Quick High Protein Chicken Salad Recipe with Canned Chicken
This chicken salad recipe is a fresh, flavorful twist on a classic, made with pantry protein rich ingredients like shredded canned chicken (or rotisserie), canned white beans, and creamy yogurt, with a hint of curry for flavor. It’s quick to toss together and perfect for wrapping in a tortilla, scooping onto greens, or stuffing into lettuce cups for a simple, wholesome meal. Serve for lunch, dinner, or meal prep for a week.
✩ What readers are saying…
“This recipe is amazing!!! Super flavorful. I made as is but will definitely use some of the variations as I plan on adding this to my regular rotation!” -Holly
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If you’ve got a can of chicken and a can of beans on your pantry shelf, you can add a few veggies, yogurt, and a bit of mayonnaise from the fridge for a healthy, high protein lunch or dinner in less than 10 minutes.
Yep, I’m talking about chicken salad, but fortified a bit more with protein-rich beans and yogurt for a filling, healthier version of fat-laden chicken salad.
This is another recipe in our occasional, ongoing series of easy meals from your pantry! For this series “pantry” includes not only the pantry shelves, but also the things we may have (or that we preserved!) in our fridges and freezers, too.
As a comparison, I based this recipe off of a whole wheat tortilla wrap recipe where one serving contained 744 calories (!), 45g of fat (!), 63g of carbohydrates, and 26 grams of protein. My recipe for the tortilla chicken salad wrap has less than half the calories (298) and only 27g of carbs and 13g of fat while still maintaining a good amount of protein (21g).
All that and it still tastes wonderful – rich and creamy even without a large amount of mayonnaise. And if you’d prefer low-carb, I’ve included the nutrition for lettuce wraps, as well (only 4 grams of carbs) in the recipe card.
It’s a wonderful basic chicken salad recipe that you can vary each time you make it to include different flavors if you’d like (think cranberries, grapes, walnuts, etc.).
Recipe Ingredients
Notes & Substitutions
- Cooked chicken: Use either a 12.5-ounce can of chicken or 1.5 cups of shredded cooked chicken from a store-bought or slow-cooked rotisserie chicken.
- Beans: White beans gives the chicken salad extra protein and more creaminess, but any type of beans can be used.
- Greek yogurt: This yogurt has more protein than regular yogurt, but both work in the recipe, so use what you have.
- Mayonnaise: I’ve kept just a couple tablespoons of mayo to give the salad more creaminess and the flavor from fat. I always use this easy, 5-minute homemade mayonnaise, though, to keep it healthier.
- Dijon mustard: This adds so much flavor and the Dijon style is more mellow than regular mustard. That said, you can omit the mustard or try it with a grainy or other type of mustard.
- Vegetables: I’ve chosen the basic chicken salad combo of onions and celery as the base, but you can also choose to add any of the variations listed below. Make it different every time you make it!
- Spices: The touch of curry brings a nice flavor, along with the optional cayenne (which I always use), but again, here is where you can mix it up and use flavors that change the salad each time you make it (think Italian seasoning with sundried tomatoes and a bit of shredded parmesan one day and cranberries, feta, and fresh parsley another day).
Variations
It’s easy to change this basic salad up with different flavor profiles! Here are some ideas:
- Raisins or halved grapes
- Apples
- Dried cranberries
- Chopped nuts like pecans, walnuts or sliced almonds
- Grated carrots
- Sundried tomatoes (A great way to use your homemade dried tomatoes if you have them!)
- Fresh herbs like parsley or basil
- Cheese like grated cheddar, parmesan, or feta
How to Make This Chicken Salad Recipe
Step 1: Add shredded chicken, drained beans and diced onions and celery to a medium sized bowl.
Step 2: Mix up the dressing ingredients (yogurt, mayo, mustard, lemon juice and spices) in a 1-cup glass measuring cup.
Step 3: Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture and stir well until everything is evenly coated.
Step 4: Store the chicken salad or use right away in tortilla wraps or lettuce leaf wraps.
Storage
Chicken salad is perfect for meal prepping a week of lunches! Make the chicken salad mixture, cover, and store in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Assemble wraps right before eating for the best texture.
I hope you enjoy this higher protein chicken salad recipe! If you make it, be sure to leave a rating and review so I know how you liked it!
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Quick High Protein Chicken Salad Recipe with Canned Chicken
Equipment
- medium bowl
- 1-cup glass measuring cup
Ingredients
For Chicken Salad:
- 1.5 cups shredded cooked chicken, a 12.5 oz can of chicken or rotisserie chicken
- 1 can white beans, drained
- 1/4 cup diced onions or sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup diced celery (about 1 rib)
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt or regular (will have less protein, though)
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne optional
For Serving:
- 4 9-inch whole-wheat tortillas or lettuce leaves for low carb
- 1 cup lettuce, spring mix, or spinach
- 1 large avocado, optional
- See notes for optional additions/variations
Instructions
- Add chicken, beans, onions, and celery (and any other additions you’d like) to a medium bowl.
- Stir yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, salt, pepper, curry powder, and garlic powder together in a small bowl. Spoon over chicken mixture and stir until evenly coated and combined.
- Use over a bed of lettuce, as a dip for crackers, or make tortilla or lettuce wraps.
- To Make Tortilla Wraps: If using avocado, spread about 1/4 of a large mashed avocado over 1 tortilla and then add a layer of greens. Top with about 2/3 cup of the chicken mixture. Roll the tortilla up and over the filling, like a burrito, tucking in the sides. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, spring mix, avocado and chicken mixture.
- To Make Lettuce Wraps: Use 2 large leaves of iceburg or Bibb/Butter lettuce for each serving and lay them individually on a plate. Add about 1/3 cup of chicken salad to each leaf. Fold up on the sides to pick up and eat.
- To Make Ahead: Make the chicken salad mixture, cover and store in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Assemble wraps before eating.
Notes
- raisins or cut grapes
- apples
- dried cranberries
- chopped nuts like pecans, walnuts or sliced almonds
- grated carrots
- sundried tomatoes
- fresh herbs like parsley or basil
- cheese like grated cheddar, parmesan, or feta
Nutrition
More Easy Pantry Recipes
- 10 Minute Chickpea Wraps
- The Best Homemade Tomato Soup – You’ll Never Go Back To Canned
- Simple Black Bean Quesadillas Recipe
Would there be a brand of canned chicken that you would recomend? I’m familiar with canned tuna but not canned chicken.
I get the canned chicken from Costco, so the Kirkland brand. It still tastes like canned chicken so I only use it in easy recipes like this or soups or other things that it can be mixed with. 🙂 You also can use any frozen, cooked chicken too!
This recipe is amazing!!! Super flavorful. I made as is but will definitely use some of the variations as I plan on adding this to my regular rotation!
I’m so glad you like this, Holly!! Thanks so much for reviewing and helping to spread the word. 🙂
This was a hit with the family! Very tasty, thank you!
Wonderful! Thanks for the review.💜