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