The BEST Whole30 + Keto Chicken Salad
The BEST Whole30 + Keto Chicken Salad Recipe + Video – packed with vegetables and herbs. Serve as a wrap on lettuce. Meal prep, paleo, gluten free, grain free, dairy free, sugar free, clean eating.
With 100% conviction, I can promise you this is the BEST whole30 + keto chicken salad.
I’m a major chicken salad connoisseur, and this one is my favorite.
Chicken salads make such a great meal prep for lunches, and get better the longer they sit. You can enjoy them in butter lettuce cups (my personal favorite), or on a big plate of greens.
I’ve shared a lot of chicken salad recipes in the past. My keto + whole30 lemon basil chicken salad, whole30 curried chicken salad, whole30 apple + cranberry chicken salad and of course my whole30 apricot chicken salad. But this newest version is my newest favorite.
Most chicken salad recipes use a lot of fruit to add sweetness, which also adds carbs.
To keep this one keto, I left out all fruit, and instead added in tons of crunch and naturally sweet vegetables, herbs, and crunchy pecans. Way fewer carbs, but still absolutely delicious.
The resulting chicken salad is crunchy, savory, and full 0f flavor.
It is going to be your new favorite lunch!
Best of all, this chicken salad makes the perfect meal prep. This recipe makes enough for 6 servings. I’ve had this chicken salad on day 5, and it is not soggy at all. It just keeps getting tastier!
Watch How To Make Whole30 + Keto Chicken Salad Recipe Video
The BEST Whole30 + Keto Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts and/or thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt + 2 teaspoons pepper
- 4 stalks of celery
- 1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced
- 1 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 cup roasted almonds, chopped
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425ºF.
- Pound your chicken to an even thickness. Place on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until the chicken has an internal temperature of 165ºF. Rest until cool enough to handle.
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, break it into large chunks and pulse in your food processor until finely chopped. Transfer the chopped chicken to a large mixing bowl.
- Then, use your food processor to finely chop the celery and then the bell pepper. Transfer to the same large mixing bowl.
- Add in the scallions, parsley, almonds, mayonnaise and dijon mustard. Stir to combine. Salt + pepper to taste, and add more mayonnaise if desired.
- Serve on butter lettuce, wrapped in collard greens, or scoop on top of baby greens.
- Will keep in an airtight container refrigerated for 5 days.
Notes
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67 Comments on “The BEST Whole30 + Keto Chicken Salad”
This recipe is BOMB! Even my husband who doesn’t like chicken salad asked me to make a double batch so he could have it for lunch all week too!
It is fantastic that your husband likes it and he doesn’t even like chicken salad Lisa! I love that he enjoyed a double batch!
So so so delicious!
I love to hear that it was delicious Courtney.
This really is the BEST chicken salad!!! While my husband was eating it I’m pretty sure he said “mmm it’s so good” after every bite! Then the next day the first thing he said in the morning when he walked into the kitchen was that he couldn’t wait until lunch to have the chicken salad again! So good!
Oh my goodness you just made my day Heather! Don’t you love it when your husband enjoys a recipe? I love the ‘mmm this is good’ part! LOL! So glad you were able to have leftovers for lunch. I think it’s actually better the next day.
oh my gosh this was soooo good and the use of the food processor is genius! Made it so much faster and only one more thing to wash.
I was craving a curry chicken salad so I swapped out the parsley for cilantro and added some extra spices (curry powder, garam masala, garlic powder, tumeric, and lime juice). But the crunch factor was fantastic and I wouldn’t have thought to put bell peppers in it. I also never buy celery but I bought it just for this recipe and I’m so glad I have celery left because I’m absolutely making this again this weekend. I’m so excited to have this for leftovers! I’m glad I live by myself because it means I get to eat it all myself lol
I am so happy you liked my chicken salad Carolyn. I agree, making it in the food processor is a game changer! I love your additions and substitutions, they sound delicious. It is so important to adapt a recipe to what you have available and your personal taste. I sure hope you enjoy it!
Made this again, this time with following your recipe. YUMMY. The only thing I added was zest and juice of 1 lemon (because I love all thing lemon). Thankfully, it didn’t make the leftovers liquidy :)
This recipe will definitely be a go-to recipe for me. Packed with veggies and protein, simple pantry ingredients, awesome crunch, lasts well in the fridge, and absolutely delicious!
Ya’ll must make this chicken salad, I have made this so many times and it’s perfect each time. No run! Thank you Natalie, you the sweetest, most encouraging, genuine person I follow. love your recipes!
I am so happy you liked my chicken salad Kriss! I love to hear that it has turned out perfectly each time you have made it. That is what I strive for in all of my recipes. Thank you so much for your kind words. You made my day!
AMAZING! I didn’t do the food processor I did all
the chopping 😂 I left out the nuts and parsley. But it was AMAZING. No complaints 1, 3 and 6 year old ate it no prob! As did hubby and I! So do good!
I am so happy you liked my chicken salad Megan. Even better that your kids and hubby liked it too! I love that you hand chopped everything.
So much chopping – I don’t have a good processor. But, definitely the result was worth the effort. DELICIOUS!
I am so glad you liked my chicken salad Susan! I know, tons of chopping but it is definitely worth it! So glad it turned out delicious for you!
DUMB QUESTION: DO you use italian parsley or the curly parsley?
First of all there are no dumb questions Courtney. Either Italian parsley or curly parsley would work for this recipe. I tend to shop and Trader Joe’s a lot and they only carry curly parsley. If I shop at Sprouts they sell both and I tend to buy Italian parsley. Feel free to use whichever one you prefer. I sure hope this answers your question. I hope you like my chicken salad. Happy cooking!
You’re right, it is the BEST chicken salad! Thank you again for the hard work you do to make genius recipes for us! ❤️
I am so happy you like my chicken salad Debbie! I love sharing these recipes and really appreciate the feedback.
I made this for the first week of my second round of whole30. And it was so delicious and fresh tasting that I made it every week during whole30! The flavor combo is perfect! This has become a a regular every week, even after whole30! Yum!
I am so pleased that you are enjoying my chicken salad Dara. I love that it has become part of your regular recipe rotation.
If I’m making this for 5 days, would you recommend doubling it? I see that you got three days out of the recipe.
I don’t think I would double the recipe Emily. The recipe yields 6 servings. It has 2 pounds of chicken so that means each serving is 1/3 pound, not including the veggies, pecans and dressing. When I make this, I can get 5 lunches from it. But, it also depends on your appetite. I sure hope this helps and you enjoy it!
I double this recipe every time and look forward to eating it everyday once it’s made! Always a hit when I make it for others too!
I am so happy you like my chicken salad Whitney. I tend to double the recipe to because to me it tastes better as leftovers. I am so happy your friends and family enjoy it too!
I can’t wait to make this thank you for sharing. I was wondering if I left out the nuts if it would change it too much? I work in early childhood and can’t have any nuts at the centre because of allergies.
Hi Rheanna – You can of course leave out the nuts. You are going to get plenty of crunch from the celery and bell pepper. I hope you enjoy it!
Another amazingly easy meal prepped lunch idea! Delicious, and I love that the ingredients are all chopped so finely… I have a chunky chicken salad! Love this!!
So pleased you like this Mary! It does make an absolutely delicious lunch. The flavors get better each day!
Made this over the summer and fell in love! It’s so easy to make, stores extremely well! And no sogginess whatsoever- amazing. Great on crackers, lettuce, or Siete wraps! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes.
Hi Natalie,
Can I find the roasted pecans at Trader Joe’s? Thanks!
I usually buy raw pecans and roast them myself, but I believe Trader Joe’s sells roasted pecans Lauren. I sure hope you like the salad!
Love this chicken salad so much!! It was super easy to make in my food processor, and had so much great flavor! Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Thanks for letting me know you like my Keto Chicken Salsa Kinzie. That just makes my day!
This recipe is SO YUMMY and SO EASY!! I make it like every other week for the whole week! My 3 year old even loves it!
Love the flavor, texture, and that it doesn’t get “wet” the next day!!
Hi Ali! So glad that you enjoyed the Keto Chicken Salad! I also love that it doesn’t get “wet” the next day. I think it actually tastes better as leftovers!
So so delicious, easy and healthy! I wish I would’ve made this sooner. I agree with the other comment, I added a bit more mayo. This will definitely be a regular in our house!
Yea! I’m so happy to hear you loved it Gina! Isn’t it delicious? Wait until you try it today! It’s somehow even more delicious the next day!
Absolutely love this recipe. Prepping the chicken, celery, and red pepper in the food processor makes the chicken salad a great texture and the pecans as a bit of extra crunch and just enough flavor to round out the taste. I have to admit I did use a bit more mayo, maybe a couple of tablespoons, but the salad is not soggy a ton all. Nite: this recipe makes quite a bit — keep that in mind if you live alone. I think this is my new favorite chicken salad!!!
Thank you SO MUCH! I’m glad you love it as much as I do. Appreciate you taking the time to let me know you liked my recipe! Means the world!