High Protein Chicken Salad with Apples, Grapes, and Pecans Recipe
This high protein chicken salad is packed with over 30 grams of protein per serving and combines crisp apples, crunchy pecans, and juicy grapes for a delicious, wholesome meal perfect for busy weeknights or kids’ lunches.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Diabetic, Low Fat
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts fully cooked, shredded or chopped into bite-sized pieces – approximately 4 cups
- 1/2 cup red grapes halved
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 1 1/4 cups green apple diced – 1 medium apple, optional
- 1/3 cup green onion chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped – toasted or raw, see Notes
- 3/4 cup Greek yogurt up to 1 cup if desired1/2 teaspoon salt – more or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon more or less to taste
Instructions
- Add chicken and produce: Add 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (fully cooked, shredded or chopped into bite-sized pieces, approximately 4 cups), ½ cup halved red grapes, ½ cup diced celery, 1 ¼ cups diced green apple, ⅓ cup chopped green onion, and ½ cup chopped pecans to large mixing bowl.
- Mix ingredients: Stir ingredients together until well blended. Set aside.
- Prepare dressing: Add ¾ cup Greek yogurt, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper to small mixing bowl. Stir ingredients together until fully combined.
- Combine salad and dressing: Transfer Greek yogurt mixture to large mixing bowl with chicken and vegetables. Gently fold chicken salad ingredients into yogurt mixture until all ingredients are mixed and well coated.
- Chill the salad: Cover mixing bowl with lid or plastic wrap. Place bowl in refrigerator and chill salad at least 1 hour.
- Serve: Immediately prior to serving, remove salad from refrigerator and uncover. Gently stir salad again if needed and serve chilled.
Notes
- Make it Strict Keto/Very Low-Carb: Skip the grapes and apple entirely to drop the carbs to around 2 to 3 grams per serving. Add extra celery for crunch or crispy bacon bits for extra flavor and fat.
- Make it Traditional: Replace Greek yogurt with ¾ cup mayonnaise for classic deli-style chicken salad. Note that this significantly reduces the protein content.
- Storage: Store chicken salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The apples may brown slightly after day 3. Add a splash of lemon juice to diced apples before mixing to help prevent browning.
- Make-Ahead: This salad tastes even better after sitting overnight in the fridge as the flavors blend together. If making more than a few hours ahead, wait to add the pecans until just before serving so they stay crunchy.
- Toast the Pecans: For best flavor, toast pecans at 350°F for 5 to 7 minutes until fragrant. Let cool completely before adding to salad. Raw pecans work fine if you’re short on time.
- Adjust Greek Yogurt Amount: Start with ¾ cup and add up to 1 cup total if you prefer a creamier, saucier chicken salad. For meal prep, use less (¾ cup) since the salad will release some liquid as it sits.
- Rotisserie Chicken Shortcut: One large rotisserie chicken yields about 4 cups of shredded meat. Let chicken cool completely before mixing with Greek yogurt to prevent watery texture.