With a secret ingredient and plenty of textures, this Whole Foods Copycat Curry Chicken Salad will become one of your new favorites!
I am a sucker for a great chicken salad, and I'm not a snob when it comes to them either. I'll try just about any kind of chicken salad there is, and there are lots of different flavors out there. I've already posted recipes for both my Chopped Chicken Salad and my Easy and Delicious Chicken Salad, which are fabulous and so incredibly easy. You should check them out if you haven't already.
There's one particular chicken salad missing from my chicken salad repertoire on the blog, though, and that's my Curry Chicken Salad. I've had curry chicken salads made with lots of added fruit, which were really tasty, but I went simple with this one. When I had Whole Foods' version years ago, I was hooked and knew that was the direction I wanted to take this salad.
THE COMPONENTS TO CURRY CHICKEN SALAD
I love these meals where basically everything is thrown in a bowl and mixed together. Aside from chopping, there really isn't much in preparation. It might be hard to believe, but all the flavors in this chicken salad mesh together so well. Here are the major players:
- Chicken. Of course we all know you can't have chicken salad without the chicken. I poach chicken breasts, but to make it even easier, you can also use a rotisserie chicken.
- Mayonnaise. The basis of any good chicken salad, in my opinion.
- Currants. I like how small currants are, but if you can't find currants or would rather use raisins, they'll also work great.
- Apricot Preserves. Don't skip this. It really makes this salad. I think it's how sweet it is, which helps balance out the curry spice.
- Curry powder. You can make your own, but I just buy a jar of curry powder that's already made so I don't have to worry about one more step.
putting it all together
This chicken salad couldn't be any easier to pull together and it'll be ready for lunch (or dinner) in no time!
- Dice the cooked chicken into roughly one inch pieces and set aside.
- Whisk together mayo, sour cream, curry powder, apricot preserves, and salt and pepper until smooth.
- Add chicken and the rest of the ingredients to bowl and toss.
- Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours to allow flavors to meld.
Curry Chicken Salad FAQs
Use whatever nut you're able to eat, and if you can't eat any nuts, just leave them out.
Swap out the mayo with a light mayo and the sour cream with either a light sour cream or Greek yogurt.
You won't taste it at all. It just offers a background sweetness to compliment the spice from the curry. However, if you still don't want to use apricot jam, try a mango chutney or even an orange marmalade.
Make this curry chicken salad today. The flavors of spicy and sweet blend together so well to create a perfect bite!
Whole Foods Copycat Curry Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb (454 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup (230 g) mayonnaise
- ½ cup (120 g) sour cream Greek yogurt may be substituted
- ⅔ cup (63 g) sliced almonds
- ½ cup (56 g) dried currants raisins may be substituted
- 3 tablespoon curry powder
- 2 tablespoon apricot preserves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spread sliced almonds on small baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.
- Mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, apricot preserves, and curry powder in a large bowl. Add chicken, toasted almonds, and currants and toss to coat completely. Refrigerate for at least one hour to meld flavors together.
- Serve cold or at room temperature over a bed of lettuce, on a sandwich, with crackers, or in a tortilla as a wrap. Store in fridge for 3-4 days.
Kk says
Okay so, I wanted to make your recipe but literally the pic you posted has a green herb in the salad and you did not list any green herbs in your recipe.
Not trying! Not wasting my money on ingredients when you half assed the post.
Megan says
That's literally just lettuce. It's a way to present the chicken salad to make it look more appetizing. The lettuce isn't part of the recipe for chicken salad.... Like if there were a fork in the picture.
Melissa Ramirez says
This is absolutely delicious! So far, I've loved everything you make. 🙂
Kim says
Thanks so much, Melissa 🥰