Copycat Trader Joe’s White Chicken Deli Salad – an easy lunch recipe that’s healthier than traditional chicken salad.

Curried Chicken Salad - a healthier version of classic chicken salad - perfect for lunches!

Wow, wow, WOW!

Holy Stromboli, this stuff is good!

Do you ever wish you could just eat other people’s food? I mean…I do. Can we talk about it?

Periodically, I go through spurts of time that I get a little womp womp over my cooking steez, and need to take breaks to replenish the ol’ creativity tank.

Recipe Development Burnout doesnโ€™t happen to me frequently, but I when it does, I look to other bloggers, cookbooks, and/or restaurants to fuel my inspiration. Enter: copycat recipes. Enter: Trader Joeโ€™s. Enter: the best chicken salad you will ever eat.

Curried Chicken Salad - a healthier version of classic chicken salad - perfect for lunches!

Whenever I go to Trader Joe’s, I make a beeline for their Curried White Chicken Deli Salad. Iโ€™d be lying if I said I donโ€™t scarf the whole container in one sitting each and every time.

It just goes down that easy.

The last time I mowed through my coveted salad, I inspected the carton for ingredients and it dawned on me that I should 200% make that stuff at home. And so I did. And so I have a new obsession.

Curried Chicken Salad - a healthier version of classic chicken salad - perfect for lunches!

Chicken, raisins, carrots, green onion, and cashews make up this salad. I used a combo of yogurt and mayo for the dressing to lighten it up a bit and keep things real fresco.

If you want to be a genius, youโ€™ll quadruple the recipe because thereโ€™s just no way it will last the night. The next time I make this, Iโ€™m going to shred the chicken so that the salad is easier to stick on bread for a chicken salad sandwich. If youโ€™re looking for a quick and easy lunch recipe that you can prepare ahead of time and take to work, you just found it!

If you love protein salads like this, check out my Cucumber Dill Avocado Tuna Salad and my Mayo-Free Egg Salad

This times infinity.

Curried Chicken Salad - a healthier version of classic chicken salad - perfect for lunches!

Copycat Trader Joeโ€™s Curried Chicken Salad

4.51 from 57 votes
If you've tried Trader Joe's curried chicken salad, you can attest to its deliciousness! This copy cat recipe will get you there!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts poached for 3 to 8 minutes
  • ยผ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
  • ยผ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
  • 3 green onions sliced
  • ยฝ cup raw cashews
  • ยฝ cup raisins
  • 1 cup grated carrot

Instructions

  • Heat a large pot of water and bring it to a full boil. Add the raw chicken breasts and reduce heat slightly. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes (depending on thickness of chicken), or until chicken is cooked through. Place chicken on a cutting board, chop into cubes, and allow it to cool.
  • Whisk together the yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup, and curry powder until well-combined.
  • Add the green onion, cashews, raisins, and grated carrot to a large mixing bowl, along with the cooled chopped chicken. Pour the curry dressing over everything and mix well until everything is coated.
  • Eat in abundance!

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 4 ยท Calories: 380kcal ยท Carbohydrates: 24g ยท Protein: 31g ยท Fat: 18g ยท Fiber: 2g ยท Sugar: 17g
Author: Julia
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: copycat recipe, curried chicken salad, healthy chicken salad recipe, paleo, Trader Joe's, Trader Joeโ€™s White Chicken Deli Salad, whole30
Did You Make This Recipe?I want to see it! Tag @the.roasted.root on social media!

 

Julia Mueller
Meet the Author

Julia Mueller

Julia Mueller is a recipe developer, cookbook author, and founder of The Roasted Root. She has authored three bestselling cookbooks, – Paleo Power Powers, Delicious Probiotic Drinks, and The Quintessential Kale Cookbook. Her recipes have been featured in several national publications such as BuzzFeed, Self, Tasty, Country Living, Brit.co, etc.

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4.51 from 57 votes (57 ratings without comment)

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Questions and Reviews

  1. Hi
    I have loved this and been making it for a while now.
    I would like to know if it can be frozen and will still be fine when thawed out. I was going to leave the cashews out until thawed.
    Thanks!

    1. I haven’t tried freezing this recipe myself so I’m truthfully not sure how it would turn out when thawed. I just googled whether or not chicken salad can be frozen successfully and it looks like the answer is yes. Because there’s a decent amount of fat content from the mayo, it should help protect the chicken and thaw nicely. I hope this helps! I’m happy to hear you’ve made the recipe multiple times, Shannon! That’s a win for me!

  2. I planned a luncheon around using Trader Joeโ€™s curried chicken salad, but, disappointingly, they had none on the shelfโ˜น๏ธ I came across your recipe and made my own instead. Such a delicious dish!!!
    No more needing to head to TJ for thisโ€ฆ.

    1. Yaaaaay! What a success story! I’m so thrilled to hear it, Laurie! Also psyched to hear there are other people out there who love that TJ’s salad as much as I do, lol! xoxo