Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe (Greek Yogurt + 30g Protein)
Light, creamy, and packed with flavor — shredded chicken, sweet red grapes, crunchy pecans, and fresh dill in a Greek yogurt dressing with just a touch of mayo. This healthy chicken salad recipe is gluten-free, has 30g of protein per serving, and ready in 15 minutes.
I have been making this chicken salad on repeat and I cannot believe it took me this long to figure out that Greek yogurt is just better than straight mayo here. The yogurt keeps it creamy and tangy but lighter — you still get that richness you want, but it’s not heavy, and it doesn’t taste like diet food.
The combination that makes this specific recipe the one I keep coming back to: sweet red grapes, crunchy pecans, fresh dill, and lemon juice in the dressing. Every bite has something going on — sweet, savory, crunchy, creamy — and it comes together in about 15 minutes.
30 grams of protein per serving and it genuinely tastes like the kind of chicken salad you’d order somewhere and then go home and try to recreate.
Serve it on a sandwich, in a lettuce wrap, straight from the bowl with a fork — all three are correct answers.
If you love easy high protein lunches you may also want to check out my Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza and my Cottage Cheese Flatbread.
Ingredients
Everything you need is in the recipe card below — here’s why each one earns its place:
- Shredded chicken breast — two large cooked chicken breasts, shredded. Rotisserie chicken works perfectly here and cuts the prep time to almost nothing. I’ll explain all three chicken options in the tips section below.
- Red grapes, halved — the sweetness of the grapes is what makes this version stand out from a basic chicken salad. They add a juicy burst in every bite that balances the tangy dressing. Don’t skip these.
- Celery — three stalks, diced small. Purely for crunch and it does the job every time.
- Red onion — finely diced so it distributes through the salad without overpowering any single bite. If you’re sensitive to raw onion, soak the diced red onion in cold water for 5 minutes before adding — it mellows the sharpness significantly.
- Pecans — chopped and added right before serving so they stay crunchy. Walnuts work as a direct swap if that’s what you have.
- Light mayo + plain Greek yogurt — the combination that makes this work. The mayo adds the richness and the yogurt adds creaminess and protein without making it heavy. Full-fat Greek yogurt gives the creamiest result but non-fat works too.
- Fresh dill — this is the move. Dried dill in a pinch, but fresh dill is what makes the dressing taste like something you’d get from a proper deli counter. Two tablespoons.
- Lemon juice — brightens the whole dressing and keeps everything tasting fresh. Two tablespoons.
How to Make Healthy Chicken Salad
Step 1. Prep your ingredients — shred the cooked chicken, halve the grapes, dice the celery and red onion, chop the pecans and fresh dill.
Step 2. Make the dressing — in a large bowl, whisk together the light mayo, plain Greek yogurt, fresh dill, and lemon juice. Season with salt and black pepper. Taste it. It should be tangy and creamy with a hit of lemon.
Step 3. Add everything to the bowl — shredded chicken, grapes, celery, red onion, and pecans. Stir gently until everything is evenly coated in the dressing.
Step 4. Taste and adjust — more salt, more lemon, more dill if it needs it. The balance you’re going for is creamy, tangy, sweet from the grapes, and crunchy from the celery and pecans.
Step 5. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving if you have time. The flavors come together as it sits and it genuinely tastes better after the rest. If you’re eating it right away it’s still great — just know it gets even better.
How to Cook Chicken for Chicken Salad
Rotisserie chicken (easiest). Grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, shred it, and you’re done. Already seasoned, already cooked, and it adds extra flavor to the salad from the rotisserie spices. This is what I use most often.
Poached chicken breasts (most tender). Place chicken breasts in a pot, cover with cold water or chicken broth, add a pinch of salt and any aromatics you want (garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cook for 15–18 minutes until cooked through. Let cool slightly before shredding. Poached chicken shreds beautifully and stays moist — this is the method if you want the cleanest flavor.
Air fryer chicken (fastest from raw). Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Air fry at 380°F for 18–22 minutes until internal temperature hits 165°F. Let rest for 5 minutes before shredding. The air fryer keeps the outside slightly golden which adds a little extra flavor to the salad.
All three work. The rotisserie shortcut is the one I actually use on a weeknight.
Ways to Serve This Chicken Salad
Nine ways and all of them are good — pick based on what you have on hand:
- Classic sandwich — on two slices of gluten-free bread, a croissant, or toasted sourdough. This is the one.
- Lettuce wraps — butter lettuce or romaine leaves for a low-carb version that’s just as satisfying. Great for meal prep lunches where you want to keep the carbs down.
- Stuffed avocado — scoop out half an avocado and fill it with chicken salad. The creaminess of the avocado with the tangy dressing is a combination that deserves more attention than it gets.
- Over greens — on a bed of mixed greens, spinach, or arugula. Add some sliced cucumber and cherry tomatoes and it’s a full salad.
- With crackers — gluten-free crackers or rice cakes as a snack or party appetizer. This is the version I make when people come over and it’s always gone first.
- On a baked sweet potato — the sweetness of the potato pairs with the tangy dressing in a way that sounds weird and tastes incredible. Split a sweet potato, load it up.
- Stuffed in a tomato — hollow out a large beefsteak tomato and fill it. It’s a presentation move but it genuinely tastes better this way because the tomato juice mixes with the dressing.
- In a wrap — a gluten-free tortilla with some extra greens rolled up for a portable lunch. Takes 2 minutes to assemble and holds up well in a bag.
- Straight from the bowl — sometimes you just want a fork. No judgment.
Variations
Ten ways to change it up — every one of these works with the base recipe:
- Apple Walnut — swap the red grapes for diced crisp apples (Honeycrisp or Fuji) and the pecans for walnuts. Fall-inspired and genuinely delicious year-round.
- Cranberry Almond — replace the grapes with dried cranberries and use sliced almonds instead of pecans. Slightly sweeter, great for the holidays.
- Spicy Buffalo — mix a few tablespoons of Frank’s hot sauce into the dressing, swap the dill for sliced green onions, and add blue cheese crumbles on top. This one is GOOD.
- Mediterranean — add feta cheese, halved cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, and a dash of dried oregano. Swap the dill for fresh parsley or basil.
- Avocado — skip the mayo and Greek yogurt entirely and use mashed ripe avocado as the base. Creamy, high in healthy fats, and best eaten the same day before the avocado oxidizes.
- Curried — add 1–2 teaspoons of curry powder to the dressing, swap the pecans for cashews, and add golden raisins. Warm, spiced, and a completely different flavor profile that I make every time I want something out of the ordinary.
- Tropical — replace the red grapes with pineapple or mango chunks, use coconut yogurt instead of regular Greek yogurt, and swap the pecans for macadamia nuts. Summer in a bowl.
- BBQ Ranch — stir a drizzle of BBQ sauce into the dressing, use ranch instead of Greek yogurt, and add crispy bacon bits. The crowd-pleaser variation.
- Dill Pickle — add chopped dill pickles and a splash of pickle brine to the dressing. Tangy, crunchy, and the pickle juice does something really good to the flavor.
- Greek Yogurt Herb — skip the mayo entirely, use all Greek yogurt, and amp up the fresh herbs with parsley, chives, and basil alongside the dill. The lightest version on this list.
Storage
Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Give it a stir before serving each time — the dressing settles a bit as it sits. Add the pecans right before eating if you’re prepping ahead and want them to stay crunchy.
Don’t freeze it — the Greek yogurt and mayo both go watery when thawed and the texture won’t recover.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is chicken salad with Greek yogurt healthy? Greek yogurt in place of some or all of the mayo keeps the dressing creamy while significantly increasing the protein content and lowering the fat. This specific recipe has 30g of protein per serving at 373 calories — which makes it a genuinely high-protein lunch, not just a “healthier” version of something heavy.
What is the secret to a good chicken salad? Two things: the right texture on the chicken (shredded, not cubed — it holds the dressing better and gives you a better bite), and balancing the dressing so it’s tangy enough. The fresh dill and lemon juice in this recipe do a lot of the flavor work. A 30-minute rest in the fridge before serving also makes a real difference — the flavors come together as it chills.
Can I use rotisserie chicken for healthy chicken salad? Yes and honestly it’s the move. Pre-cooked rotisserie chicken shreds easily, adds extra flavor from the rotisserie seasonings, and cuts the prep time to under 10 minutes. It’s what I use most often for this recipe.
How long does healthy chicken salad last in the fridge? Up to 4 days in an airtight container. The flavor actually improves from day 1 to day 2 as everything melds together. After day 4 the texture starts to break down. If you’re adding pecans, add them fresh each time you serve rather than mixing them in at the start so they stay crunchy.
Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe (Greek Yogurt + 30g Protein)
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts shredded
- 2 cups red grapes halved
- 3 celery sticks chopped
- ⅔ cup red onion diced
- ⅔ cup pecans chopped
- ⅓ cup light mayonnaise
- ⅔ cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp dill
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- salt + black pepper
Instructions
- Start by prepping all your ingredients. Shred your cooked chicken, halve the grapes, dice the celery, finely chop the red onion, and chop the pecans.
- In a large bowl, mix together the light mayo, plain Greek yogurt, fresh dill and lemon juice. This dressing is creamy and tangy, but lighter than using all mayo. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the shredded chicken, grapes, celery, red onion, and pecans to the bowl with the dressing. Gently stir everything together until the chicken and veggies are well coated in the dressing.
- Give the salad a taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. You want to make sure all the flavors are balanced and delicious.
- For the best flavor, let the chicken salad chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving. This allows the flavors to meld together beautifully. Serve it on a bed of lettuce, in between slices of bread for chicken salad sandwiches, lettuce wraps, or with some whole-grain crackers.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is calculated based on industry-standard software and should be used as a general guide only. The information may vary depending on ingredient substitutions, cooking techniques, and individual serving sizes. It is the responsibility of the reader to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of the nutritional information provided. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalized medical or nutritional advice.
Other Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Healthy Greek Chicken Salad
- Southwest Chicken Salad
- Keto Chicken Fajita Casserole
- Chicken Crust Pizza
If you make this healthy chicken salad recipe, tag me on Instagram at @basicswithbails — I especially love seeing the lettuce wrap version because it always looks SO good. And if you swap in a different fruit or nut, drop it in the comments. I’m always curious what people are doing with the variations.
About Bailey
I love to bake, cook, exercise, and document all of the above. Nutrition is not low fat. It is not low calorie. It’s not feeling deprived or being hungry all the time. It’s nourishing your body with real, whole foods so that you are consistently satisfied and energized to live your life to the fullest! Read more…
I’ve been looking for a lighter version of chicken salad with grapes and nuts! This is perfect. I tweaked a few things to my preference and what I had on hand. Walnuts instead of pecans, rotisserie chicken, just a few sprinkles of lemon and more mayo than yogurt. I used dried dill again because it’s what I had. It tastes delicious and it hasn’t even chilled yet. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Yay, this makes me so happy to hear! Love your swaps — rotisserie chicken is such a time-saver and walnuts are honestly just as good as pecans here. So glad it was a hit, thanks for coming back to let me know! 💛
I’ll try anything with grapes and walnuts, so yummy! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Grapes and walnuts is honestly the best combo — so glad this one’s up your alley! Hope you love it!!