Curry Chicken Salad

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May 13, 2025

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This simple Curry Chicken Salad is a great way to spice up your same old chicken salad. Crunchy celery and chopped pistachios, golden raisins, and curry powder all add so much to such an easy recipe. Perfect on sandwiches, on a buttery croissant, crackers, in a lettuce wrap or straight from the bowl!

Curry chicken salad in dish with spoon topped with chopped green onion, chopped pistachios and parsley.

Why We Love This Curry Chicken Salad
Ingredient Notes
Recipe Variations
How To Make It
Recipe Tips
Storage
Other Simple Salad Recipes
Curry Chicken Salad Recipe
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This new curry chicken salad recipe has been a recent favorite in our house and it’s time to share it! It feels too easy to be much of a recipe, but chicken salad should really be that way!

Big fan of any way to use a rotisserie chicken and make it into a completely new meal.

Try using it in these other salad recipes and more: Strawberry Poppy Seed Pecan Chicken Salad, Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad, Easy Chicken Fried Rice, Chicken Stuffed Poblano Peppers or this Easy Chicken Alfredo Recipe!

Why We Love This Curry Chicken Salad

It’s so simple to prepare.
A great way to use up leftover or extra chicken.
Soooo much flavor–it’s far from the same old.
A great dish to serve to guests!
It’s a great lunch option but also makes for a no cook simple dinner recipe.

Ingredient Notes

Shredded chicken, celery, onion, parsley, mayo and other ingredients labeled.

You can use regular raisins if you don’t have golden raisins. Golden raisins have a lighter, sweeter flavor, and are often more soft and plump. They add a nice balance to this curry chicken salad, but they aren’t for everyone so if you don’t love raisins in general, omit them!
We love using leftover rotisserie chicken when making this recipe. Easily pulled into pieces and so flavorful. Any leftover chicken can easily be used to make this!
Use an egg-free mayo to make this recipe eggless in case of an allergy!

Recipe Variations

Add more fresh herbs! Some chopped cilantro would be great in this recipe!
Vary the nuts. Not up for pistachios? Chopped cashews, walnuts, or almonds would also be great. Sesame seeds would also be a great option.
Toss in some halved grapes or chunks of apple for some fruitiness.
Use lime juice instead of lemon juice.
Add a drizzle of honey to give a lightly sweet tang to the salad.

How To Make It

Shredded chicken, celery, golden raisins, curry powder and other chicken salad ingredients in glass bowl.

Step 1: Chop the vegetables, pistachios and shred the chicken. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.

Mixed curry chicken salad in glass mixing bowl with spoon.

Step 2: Stir well to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste, add more mayonnaise or greek yogurt if you prefer a more creamy salad. Chill for about 30 minutes before serving if desired, but this can be enjoyed immediately.

Recipe Tips

Feel free to add in some extra mayonnaise for a creamier chicken salad. I prefer my chicken salad to be less creamy than some prefer, and that’s totally fine. You are welcome to add a couple tablespoons or so more as desired.
This salad can be made in advance. If you have a party or gathering you want to prepare this curry chicken salad for ahead of time, you can make it up to 24 hours in advance and still have optimal flavor and texture. If you want lots of crunch, wait until just before serving to add the pistachios if making this a day ahead.
No curry powder? Curry powder is a spice blend most commonly containing turmeric, coriander, cumin, ginger, and black pepper. Sometimes cinnamon, cardamom, and other spices like mustard, cayenne, and others are also included. If you don’t have any on hand, you can make your own curry powder or just toss in a few of these spices to taste.