This tasty keto chicken salad is so simple to make for a quick low-carb meal! You can easily add onions, peppers, or pickles for extra flavor and crunch.
Looking for a quick keto diet meal that’s tasty and satisfying? Homemade chicken salad is a great option for quick meal prep!
You only need a handful of ingredients, and there’s less than 1 net carb per serving. That’s why it’s a low-carb staple in our household.
This low carb chicken salad recipe is as easy as tossing everything in a large bowl and stirring. It’s so simple!
I like to make a big batch over the weekend for easy meals during the week. Cold salads like this one are so convenient because you don’t have to heat them up. They’re most popular in the summer, but I eat them all year round.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe uses very low carb ingredients. The two main ingredients, chicken and mayo, are both zero carb.
Here’s how to make the this simple keto chicken salad:
- Cook chicken. Poach breasts (for white meat) or chicken thighs (for dark meat) in covered pot with simmering water or broth for about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the liquid and allow it to cool. You can also use a pressure cooker whole chicken made in the Instant Pot.
- Shred chicken. Use two forks to shred chicken into small pieces.
- Combine chicken and celery. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the shredded chicken and chopped celery.
- Prepare dressing. In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, salt, and pepper until well blended. You can even use a little sour cream in place of the mayo.
- Add dressing to salad. Spoon the dressing over the chicken and celery, then stir until everything is well coated.
Your dish is ready to enjoy! Be sure to store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and serve chilled.
🍽️ Serving suggestions
This low-carb chicken salad recipe makes a quick lunch or light dinner. You can eat it by itself, or enjoy it as a sandwich or wrap.
I like to eat it on a low carb tortilla like an almond flour wrap or coconut flour wraps with cheese, lettuce and tomato. But it’s also great served between two slices of fluffy almond bread. It's great to use for lettuce wraps too!
To lower the carbs, you could use lettuce to make a boat or wrap. Fresh, crispy romaine adds a wonderful crunch and will hold up the weight of the salad. Keto cheese wraps work well too!
📒 Variations
Canned chicken, leftover chicken, or store-bought rotisserie chicken can be used in this easy keto chicken salad recipe for extra convenience. However, I like to use freshly shredded chicken.
I’ve also made this recipe with shredded turkey after Thanksgiving. It’s a great way to use up some of those leftovers!
When I want more flavor or crunch, I’ve added things like sunflower seeds, red onion, peppers, and pickles. Toasted nuts are another way to add healthy fat and crunch. Pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, and pecans are all great options.
For a “pasta-like” salad, you could stir in some Miracle Noodles. Or use keto chaffles as low carb bread for sandwiches.
You can also make a low-carb chicken salad without mayo if you prefer. I have a recipe for cranberry walnut chicken salad made with mashed avocados that is delicious.
There are a lot of options for this simple recipe. So, feel free to customize it with your favorite add-ins like fresh dill and lemon juice. Some people also like to use sour cream for some of the mayo.
📚 Related recipes
Looking for more keto chicken recipes that are easy to make for a quick bite? Check out a few of these favorites:
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole comes together quickly for a satisfying dinner that’s full of delicious flavor!
- Keto Cobb Salad is made with chicken for a low carb meal that’s perfect for one or two people.
- Low Carb Chicken Nuggets are so tasty, they’re even kid-approved! Plus, they’re gluten free and easy to make.
- Chicken Pesto Wrap whips up quickly and can be made ahead for an easy lunch or snack anytime.
- Asian Canned Chicken Salad uses easy, budget friendly ingredients but packs in incredible flavor!
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📖 Recipe
Low-Carb Keto Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- 3-4 stalks celery finely chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
Optional:
- onion
- peppers
- pickles
Instructions
- Poach chicken breasts in water or broth by covering for 30 minutes after liquid boils. Remove chicken and allow to cool.
- Shred chicken into small pieces.
- Mix chicken and celery.
- Stir together mayonnaise, salt and pepper until well blended.
- Spoon mayonnaise mixture over chicken mixture and stir to coat.
- Store in refrigerator. Serve chilled.
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Unauthorized use of this material without written permission from Lisa MarcAurele is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes.
Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.
Originally Published: June 2, 2012... Last Updated: June 9, 2020
Karen
I have already shredded chicken breast in the freezer, how do I properly measure out from an already large (1 qt) container in order to prepare your chicken salad. Another way to ask this question is: how much shredded chicken comes from 2 pounds of chicken? - Thanks! (I used lots of your recipes and enjoy them all!)
Lisa MarcAurele
I'd say about 3 to 4 cups is needed for this keto chicken salad. You can add half than add more as needed.
Katie Jewell
How much is a serving?
Lisa
It's about a cup or so.
Melanie
Is there a certain brand of mayonaise that you use? I used Kroger Classic Mayonaise and that seemed to have a lot of calories. You have each serving of the low carb chicken salad as 210 calories. One cup of mayo itself has 1600 calories, so the mayonaise itself has 267 calories per serving. Should it be low calorie mayonaise instead of regular? Just trying to make this low calorie and low carb as possible.
Lisa
I may need to recalculate as the ingredient used is generic. I prefer using avocado oil based mayo.