Since grandma’s chicken salad is a fond memory for many of us and chicken salad is naturally keto, we had to include it here and add two flavorful make-ahead variations. In many of this book’s chicken recipes, we bump up the fat content by using chicken thighs. But for this classic recipe, chicken breasts were more flavorful. To make sure they stayed moist (because it is easy to overcook and dry out
breasts), we used the test kitchen’s easy, gentle poaching method. The moist breasts then readily took on the flavor of creamy mayonnaise, crunchy celery, and bright green herbs (we’re huge fans of a combination of chives, tarragon, and dill). A squeeze of lemon juice gave a bright finish to the salad. For our Spanish variation, we used smoked paprika, warm cumin, a splash of sherry vinegar, and toasted almonds. We also played with classic curried chicken salad, using shallot, aromatic curry powder, cumin, coriander, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and toasted pistachios. (We promise you won’t miss the raisins.) Chicken salad is great to make ahead, grab, and go because it tastes better the longer it sits. Serve it over leafy greens, in our Keto Tortillas (this page), or with Seeded Bread (this page). To ensure that the chicken cooks through, start with cold water in step 1 and don’t use breasts that weigh more than 8 ounces or are thicker than 1 inch.
Directions :
- Dissolve 2 tablespoons salt in 6 cups cold water in Dutch oven. Submerge chicken in water. Heat pot over medium heat until water registers 170 degrees. Turn off heat, cover pot, and let sit until chicken registers 165 degrees, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer chicken to paper towel–lined plate and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.
- Stir mayonnaise, celery, herbs, lemon juice, salt, and pepper together in bowl. Transfer chicken to cutting board, pat dry with paper towels, and cut into ½-inch pieces. Add chicken to bowl with mayonnaise mixture and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Chicken Salad With Fresh Herbs
Ingredients
- ¼ teaspoon table salt plus salt for poaching chicken
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup finely chopped celery
- ¼ cup chopped fresh chives dill, and/or tarragon
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Dissolve 2 tablespoons salt in 6 cups cold water in Dutch oven. Submerge chicken in water. Heat pot over medium heat until water registers 170 degrees. Turn off heat, cover pot, and let sit until chicken registers 165 degrees, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer chicken to paper towel–lined plate and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.
- Stir mayonnaise, celery, herbs, lemon juice, salt, and pepper together in bowl. Transfer chicken to cutting board, pat dry with paper towels, and cut into ½-inch pieces. Add chicken to bowl with mayonnaise mixture and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.