tips, FAQs and substitution info in the Recipe Notes below!

Notes

Chicken: I got the Trader Joe’s “Just Chicken”. You could also use a rotisserie chicken, leftover cooked chicken, or roast off 1 pound of chicken breasts that have been drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper in a 425ºF oven for 20-25 minutes.
Pesto: I got Trader Joe’s Genova Pesto, which is in the refrigerated section near the cheese. You could also use their vegan kale + cashew pesto if you need it to be dairy free. Any store bought pesto would work. I even have a recipe for pesto that is dairy free!
Mayonnaise: I seriously never buy store bought mayonnaise. I always always always make my own. But for convenience purposes store bought mayonnaise works just fine.
Tomatoes: For sure don’t skip the step of straining the tomatoes, otherwise this chicken salad will be watery. You could also use larger tomatoes. Strain those too after chopping. Sun dried tomatoes would be delicious also!
Serving: I served this on cauliflower thins that I get at Trader Joe’s. Outer Aisle Gourmet also makes cauliflower thins, I often see them at Costco. But you can serve this on your favorite keto friendly bread, on lettuce leaves, a big scoop on top of baby greens and eat it as a salad, etc.
Dairy Free: If you need this to be dairy free, make sure you use my homemade dairy free keto pesto, or a store bought dairy free pesto. The cauliflower thins also have dairy, so instead use a different keto friendly bread or serve on lettuce leaves.
Whole30: For Whole30, use my homemade dairy free keto pesto, and serve on lettuce.
Additional Ingredients: I kept this simple at just 5 ingredients, but if I could add more this would be amazing with roasted pinenuts or almonds. About 1/2 cup worth. I’d also love to add in some greens on the sandwich, like arugula or spinach or microgreens or sprouts or lettuce, etc.
Cuisine: American
Course: Main Course
Author: Natalie
Calories: 352, Total Carbs: 5.7g, Protein: 24.2g, Fat: 25.2g, Fiber: 1.7g, Net Carbs: 4g
Did you make this recipe?Please Leave a comment and give this recipe a rating!