Apple almond chicken salad is an easy lunch that’s full of flavor, without a lot of bother. You can either start with rotisserie chicken from the store, or roast your own. The flavor comes from sweet apples, crunchy almonds, and tangy sour cream.
Switching from all mayo to half sour cream and half mayo adds more zing, and makes the salad a lot less heavy. I don’t just mean calories. I find all mayo is just too greasy. If you don’t have sour cream, Greek yogurt works really well too.
This recipe was inspired by an online food group I belong to. There are themes most months and this time it was apples. So I decided to switch my usual chicken salad up a bit. Goodbye grapes and hello apples!
Use a rotisserie chicken and this recipe is done in five minutes. Or, do it yourself (think of this as two recipes in one). The roast chicken is delicious for dinner too.
If you want to roast the chicken yourself, mix up 1 tsp olive oil, a small clove of garlic (chopped), and 1 tsp rosemary in a small ramekin. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then coat it with the olive oil mixture. Roast at 400 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.
Then let it cool, and remove the skin. Eat the skin as a chef’s treat (this is an important step!). Shred the chicken, and prepare the rest of the salad. Roasting at a higher temperature keeps the meat juicy while the skin gets crispy and golden brown.
Apple Almond Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cooked chicken thigh, shredded
- 1 small apple, cut in chunks
- 2 tsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp ground almonds
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix them together.
Apple Almond Chicken Salad Substitutions and Variations
- Use chopped almonds or other nuts, like walnuts or pecans
- Try switching the rosemary in the roast coating with tarragon instead
- If you use rotisserie chicken, add some fresh rosemary or tarragon to the salad
- Go back to the grapes
- Toss in some craisins (sweetened cranberries)
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