Healthy Chicken Salad without mayo tastes like classic chicken salad you get at a deli. This easy, delicious, homemade chicken salad recipe is even higher in protein thanks to cottage cheese and has no mayo or yogurt.
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About No Mayo Chicken Salad
Chicken Salad is a fabulous thing to have on hand because it's high in protein, incredibly tasty, and quite versatile.
Plus, chicken salad is a great way to use up leftover chicken to prevent food waste.
This traditional chicken salad recipe with celery and onions allows the chicken to shine through.
Yet, this version of the deli classic chicken salad is made without mayo.
But unlike many "healthier" chicken salad recipes that use yogurt to replace the mayo, I use cottage cheese.
I have tried many times to make chicken salad with yogurt but failed because it's too tart.
The only time it works is when I need the tangy yogurt flavor to balance the intense flavor of buffalo wing sauce in this delicious Buffalo Chicken Salad.
Instead of using mayonnaise, blend cottage cheese with spices and onion to use as a binder.
The cottage cheese has a neutral flavor and simply holds together the chicken salad. It does not give any taste or strange texture to the chicken salad. Pinky promise.
Reader Reviews
"The very best chicken salad. Thank you, Meme!"
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ingredients
Chicken: Use cooked chopped or shredded chicken breast. Poach, grill, bake, or saute chicken for this recipe. Chicken salad is also an excellent way to use leftover rotisserie chicken, roasted chicken, or crock pot chicken.
Cottage cheese: Any cottage cheese will work. I typically buy regular (4%) but reduced-fat or 2% also works well. Look for a low sodium cottage cheese if needed because cottage cheese can be higher in sodium.
Onions: Yellow onion, white, or sweet onion will all work. Chicken salad only needs a tiny bit of onion, so be careful that you do not use too much.
Celery: Fresh celery adds a delightful crunch. Plus, it gives a little extra flavor to this delicious chicken salad recipe.
Spices: Salt, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and nutmeg are the spices in this recipe. None are mandatory, but these are my preferred spices in chicken salad.
Honey: A tiny bit of sweetness balances the flavors. Honey is the best option, but granulated sugar also works. I don't recommend maple syrup because of its stronger flavor. If needed, you can skip the honey but the chicken salad tastes better with it.
Lemon: A splash of lemon juice is imperative to brighten this chicken salad recipe. I've tried omitting it, and I thought it was really boring. Lemon zest can be in place of lemon juice if needed. Fresh or bottled lemon juice both work well.
Optional ingredients: Feel free to add other ingredients like chopped grapes, sweet apples, hard-boiled eggs, dried cranberries, pecans, walnuts, or herbs like fresh parsley or fresh cilantro.
Recipe Cost
- chicken 10 ounces: $4.59
- cottage cheese ¾ cup: $0.93
- lemon 1 tablespoon: $0.12
- honey 1 teaspoon: $0.10
- salt ½ teaspoon: $0.01
- garlic powder ½ teaspoon: $0.02
- paprika ½ teaspoon: $0.08
- cayenne pepper ⅛ teaspoon: $0.01
- black pepper ¼ teaspoon: $0.03
- nutmeg 1/16 teaspoon: $0.02
- onion ¼ cup: $0.25
- celery ½ cup: $0.28
TOTAL COST: $6.44 or $1.29/serving (Based on San Diego grocery stores 2024)
Note that this is not the recipe; it's simply to show the cost breakdown of ingredients. Scroll down to the full recipe to see the specific ingredients and directions.
Budget-Friendly Tips
- Buy chicken breast in a larger package which usually costs less per ounce. Freeze extra chicken or make Chicken Hash, Easy Chicken and Gravy, or Chicken Apple Curry for dinner.
How to Make Chicken Salad without Mayo
This chicken salad is simple.
Shred or chop cooked chicken breast. Blend together the cottage cheese with spices, onion, lemon, and honey to make a sauce. Then stir it all together and enjoy!
Here are the steps with photos (or check out the recipe card below for a video on how to make it).
- Step 1: Chop the chicken, and put chicken to a large bowl. Set aside.
- Step 2: Blend together the cottage cheese, onion, honey, lemon juice, and spices in a food processor.
- Step 3: Pour the cottage cheese mixture into the bowl with the chicken.
- Step 4: Using a fork, stir to completely coat the chicken with the mixture.
- Step 5: Stir in celery. Refrigerate.
- Step 6: Taste and add additional seasoning if needed. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Top Tip
Use a fork to stir together chicken salad for the best texture. This helps shred the chicken and mix it evenly.
How to Fix a Mistake
Here are ideas on how to fix possible issues:
- Too salty: Add more blended cottage cheese and more chicken.
- Too much onion: Add more cottage cheese and chicken.
- Not enough onion: Wait to add more onion until at least 60 minutes after making the chicken salad, so the onion flavor has time to develop. It's easier to add more than it is to lessen the onion flavor. If it needs more, add 1 teaspoon of minced fresh onion at a time.
- Underseasoned: Same as with the onions; wait to add more until 60 minutes after making. Then add ⅛ teaspoon for paprika, dash of cayenne pepper, or a dash of nutmeg. You can also try adding another squeeze of lemon juice.
- Mixture is too thin or watery: Pat the chicken salad dry with a paper towel to absorb excess liquid. Then add more chicken with a small amount of blended cottage cheese.
- Mixture is too thick or hard to stir: Blend more cottage cheese. Add a spoonful at a time & stir into the chicken salad until it has thickened to your desired consistency. Or you can add additional lemon juice.
Make-Ahead Ideas
Chicken Salad is one of my favorite recipes to make ahead of time because it gives the flavors time to come together.
I recommend doubling or tripling the recipe to serve a crowd or to meal prep easy lunches and/or snacks for the week.
Storage Suggestions
Keep the chicken salad tightly covered in a glass or plastic bowl in the fridge when not in use. Or store leftovers in an airtight container.
It should not be at room temperature for longer than 2 hours, so serve in a bowl resting on ice if needed to keep it chilled.
Chicken salad keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days.
I do not recommend freezing chicken salad as it gets a strange texture when defrosting.
However, you can use defrosted cooked chicken to make the chicken salad. Be sure to taste the chicken before adding to the cottage cheese mixture to make sure it does not have any freezer burn.
Variations
Ingredient Substitutions
- Onion: Green onion and red onion won't give the same flavor as a yellow or sweet onion; however, an equal amount of fresh would still work as suitable options in this chicken salad. Onion powder or dried onion flakes can be used as well. Use ½ teaspoon powder or dried onion instead of fresh.
- Spices: The nutmeg, cayenne, and paprika are all optional spices. However, I find they really contribute to the flavor and the chicken salad feels a little boring without them in my opinion.
- Garlic: One fresh garlic clove can be used in place of the garlic powder.
- Lemon: Lime juice, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar are alternatives to lemon juice or zest.
Flavor Options
- Grapes: If you like chicken salad with grapes, you can easily add them! Add ½ cup sliced grapes to the mixture when you add the chicken.
- Nuts: You can also add ⅓ cup chopped roasted pecans or walnuts for a little extra crunch and flavor.
- Cranberries: Another great addition would be dried cranberries; add about ⅓ cup to start.
- Herbs: For a different flavor alternative, add fresh herbs. Fresh dill, basil, rosemary, and thyme would all be delicious in this chicken salad. Add about 1 teaspoon fresh herbs or ¼ teaspoon dried herbs. Taste and add additional herbs if needed.
How to Make Allergy-Friendly
This creamy chicken salad is naturally gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, and soy-free.
Cottage cheese has dairy, so if you need a dairy free chicken salad try the Hummus Chicken Salad or Curry Avocado Chicken Salad for mayo and dairy-free chicken salads.
Double check that the ingredients you use don't contain anything you are trying to avoid.
Frequently Asked Questions
In general, chicken salad is made with cooked chicken, spices, diced veggies, and a binder of some sort like mayo, yogurt, or cottage cheese (like in this recipe).
Chicken salad is great with crackers, sliced veggies, and lettuce.
Yes, you can eat chicken salad as a meal. It's best if you pair it with carbohydrates like bread or crackers and add veggies like lettuce, tomato, or cucumbers. That way, you'll get a balance of protein, carbs, and fat plus fiber, vitamins, and minerals to feel full and satisfied.
Yes, you can make chicken salad without mayo! This recipe proves you can, and it doesn't use yogurt either.
Cottage cheese or yogurt can be used as a substitute for mayo in chicken salad. I prefer cottage cheese as it has a neutral flavor unlike yogurt which is tangy.
People often claim that making chicken salad with plain Greek yogurt tastes just as good as chicken salad made with mayo, but I completely disagree.
Yogurt is too tangy and does not taste the same as mayonnaise.
Chicken salad keeps in the fridge for 4-5 days tightly covered in a glass or plastic container.
The short answer: it depends. Long answer: Chicken Salad of all different types can be found in pretty much any deli or sandwich shop, and while it sounds healthy with "salad" is in its name it usually isn't the most nutritious.
Most chicken salad uses mayonnaise as a binder meaning it's pretty rich without many nutrients. Luckily, there is a way to make mayo-free chicken salad that's just as tasty.
Depending on how you define "healthy," this No Mayo Chicken Salad is high protein, low in fat, and not too rich thanks to the cottage cheese.
Fun Fact
You will love this no mayo chicken salad even if you don't like cottage cheese because you cannot taste the cottage cheese!
Nutrition Benefits
One (½-cup) serving of mayo-free chicken salad provides 22 grams of protein and 6% recommended daily value of iron.
Compared to a mayo-based chicken salad recipe, this version has less fat with 2 grams compared to about 10 grams per ½-cup serving.
Chicken is full of protein and nutrients like niacin, Vitamin B6, and Pantothenic Acid. Niacin which is important for normal cell growth and function, Vitamin B6 supports your nervous system, and Pantothenic Acid helps your body break down carbs, fat, and protein.
Cottage cheese is high in Vitamin B12, Riboflavin, Phosphorous, and Selenium.
Chicken Breast Benefits
Chicken is full of protein along with many vitamins and minerals. Learn more about protein in chicken breast here.
What to Serve with Chicken Salad without Mayo
Because this easy chicken salad is low carb, I recommend pairing with a carbohydrate like bread, crackers, and/or fruit.
Serve as a snack or appetizer with sliced crunchy veggies and crackers.
Chicken salad without mayo is an excellent lean protein for healthy lunch options. Make a chicken salad sandwich, a lettuce wrap, or green salad.
You can also make Cucumber Chicken Salad Bites or a Chicken Salad Grilled Cheese.
Serving Tip
Double this recipe to have chicken salad in your fridge all week. It's great for meal prep for a quick lunch, light dinner, or high-protein snack.
Final thoughts:
I have made this cottage cheese chicken salad at least 25 times, and what you find in the recipe card below is my perfected version for the best healthy chicken salad recipe without mayo.
This cottage cheese chicken salad tastes like a classic chicken salad and has no yogurt. Plus, people will have no clue that it is a cottage cheese chicken salad unless you tell them.
And it's easy to customize to fit your taste preferences with add-ins like chopped grapes or hard-boiled eggs.
You'll enjoy this as much as I do!
MORE CHICKEN SALAD RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE:
Chicken Salad without Mayo Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 ounces cooked chicken 2 ½ packed cups
- ¾ cup cottage cheese
- ¼ cup onion diced or grated (about ¼ small onion)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
- dash nutmeg optional
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or white pepper, optional
- ½ cup celery diced
Instructions
- Add the cooked, chopped chicken to a large bowl. Set aside.
- Add the cottage cheese, onion, lemon juice, honey, salt, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper and nutmeg (if using) to the bowl of a mini food processor or blender. Process until completely smooth, about 30-45 seconds.
- Transfer the cottage cheese mixture to the chicken. Stir well until completely combined.
- Add in celery and stir well.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Taste and add extra lemon juice, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or garlic powder if desired (but wait to add extra seasoning until after the chicken salad has been refrigerated for at least 1 hour). Enjoy!
Video
Notes
What to Use in This Recipe
Meme
This post was originally published on June 26, 2014. Text, recipe, and photos have been updated.
Julie
Does it matter what percentage of fat the cottage cheese has? 2% vs. 4%?
Meme
Nope! I usually use 4% but 2% works well too! I've never tried fat-free but I don't usually recommend it. Enjoy!!
Resa
The very best chicken salad. Thank you, Meme!
Meme
YAY! So happy you enjoyed it! xo
Jean Yi
Used this recipe for a pasta salad with tuna. My husband agreed the cottage cheese “mayo” was amazing! It’s so flavorful and can be easily adjusted to your taste. I used a good deal more lemon juice. I’ll be using your recipe in my chicken and egg salads as well. Thank you!
Meme
YAY!!! I'm so happy y'all enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to share! xo
Donna
Naturally gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, AND soy-free?!?!?! GIRL! Speaking my language!
This was absolutely delicious; my entire family loved it! Thank you!
Meme
WOOHOO!!!
Kara
Obsessed with this super high protein, low fat chicken salad! It’s so yummy and you cannot tell it’s cottage cheese!
Meme
woohoo!!! Thanks for sharing, Kara! So glad you enjoy it 🙂