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Creamy Chicken Salad (Dairy & Mayonnaise Free)

Prep time 25 min
Cook time
Total time 25 min

Prep time 25 min
Cook time
Total time 25 min

About

I’ve never liked mayonnaise. Not even back when I ate purely for taste.

Before going dairy-free, my mayonnaise aversion was easily solved with Greek yogurt or cream cheese substitutions. But dairy-free has proved to be tricky.

A few weeks ago I decided to suck it up and make a batch of homemade mayonnaise for a chicken salad. I really, really tried to like it…but ewwww! That mayo landed in the trash and my chicken salad was not creamy. I was now on a mission.

Turns out the best solutions are often the most simple.

A can of coconut milk was all it took to put together a delightfully creamy + dairy-free + mayonnaise-free chicken salad.

There’s also some other fun ingredients in this recipe like roasted chiles, fresh cilantro, crunchy fruit and chopped pecans. I love eating this salad on big butter lettuce leaves with a few dots of Dijon mustard. Look for the ‘still living’ butter lettuce and try Annie’s Natural Dijon mustard.

If you love spicy (which I have been lately) this recipe would be awesome with some red pepper flakes or ground cayenne added. My kids can’t take the heat, so I add spicy sprinkles just to my portion.


Serves 8
For the Creamy Coconut Dressing:

1 (14 oz) can coconut milk, full fat

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

⅛ teaspoon garlic powder

Lemon zest ( all you can get from) 1 small Lemon

1 teaspoon lemon juice

dash of sea salt

dash of black pepper

For the Salad:

1 cup celery, finely chopped

1 cup Red Grapes, halved

½ cup Pecans, chopped

1 apple, finely chopped

1 can (4 oz) green chiles

1 pound roasted chicken, chopped


Directions
1

For the Creamy Coconut Dressing: Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk well and then set in the fridge to chill while you prepare the salad.

2

For the Salad: Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Add the creamy coconut dressing and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with large lettuce leaves and Dijon mustard.


Nutrition

Calories: 286
Fat: 20g
Carbohydrates: 6g
Sodium: 80mg
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 19g
Sugar: —

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