Healthy Italian Chicken Salad

Pile this Healthy Italian Chicken Salad high on lettuce leaves, thick juicy tomato slices or toasted sprouted bread. It’s loaded with tender bites of chicken breast, red bell pepper, red onion, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, celery and fresh herbs (basil, oregano and parsley), then it’s all tossed in a creamy, slightly zesty dressing for a fun twist to a  classic chicken salad.

This version of chicken salad gets a light and fresh update with a slight Mediterranean twist. It’s loaded with chunks of tender chicken breast, red bell pepper, red onion, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, celery and fresh herbs (basil, oregano and parsley).

This Italian chicken salad is so quick and easy to pull together.  It’s even easier if you use store-bought rotisserie chicken for this recipe.  But, if you’re cooking the chicken at home, it really matters not whether it’s baked, poached, roasted or grilled.  Just make sure it’s tender!  The dressing for this healthy chicken salad is mix of mayo, yogurt, Dijon mustard and lemon juice.

Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe

• Cooked chicken, chopped (store-bought rotisserie works)
• Celery, chopped
• Artichoke hearts
• Red bell pepper
• Greek olives
• Red onion
• Garlic, finely 
• Fat-leaf parsley
• Fresh basil
• Oregano, also fresh

For the Dressing

• Greek yogurt
• Olive oil mayonnaise
• Dijon mustard
• Lemon juice

How to Make Chicken Salad

1. Chop your ingredients and place them in a large bowl and toss
2. In a small bowl combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and lemon juice.  Mix until well blended
3. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and gently fold until the salad ingredients are evenly coated
4. Serve on sliced tomatoes, spoon on a green salad, or make a delicious chicken salad sandwich with it

When you make this chicken salad sandwich recipe, be especially generous with the fresh basil! I’ve only used fresh herbs for this salad, so I can’t really comment on how dried herbs would work.  But the fresh herbs make this salad really pop with flavor.  I like to squeeze a little extra lemon juice over the top my chicken salad with some freshly cracked pepper.  With its Italian flavors, you’ll probably agree that this is the best chicken salad sandwich recipe you’ll ever taste!

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Yield: Serves 4

Healthy Italian Chicken Salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (store-bought rotisserie works)
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and tough leaves cut away
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 3/4 cup sliced Greek olives
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano,  chopped
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil mayonnaise
• 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Put all the salad ingredients into a large bowl and gently fold together until well combined.
2. In a small bowl combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and lemon juice.  Mix until well blended.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and gently fold until the salad ingredients are evenly coated.
4. Serve on sliced tomatoes, spoon on a green salad, or make a sandwich with it.