Easy Curried Chicken Salad (+ 6 Tasty Ways to Serve it!)

This easy recipe for curried chicken salad is welcome change from the traditional chicken salad recipe. It features plenty of crunch from the celery and sunflower seeds, some sweetness from golden raisins and fresh apple, and plenty of savory thanks to the rich creamy curry dressing that coats the tender chicken.

Creating this Recipe for Curry Chicken Salad

I love chicken salad, but I was looking for a way to change my recipe up from the classic. I remember my mom making a creamy chicken curry dish growing up, so I decided that might be a good way to spice things up when it came to chicken salad!

This is a great lunch option, so I’m sharing my favorite meal prep ideas, plenty ways to serve this tasty curry chicken salad (some of them gluten-free) and storage instructions!

This recipe was originally published March 11, 2010, but it has been updated from the archives to include more information, preparation tips, ingredient substitution suggestions, and serving ideas.

Tools Needed To Prepare this Curried Chicken Salad

You’ll need a few different kitchen tools to prepare this recipe for chicken salad with curry. Hopefully you have most of them at home already!

• cutting board – prep surface for the the chicken, veggies, and fruit
• knife – to cut the ingredients
• measuring cups – to measure the sauce ingredients
• measuring spoons – to measure the seasonings
• small bowl – combine the creamy dressing ingredients
• large bowl – to combine the dressing ingredients with the crunchy veggies, fruit, and chicken
• silicone spatula or wooden spoon – for stirring

Ingredients to Make Curry Chicken Salad Recipe

Here’s what you’ll need to make this chicken salad with curry recipe at home:

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Mayonnaise
• Sour Cream
• Orange Zest
• Orange Juice
• Fresh Ginger
• Yellow Curry Powder
• Salt and Black Pepper
• Celery
• Green Onions
• Fresh Parsley
• Apple
• Sunflower Seeds
• Golden Raisins

For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.

Ingredient Substitutions in this Curried Chicken Salad Recipe

Here are my suggestions for ingredient substitutes if you are missing or unable to find one of the listed ingredients. I don’t recommend making more than one or two substitutes at a time, especially the first time preparing a recipe.

Parsley – You can use fresh cilantro in place of the fresh parsley if you prefer. Cilantro has a more distinctive flavor than parsley, however.

Sunflower Seeds – Crunchy Cashews are a great alternative to sunflower seeds if you would rather have nuts than seeds. Chop them or use cashew pieces rather than whole cashews if you find them too large.

Sour Cream or Mayo – You can substitute Unflavored Greek Yogurt or Plain Yogurt in place of the for the Sour Cream or Mayo. I don’t recommend using it for both.

Green Onion – Red onion works as a substitute for the green onions. Make sure it is finely diced, because red onion has a stronger taste than green onions do.

Golden Raisins – Fresh Green or Red Grapes, cut in half or quarters, work as a substitute for golden raisins. You could also use dried cranberries.

How to Make Curry Chicken Salad

I’ve walked you through how to make this easy curry chicken salad in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of the process:

1. First, prepare the chicken. Cool completely.

To Make the Creamy Curry Dressing for this Chicken Salad:

2. Next, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, orange zest, orange juice. Then, stir in the fresh ginger, curry, salt, and pepper.

Mixing Up this Chicken Salad with Curry Dressing

3. After that, stir in the chicken and crunchy celery. Next, add the the green onion, fresh parsley, half of the apples, half of the sunflower seeds, and half of the golden raisins to the chicken mixture.

4. Then, if eating immediately, toss with the watercress before dividing the salad among the pita bread. (If not, toss only the portion you will be eating with a portion of the watercress)

5. Then, to serve: divide mixture evenly among the 4 pita bread (or homemade naan!). Lastly, sprinkle each with the remaining apple, sunflower seeds, and raisins.

Prep Tips for this Curried Chicken Salad

Here are a few of my prep tips when making this recipe:

Preparing the chicken: First, I like to season the chicken with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and a good sprinkle of curry powder before baking. You can also pan roast or cook it in the instant pot according to manufacturer instructions.

Preparing the Veggies: Next, make sure to cut the veggies and the apple in small pieces so you don’t have too large of chunks in your chicken salad.

Seasoning the Salad: Then, after mixing it up, taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. If you like a hint of heat, you can add a dash or two of cayenne pepper to the creamy curry dressing mixture.

Make Ahead Ideas

Here are a few suggestions to make this recipe for curried chicken salad quicker and easier to prepare:

To make this recipe even easier to prepare, feel free to use leftover chicken – it’s a super easy option! But, make sure to chop it up in bite sized pieces. And, don’t use anything that has too strong of flavors that would conflict with the taste of the creamy curry dressing.

• Homemade Roasted Chicken
• Grilled Chicken
• Leftover Rotisserie Chicken
• Crock Pot Shredded Chicken

You can also chop the onion and celery ahead of time. However, I don’t recommend chopping the apples in advance as they can brown over time. But, if you do want to chop the apples ahead of time, make sure to toss them with a bit of lemon juice – this helps with the browning issue.

How to Store this Recipe for Chicken Curry Salad

This chicken salad recipe works great as a meal prep option for the week. Just store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat it within 4-5 days. Then, you can enjoy it all week long using some of the different serving options below!

How to Serve Curried Chicken Salad

The great thing about this chicken salad with curry is that there are so many different ways you can serve it besides the way it is suggestion in the recipe card. Here are a few of my favorite serving ides to try:

• Make Curried Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps – Add a scoop of the chicken salad in a lettuce leave for a gluten-free option. Butter lettuce works great for this.
• As a Green Salad with Curried Chicken – serve a scoop of the chicken salad on a bed of greens, such as mixed salad greens or spring greens.
• Curried Chicken Pitas – serve the chicken salad with creamy curry dressing inside a pita pocket. Add some lettuce, mixed greens, or watercress, too.
• Avocado Chicken Salad – place a scoop of chicken salad in the middle of avocado halves where the pit used to be. Another great option if you’re gluten-free!
• Chicken Salad Wrap – I love this curried chicken salad inside a spinach wrap. Place a few scoops of the chicken and roll it up tightly.
• Make a Chicken Salad Sandwich – you can’t go wrong with it served classic chicken salad sandwich style. Use slices of your favorite toasted whole grain bread.

More Favorite Recipes Using Chicken

Looking for more delicious, tender chicken recipes? Here are a few that are popular:

If you love this curried chicken salad, you’ll like Indian Butter Chicken – an easy Indian recipe with tender chicken in an Indian spiced creamy, tomato based sauce featuring the flavors of garam masala. 

Easy Smoked Chicken is a great summer meal, and chicken turns out incredibly flavorful, tender and juicy.

In Chicken, Black Bean, and Spinach Enchiladas, corn tortillas are filled with tender, shredded chicken, black beans, and fresh spinach. Then, enchiladas are smothered in roasted tomatillo salsa and tangy sour cream sauce.

Baked Honey Mustard Chicken is one of our favorites because the chicken tenderloins are baked in a sweet and savory honey mustard sauce with sprigs of fresh rosemary.

Italian Chicken, Mushroom, and Zucchini Skillet features pan seared chicken tenderloins, zucchini and sliced mushrooms in garlicky herbed tomato sauce. Then, the whole thing is served with pasta.

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