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This keto chicken salad recipe is the perfect fuss-free, low carb lunch or light dinner. It’s crunchy, creamy, sweet, and only 2 grams of net carbs per serving!
Hungry for more keto lunch ideas? Try my keto spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, keto pasta salad, and keto tacos next!
Salads often get a bad rap for being boring, but my easy keto chicken salad recipe is anything but boring. There’s no lettuce or fillers, just hearty, flavorful ingredients that even your non-keto friends will love.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Easy to customize. Add, swap, or skip any of the ingredients, or serve it alongside other keto dishes for a more complete meal.
- Interesting textures and flavors. Juicy chicken, sweet grapes, and crunchy celery are enveloped in creamy mayonnaise–how good does that sound?!
- Ready in minutes. Simply mix all the ingredients and let it chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
- Just like classic chicken salad. There are zero quirky ingredients or substitutions in this recipe. What you see is what you get.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“My husband and I follow Keto (to the best of our ability), and this recipe is outstanding. So easy to make and delicious! We love all of your recipes!” – Mary
Ingredients needed
- Chicken breast. Keep it simple and make boiled or baked chicken breasts, then chop them up into bite-sized pieces. If you only have chicken thighs, that’ll work just as well.
- Grapes. I like using red grapes since they’re sweet and balance out the other ingredients. And yes, while it is true that grapes are a higher-carb fruit, we’re only adding a small amount, so it won’t increase the carb content too much.
- Celery. Chopped finely.
- Mayonnaise. Skip the store-bought varieties that often contain added sugar and make your own with avocado oil, eggs, Dijon, and lemon juice.
- Green onions. Adds a subtle peppery flavor that balances the creaminess of the mayonnaise.
- Flaked almonds. Gives the salad some delicious crunch and textures to the salad.
- Salt and black pepper. To taste.
- Dill. Optional, but it takes the flavor of the salad to another level!
How to make keto chicken salad
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Combine ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken, grapes, and celery. Add the mayo and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine.
Step 2- Serve or chill. Serve immediately or cover and chill for two hours.
Serving ideas!
Like classic chicken salad, there are plenty of ways to serve it to make a more complete meal. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Stuffed into a keto chicken salad sandwich or toasted keto rolls.
- Served as a lettuce wrap or in keto tortillas.
- Piled high on shredded romaine lettuce with cucumbers, red onion, and keto ranch dressing.
- As a dip with keto crackers or keto tortilla chips.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Make it in advance. You can prepare this salad up to five hours in advance. In fact, I actually think this extra time gives the flavors a chance to mesh and taste even better. Just remember to give it a good mix right before serving.
- Save time. Use a rotisserie chicken or canned chicken in water instead.
- Make sure your chicken is cold. This one may go without saying, but if you’re cooking chicken fresh, make sure it’s completely cold before making the chicken salad. Otherwise, it’ll ruin the consistency of the other ingredients.
- Don’t skip the chill time. It must be chilled for at least 20 minutes so the ingredients can settle and thicken.
Variations
- Add bacon. Fold in ½ cup of cooked and cooled chopped bacon and sprinkle extra on top before serving.
- Add cheese. Like feta cheese, cheddar cheese, or gorgonzola cheese.
- Add avocado. Fold in avocado chunks for extra richness and healthy fats.
- Make it creamier. Replace half the mayonnaise with softened and whipped cream cheese.
- Or make it tangier. Swap ¼ cup of mayonnaise for yellow or Dijon mustard.
- Add some crunch. Swap out the sliced almonds for roughly chopped walnuts.
- Lower the fat. Instead of using all mayonnaise, sub half of it with Greek or plain yogurt, and add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of salt (it’ll still be keto friendly!).
- Fold in some spices. Like curry powder or paprika, or double up on the fresh herbs.
Storage instructions
Keto chicken salad is something I ALWAYS recommend making ahead. This allows the flavors to meld together and stick onto the chicken and celery, making every bite incredible!
To store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 5 days.
To freeze: This recipe may be kept in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge the day before serving.
To make ahead: Prepare the salad up to five hours in advance. This gives all the flavors to mesh well together and still taste fresh!
More low carb salads to try
Keto Chicken Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken breast cooked and cubed * See notes
- 1/4 cup red grapes halved
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dill optional
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add your chicken, grapes, and celery and mix until combined. Add the mayonnaise and mix well. Add the green onion, sliced almonds, salt, pepper, and dill, and mix until fully combined.
- Serve immediately or cover and chill for two hours.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published August 2021, updated and republished June 2024
My favorite chicken salad ever. I have some just about everyday on my low carb, low sugar lifestyle.
My husband and I follow Keto (to the best of our ability) and this recipe is outstanding. So easy to make and delicious! We love all of your recipes!
Yummo
Unbelievably fantastic. The plums were firm sweet, just had to cut into small pieces. Enjoyable! Thank you for the beginning of a great meal…lol
Just reading the recipe, I will be making this salad tonight for dinner.The only thing that will be missing is grapes. I bought two other fruits. But may try plums in it instead. Thank you for your blog. I will be enjoying your site.
Oh wow- how did it turn out with plums? I’m so intrigued!