Try Easy Curry Chicken Salad recipe with raisins, roasted chicken, creamy curry dressing, red pepper, and scallions. It makes a great lunch or appetizer!
Creamy, bright, smoky, sweet, and salty…craveable Curry Chicken Salad with Raisins has it all! This has been one of my favorite recipes to make for over 15 years! There are so many fantastic flavors and textures, more so than a traditional chicken salad.
The chicken breast is simply roasted and mixed with a creamy sweet and savory curry seasoning dressing. Then you get bright and fresh flavor from red pepper, a salty bite from the scallion, and burst of sweetness from the raisins.
This recipe is a great for families because the curry is just enough to give wonderful flavor, but not too much to over power the chicken for the kids. Make it once and you will crave it again and again! It’s simply the best chicken salad recipe.
Curry Chicken Salad 6 Ways!
Chicken salad is one of those easy recipes that you can always have on hand in the fridge. I make a few varieties, including my Chicken Salad with Grapes and Lemon Basil Dressing.
This Curry Chicken Salad was a go-to recipe of mine when I was a caterer in NYC. I made it as an appetizer and served it in hollowed out baby red potatoes. Today, I also use this recipe in several other delicious ways!
- Easy App! Toast Canapes – Turning this into an appetizer is a great option! Cut bread into squares or use a small round cookie cutter. Brush top and bottom with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until toasted. Top with Curry Chicken Salad.
- Light Salad Plate – Simply top your favorite greens with this Curry Chicken Salad and serve with tomato slices.
- Lettuce Wraps – For a low carb option, wrap add it to a large romain leaf or wrap it in an iceberg lettuce leaf.
- Tortilla Roll Up – This is a great way to pack it up in lunches for school! Simply layer some of the salad in a flour tortilla at one end and roll it up!
- Sandwich – It makes a great sandwich! Toast up a crusty whole wheat bread slices and top with Curry Chicken Salad, Lettuce, Tomato, and Avocado!
- Quinoa Dinner – Make a simple Quinoa Salad or Mushroom Quinoa Risotto and serve with Curry Chicken Salad.
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Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
This easy chicken salad recipe uses just a few new ingredients to completely transform it into something unbelievable.
Dressing Ingredients
- Sour Cream or Yogurt – Sour cream is great because it brings a tang and lightens up the mayo and cream cheese. You can substitute in plain greek yogurt or simply eliminate and replace with more mayonnaise.
- Cream Cheese – Cream cheese brings a thicker consistency and cheesy depth to the dressing. You can substitute in goat cheese or mascarpone. You can also leave it out and substitute with more sour cream or mayonnaise.
- Mayonnaise – You can use light or full fat mayonnaise. You can also substitute with plain greek yogurt, sour cream, or a combination of very soft cream cheese blended with a bit of milk or cream to thin it out.
- Curry Powder – Use your favorite curry powder blend! I also have some in the pantry.
- Salt and Ground Black Pepper – I use just a small amount of salt and black pepper, so taste your chicken salad when it’s fully assembled and mixed to adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
Salad Ingredients
- Scallions – Also known as green onions. Chives are a good substitute or grated yellow or red onion or shallot. You will not want diced onion in this recipe as it can overpower the salad. You can also substitute in dried onion flakes or onion powder.
- Red Pepper – Red pepper brings sweetness, crunch, and a beautiful pop of color. You can substitute with any bell pepper or other vegetable, such as carrots, cucumber, or celery.
- Raisins – I used regular raisins, but you can also use golden raisins. If you don’t have raisins, dried cranberries, sliced grapes, or even diced apples can also be used as the sweet element.
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts – I used Skinless, boneless chicken breasts, but chicken thighs will work too. You can also use leftover chicken, leftover turkey, or rotisserie chicken for this!
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – The oil is for roasting the chicken, so you can use any other oil that you have on hand.
Prep-Ahead Steps for Curry Chicken Salad
This salad can be made entirely ahead, so it’s perfect for meal prep lunches.
It starts with roasting the chicken. Season the chicken with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a baking sheet and put into 400 F degree oven for 25 minutes or until temperature reaches 165 degrees in center. Once the chicken has cooled enough to touch, cut it or shred it with your fingers or a fork into bite size small pieces.
TIP: rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken works great!
Make the Curry Dressing by adding the cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise into a mini food processor. Add the Curry Powder, salt, and pepper. Pulse to blend until smooth. Scrape down the sides as needed and pulse again until all ingredients are incorporated and smooth.
Note: if your cream cheese is very soft, you do not need to use a food processor.
Transfer the Curry dressing to this bowl as well and mix to combine thoroughly with the dressing.
To a large bowl, add the chicken, diced red pepper, sliced scallion, and raisins. If you think you don’t like raisins, just try them in this! They add a bit of sweetness that is unbelievable in this recipe! I went light on the scallions so not to overpower with onion for my kids, but of course you can add more if your family likes them.
Serve this creamy chicken salad as a lunch or appetizer and enjoy!
ENJOY! 😍 Carrie
Curry Chicken Salad with Raisins FAQs
You can add some fresh lime or lemon juice or zest for a citrusy zing. You could spice it up with cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. You can also bulk it up by mixing in cooked pasta and turning it into a pasta salad. Try adding hard boiled eggs to it for a Chicken and Egg Salad version. You can also add a teaspoon or so of dijon mustard for tang!
If the chicken is freshly cooked and then the salad is immediately made that same day, this chicken salad with raisins will last for up to 5 days in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator.
Curry Chicken Salad with Raisins
Curry Chicken Salad with Raisins has so many fantastic flavors and textures! The chicken breast is simply roasted and mixed with a creamy sweet and savory curry dressing. Then you get a burst of freshness from the red pepper, a salty bite from the scallion, and sweetness from the raisins. Make this once and you will crave it again and again! #chicken #chickenrecipes #salads #healthyrecipes #currychicken #mealprep
Ingredients
- ½ cup Sour Cream or Yogurt
- ½ cup Cream Cheese
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoon Curry Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Pepper
- ¼ cup Scallions, sliced
- ½ cup Red Pepper, diced
- ½ cup Raisins
- 32 oz Chicken Breasts (4 breasts)
- 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
Prep Ahead Steps
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Preheat oven to 400 F degrees
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Roast Chicken: Season with olive oil, salt, and pepper and put into 400 F degree oven for 25 minutes or until temperature reaches 165 degrees in center. Once the chicken has cooled enough to touch, cut it or shred it with your fingers or a fork into bite size pieces.
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Dice Red Pepper and thin slice the scallion.
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Make the Curry Dressing by adding the cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise into a mini food processor. Add the Powder Curry, salt, and pepper. Pulse to blend until smooth. Scrape down the sides as needed and pulse again until all ingredients are incorporated and smooth.
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To a large mixing bowl, add the chicken, diced red pepper, sliced scallion, and raisins. Then transfer the Curry dressing to this bowl as well.
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Mix to combine thoroughly with the dressing.
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Serve and Enjoy!
Linger says
This looks FANTASTIC and with so much flavor. Curry is one of my favorite spices and that you added it to this chicken salad is such a great idea. Also thanks for all the ideas of how you can use this chicken salad. Thanks so much for sharing!
mimi rippee says
This is fabulous! when I catered I often put curry in chicken salad if I was doing a luncheon. Even people who thought they didn’t like curry flavors loved it! I like your additions. And the photo with the sliced tomatoes is spectacular!
Mimi Rippee says
This sounds wonderful! It’s very similar to what I whip up and call my chicken salad. When I catered nobody claimed to love “curry” flavors, but I don’t know what the heck they thought those flavors were! Whatever I made they loved!