Keto chicken salad is a favorite for lunch in our house, whether it’s eaten with a fork, in a lettuce wrap, or spooned on top of sliced cucumber. I load this chicken salad recipe up with all kinds of goodies so that every bite has loads of flavor and texture.
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When the sun finally starts peaking out and the weather finally starts warming up, I immediately start thinking of lazy summer days and firing up the grill.
Summer food is the best food, if you ask me!
In our house, we do a lot of simple lunches, especially during the hot summer months when we don’t want to mess with the oven or leave the pool.
This low carb chicken salad is a summer staple for us, but we do eat it all year long. It’s hard to resist since I load it up with all kinds of goodies.
Chicken Salad Ingredients:
This keto chicken salad is absolutely packed with all of my favorite things! I like lots of flavor and texture in my chicken salad.
You’ll need shredded chicken, mayonnaise, mustard, hard boiled eggs, dill pickles, minced onion, chopped pecans, fresh dill, vinegar and salt and pepper.
Feel free to sub in sunflower seeds or sliced almonds for the pecans.
You may use dill relish in place of chopped pickles, but check for hidden sugars as a lot of relish contains sugar.
How to make chicken salad:
We often start with a rotisserie chicken from the store to keep it really easy, but if you have an Instant Pot (affiliate link), it works perfect for cooking chicken to shred.
Just pop in a couple pounds of chicken breasts or thighs with a cup of broth and use the poultry setting for 15 minutes. I always do a full natural release to ensure the meat is tender. It seems to get tough if you quick release.
You can also throw your chicken in a slow cooker and cook it on low for around 3 hours and then shred it with a couple of forks.
Let your chicken cool completely before mixing together your chicken salad.
Stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, pecans, onion, dill, and vinegar and then toss in the shredded chicken.
Give it a taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
This tastes best after it’s had at least an hour to chill out in the fridge, but you can eat it right away if you’re in a hurry.
Store tightly covered for 3-5 days.
Low carb chicken salad:
Everything in this chicken salad recipe is low carb, but traditionally chicken salad is served between bread.
You could try your hand at this low carb bread recipe or, if you’re not strictly keto, you can check out some of the lower carb breads available at the grocery store. Healthy Life is a brand that’s widely available and has around 6 net carbs per slice, depending on the variety you choose.
Low carb tortillas make a great wrap.
I usually choose to serve my keto chicken salad in a lettuce wrap. Both romaine hearts and butter lettuce work well – romaine is crunchy and butter lettuce is soft. Choose whichever texture you prefer.
I’ve also cut a cucumber in 1/4 thick rounds and spooned a little chicken salad on top. It’s delicious and adds great crunch.
More low carb chicken recipes:
Stuffed Chicken Breast: You should read the reviews on this recipe!
Low Carb Chicken Parmesan: A family favorite!
Crockpot Chicken Fajitas: We all love Mexican food!
Low Carb Chicken Casserole: Total comfort food!
Lemon Garlic Chicken: The creamy sauce is seriously outrageous and so easy!
Keto Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 2 large boiled eggs chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped dill pickles
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup minced yellow onion
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add everything but the chicken to a mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
- Add the chicken to the mixture and stir well to coat.
- Taste and add salt and pepper, as desired.
- Chill for 1 hour before serving for best flavor.
Sarah says
I’ve made this twice now and devoured it each time! I used dried dill and onion powder since that’s what I had at home, and half white vinegar half cider vinegar. So good with pork rinds or parmesan crisps.
Karly Campbell says
Sounds delicious, Sarah! 🙂
Ryan says
I made this today Sun Apr 11, 2021 and it was delicious. Just as you instructed.
Taking it to the office everyday for lunch this week!!
Karly Campbell says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Ryan!
rakesh says
Amazing! Didn’t have any dill but added celery. My new favorite lunch.
Karly Campbell says
Sounds like a great addition!
Mariana says
Best chicken salad I’ve ever made! Me and my boyfriend just started Keto and we make this in bulk—perfect go to for lunch.
Karly Campbell says
Love to hear that! Thanks, Mariana!
DeeDee says
I’m not one to write a lot of reviews, but felt compelled to write one for this recipe. It was really good. I had a half of a rotisserie chicken and wasn’t sure what to do with with it and decided on this recipe. I removed all the skin and deboned. Made as directed. It was really good. Will be my go to chicken salad recipe. Next time I may add chopped bacon like another reviewer suggested. Thank you.
Karly Campbell says
Thanks, DeeDee!
Katrinda says
Could you sub yogurt for mayo?
Karly Campbell says
Yes, if you like that flavor it should work fine.
Beth says
This was yummy. I didn’t have any dill so I used cilantro as a substitute. I ran this recipe through MyFitnessPal and the the sodium was 1227g. Wow!
Bway Babs says
Made the Keto Chicken Salad for today and rest of the week lunch. I used left over rotisserie chicken and it was delicious! Another easy step was using sandwich slice dill pickles, just a quick chop! My only regret I used a tad bit too much sea salt. Today I ate it over fresh baby spinach. Tomorrow I’m going to add a little fresh cabbage for crunch. Really enjoyed it this and will make again.
Karen says
I was told you can’t use mayo while in Keto.
Karly Campbell says
You can definitely have mayo, but if you’re doing strict/clean keto with a focus on ingredients you’ll want to get a mayo with a healthy oil. Most big name mayo brands have soybean oil or canola oil, which isn’t good for keto. There are quite a few these days with avocado oil and those are perfect. Look for Chosen Foods or Sir Kensington and you’ll find a good clean mayo. 🙂
Taylor J says
This was seriously SO good. I had leftover rotisserie chicken from Costco that needed to be used, and this was perfect! I added a little bit of celery too. For anybody on keto craving a sandwich or wrap taste, try this recipe on Crepini egg + cauliflower wraps (also can be found at some Costcos in the refrigerator section) or parmesan wraps or crisps – so tasty! Thank you!
Susan says
The serving size indicates 1. What does this mean, 1 whole recipe, 1 cup, tbsp. I hope it means the whole thing.
Karly Campbell says
The recipe serves 4. I didn’t measure it out by volume, so you’ll just want to divide into 4 servings. 🙂
Pamela Orange says
i love to make this and put it on apple slices for a refreshing lunch at work. I have made it a couple of times now and I absolutely love it!
Troy says
Amazing! Didn’t have any dill but added celery. My new favorite lunch.
Karly Campbell says
Celery sounds like a good addition. 🙂
Misty says
Hello do you think I could freeze half of it. Thanks!
Karly Campbell says
I’ve never tried freezing chicken salad, but I imagine it would work fine.
Helen says
I made this chicken salad for my lunch today. DELICIOUS. I added chopped celery and I used canned chicken. I love it and will make it again. Thank you
Tanjiro says
My wife made this yesterday and it was so delicious! I wish she’ll make this salad again today. Thanks for sharing!
Tammy says
made it with smoked homemade and brazil nuts ad dry dill it was superlative I didnt add salt cause smoked chicken has plenty of flavor and pickles have salt.
Laura says
I love lettuce wraps but I’ve recently been having a love affair with the Outer Aisle cauliflower sandwich thins so I’m going to have a chicken salad sandwich with them!
Shannon says
Where in the world do you find cauliflower sandwich thins??? That sounds amazing!
Karly Campbell says
Amazon sells them! https://amzn.to/2YVAiPP
Bethany Priester says
I found the cauliflower sandwich thins but it shows $33.00 for a pack of four. Am I reading that correctly? There are different flavors too. Which ones do you recommend? Thanks for the heads up BTW!
Karly Campbell says
They’re actually 4 packs of 6 cauliflower thins. I’ve never tried them myself though. 🙂
Laura says
I’m going to make this and add some bacon to it too!
@Darla try adding some sliced or slivered almonds!
Karly Campbell says
Bacon sounds like a great addition!
Darla says
Keto Chicken Salad. This was very quick and easy to make! I didn’t put pecans and dill weed/powder. I subbed distilled vinegar for apple cider vinegar. And I used 2-12.5:oz. cans of chicken, so I didn’t add salt. I added freshly grated black pepper. Next time I may add some cayenne or Tony Chacherie’s-creole to it, because it was a little bland, possibly due to my omittions. But I’m allergic to pecans, and didn’t have dill weed/powder.
Yvette says
so how did it fare with the canned chicken? I have a few cans because of all the uncertainty of Covid, so I need to use them.
Maggie Martin says
I will try the cucumber chip idea, love fresh cukes. You can also poach your chicken in broth for 30 minutes and cool and shread.
Try using Lemon Cukes!
Thanks Karly,
Maggie