8 Chicken Salad Recipes for Easy, Flavor-Packed Lunches

I don’t eat chicken salad a lot, but when I do, it’s from Costco. It's so tender, creamy, and perfectly seasoned that I have a hard time not eating the whole thing (which is probably meant to serve at least four people) in one sitting. But there are times when I can’t get to Costco, and desperate times call for desperate measures. For some, desperate might mean placing an Instacart order to have the chicken salad delivered (I promise I haven’t done this...yet). But for me, that means taking matters into my own hands and making a big bowl of the good stuff myself.

At the heart of a great chicken salad is juicy, tender meat. The best way we’ve found to achieve this is by cooking your chicken sous vide . By adding aromatics like lemon and herbs to the sous vide bags, you can also infuse the chicken with better flavor. But leftover roast chicken will work for these preparations, too, whether you're making our classic chicken salad (which just might be better than the Costco version), or one of our many variations. With not one, but eight delicious recipes to choose from, I have no reason not to kick my Costco chicken salad obsession to the curb. The only thing that’s left to do is choose between piling it on toasted bread or digging in with a spoon.

01 of 08

Curry Chicken Salad

If you’re a fan of chicken salad and curry powder spice mixes, this recipe is for you. It’s fragrant, flavorful, and perfectly spiced, and it has the right amount of mayo to bind all the ingredients together while letting the textures of crisp scallions and chewy raisins shine.

Get Recipe: Curry Chicken Salad

02 of 08

Buffalo Chicken Salad

A combination of blue cheese dressing and Buffalo sauce evokes the taste of classic Buffalo wings in salad form while crisp, fresh vegetables and creamy avocado tame the hot sauce. Win-win-win-win- win.

Get Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Salad

03 of 08

Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing

Here, chicken salad gets a Japanese twist thanks to ingredients like miso paste, mirin, and ginger. We swap out typical crunchy ingredients like celery and red onion for scallions and fresh corn, while also including avocado for a subtle creaminess. And if you ask us, no dish is complete without a kick to it, so we add Japanese mustard and shichimi togarashi to the dressing. With a notable absence of heavy ingredients like mayonnaise, the finished product is proof that chicken salad can be light without skimping on flavor.

Get Recipe: Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing

04 of 08

The Best Classic Chicken Salad

The key to nailing a classic chicken salad, aside from cooking it sous vide, is making your mayonnaise from scratch . While this may sound like a process, it takes all of two minutes and offers a lighter, more flavorful result. Still, there’s no judgement here if you opt for the store-bought stuff. Mixing in ingredients like chives, red onion, celery, and parsley will make up for it, along with a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. You’ll be left with a flavor-packed chicken salad that hits all the right notes.

Get Recipe: The Best Classic Chicken Salad

05 of 08

Bang Bang Ji Si (Hot and Numbing Sichuan Chicken Salad)

Sichuan peppercorns deliver hot and numbing málà flavor to this classic Chinese dish of chilled shredded chicken. Tossed with garlic, sesame paste and seeds, vinegar, soy sauce, and chili oil, it's a bright, tingly take on chicken salad that delivers just the right amount of heat.

Get Recipe: Bang Bang Ji Si (Hot and Numbing Sichuan Chicken Salad)

06 of 08

Grilled Chicken and Cabbage Salad With Creamy Tahini Dressing

If you’ve got some leftover grilled chicken on your hands that’s leaning on the dry side, give it new life by turning it into this crunchy salad with cabbage. A lemony, garlicky tahini dressing coats every bit of chicken and cabbage , complemented by an array of herbs like mint, parsley, and cilantro. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, then marvel in the wonders of your scrap-cooking abilities.

Get Recipe: Grilled Chicken and Cabbage Salad With Creamy Tahini Dressing

07 of 08

Smoked Chicken Salad

This recipe doesn’t drift too far from the classic, other than embracing some added seasonings and using a different method for cooking the chicken. After rubbing the bird, you can throw it in a smoker or on the grill for a rich barbecued taste. A mayo dressing spiked with hot sauce, celery seeds, apple cider vinegar, and smoked paprika balances the smokiness of the chicken without overwhelming it.

Get Recipe: Smoked Chicken Salad

08 of 08

Mayo-Free Chicken Salad With Kimchi, Ginger, and Scallions

To all you mayo-haters out there: We see you and we hear you. That’s why we created this mayo-free chicken salad and gave it a kick. Using kimchi in the dressing keeps the chicken moist while also delivering an acidic bite, while fresh ginger, scallion, celery, and pine nuts add complexity of flavor and texture. It's a tangy, Korean-inspired chicken salad without a drop of the white stuff in sight.

Get Recipe: Mayo-Free Chicken Salad With Kimchi, Ginger, and Scallions

Read the original article on Serious Eats