Best Chicken Salad Recipes for Light and Fresh Meals

Gone are the days when the words ‘chicken salad’ translates to a few sad garden leaves joined by a grilled chicken breast. A chicken salad recipe can involve many elements, be it chicken that’s barbecued, roasted or poached and tossed with leaves, grains, noodles or hearty vegetables.

For ultra-speedy meals, why not pick up a rotisserie chicken, throw it together with leftover roast veg or leafy greens, add a crack of black pepper and fresh herbs and then store your easy chicken salad recipe in an airtight container for tomorrow’s lunch? Or poach chicken breasts and toss through a vibrant green soba noodle salad and finish off with lemon juice, miso dressing and cracked black pepper. Either way, our colourful chicken salad recipes pack a punch.

From vibrant noodle salads and punchy Southeast Asian flavours to hearty grain bowls and clever ways to use leftover roast chicken, these recipes make chicken salad a meal worth looking forward to.

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Our favourite hearty chicken salad recipes to make

Blue cheese and asparagus salad with poached chicken

Poached chicken asparagus salad with blue cheese

This is an ultra-elevated take on a chicken salad — with bite.

Warm coconut chicken and herb salad with brown rice

A bright, herb-packed weeknight dinner that comes together fast.

Chicken and jellyfish salad

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for chicken and jellyfish salad by Pete Evans.

A white plate with soba noodles, chicken, edamame, spring onion and coriander.

Green-tea soba with chicken and green miso

Green is good, and it tastes just so.

Lemon chicken with bean and radish salad

Quick, easy and healthy. This is a chicken dish you’ll want to commit to memory.

Thai chicken and cucumber salad

Australian Gourmet Traveller summer salad recipe for Thai chicken and cucumber salad

Poached chicken, broad bean, radish and young garlic salad

A glass of citrusy Tasmanian riesling and poached chicken with spring vegetables make ideal partners.

Chicken and avocado salad

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for chicken and avocado salad by Pete Evans.

Sichuan chicken salad with chilled noodles and cucumber

Chicken with chilled noodles, cucumber and Sichuan-vinegar dressing

This chilled Sichuan chicken salad packs a mouth-numbing punch. Double the recipe for an enviable work lunch the next day.

Chicken salad with asparagus and quinoa

If you’ve got the time, toast the quinoa in a little grapeseed oil until it’s golden brown before adding the water – it adds a great nutty flavour that works well with the asparagus.

Aunty Three’s Saigon chicken and cabbage salad with quail eggs

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Aunty Three’s Saigon chicken and cabbage salad with quail eggs from Grasshopper Asian Kitchen in Brisbane

Sunda’s Thai-style chicken larb

This vibrant salad by Melbourne restaurant Sunda fires on all cylinders.

Roast chicken salad with cider, apple and witlof

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for roast chicken salad with cider, apple and witlof.

Roast chicken salad with peas and almond-lemon dressing

This dish conjures up all that’s good about summer picnics.

Turmeric chicken with cucumber salad

For maximum flavour cook this quick turmeric-spiced chicken on the barbecue – coal or wood will give the best result.

Poached chicken and millet salad with peas and mint

Millet is cooked pilaf-style for this salad to add extra flavour. It makes the perfect vehicle for a lemon-laden dressing along with shreds of poached chicken and plenty of peas.

Chicken noodle salad with turmeric-lime dressing

Light, simple and deceptively easy to make.

Shane Delia’s poached chicken salad with harissa, eggplant, spring onion and tahini

Double dressing? In one corner, the nuttiness of the Maha East chef’s tahini dressing; in the other, the one-two spicy punch of the harissa and lemon.

Chicken, radish and bean salad with tarragon dressing

This simple salad is a great way to use up leftover roast or barbecued chicken.

Grilled chicken and rice noodle salad

A hot and sour dressing adds a sweet and spicy hit to this classic combination of chicken, aromatic herbs and rice noodles.

Drunken chicken salad with green onion and ginger dressing

Australian Gourmet Traveller and Tony Tan Chinese entree recipe for drunken chicken salad with green onion and ginger dressing

Yum woon sen (Thai glass noodle salad)

Australian Gourmet Traveller fast recipe for glass noodle salad.

El Publico’s chicken quinoa salad with recado verde

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for chicken quinoa salad with recado verde by El Publico restaurant in Perth.

Little Valley’s miso-poached chicken and ham salad with chilli dressing

Miso is protein-rich paste made from fermented soybeans and is a staple in Asian cooking.

Prawn, chicken and wing bean salad

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for prawn, chicken and wing bean salad by Tonka restaurant in Melbourne.

Chicken, roast plum, labne and grain salad

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for chicken, roast plum, labne and grain salad.

Spiced chicken with carrot, chickpea and green chilli salad

Emma Knowles fast recipe for spiced chicken with carrot, chickpea and green chilli salad.

Grilled chicken, peach and avocado salad

This fresh, light salad is all about the chicken. It works well for a barbecue, tossed together with the chicken hot off the grill. The dressing is even better when it’s left to stand for an hour or two.

Grilled chicken with cucumber, carrot and Asian herb salad

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for grilled chicken with cucumber, carrot and Asian herb salad.

Chicken noodle salad with Sichuan peppercorns

A chilled noodle salad is just the ticket when the mercury soars.

Roast chicken salad with celeriac, radicchio and pink grapefruit

This lovely salad is a fine way to use leftover roast chicken. Serve the meat cold or warm it up – either way it’s delicious.

Roast chicken, walnut and grape salad with blue cheese dressing

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for roast chicken, walnut and grape salad with blue cheese dressing.

Poached chicken, green bean and basil mayonnaise salad

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Poached chicken, green bean and basil mayonnaise salad

Chicken salad with black grapes, walnuts and celery

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Chicken salad with black grapes, walnuts and celery

A blue plate with a salad of minced chicken and chillies, a mound of green herbs, shredded white cabbage, and roasted peanuts, with a silver fork and spoon.

Amy Chanta’s guide to making larb gai

One of the great salads of the world, larb is quick to prepare, but makes a lasting impression. We have the late and great Amy Chanta to thank for this recipe.

Your chicken salad FAQs answered

What are the basic ingredients for a chicken salad?

The basic ingredients for a chicken salad are entirely up to you! But at the minimum, you need to have some sort of chicken on hand – be it leftover rotisserie chicken from dinner the night before, chicken breast or a whole chicken to play with. Then, we like to build it out with fresh leaves, herbs or vegetables. Grains or carbs like brown rice help to add bulk and heft to keep you satiated.

What is the secret to good chicken salad?

The secret to a good chicken salad lies in the dressing. A good sauce ties everything together and ensures that every bite is juicy, fresh and vibrant.

Is a chicken salad on its own enough to fill me up?

A good chicken salad should have enough components that it arrives as a complete meal, but of course, you can also enjoy these chicken salads as a side dish. Aunty Three’s Saigon chicken and cabbage salad with quail eggs, though substantial on its own, would go down a treat with some lemongrass pork and rice, as an example. But as always, we recommend you be guided by your tastes, preferences and stomach.

Author Monique Foy Senior Content Producer

An English major with a penchant for anchovies on toast and the ocean, Monique Foy got her start at Gourmet Traveller after an existential crisis and career pivot. Following her time as a digital marketer at global media agencies and a short stint as an SEO writer, Monique threw caution to the wind one Wednesday and decided to pursue her true passion – writing, of the food and drinks variety. Since then, she’s had her work published in Broadsheet and Urban List, and she joins Gourmet Traveller as Senior Content Producer with the intention to continue adding funky venues and quaint new wine bars to her growing iPhone notes section.

The Gourmet Traveller Team

Gourmet Traveller is Australia’s trusted authority on food, travel and luxury lifestyle, bringing the latest news and trends to life through quality journalism, enticing recipes and evocative photography. For more than 55 years, it has been inspiring and informing Australians with the best in cooking, dining, travelling and shopping. Our critics bring the expertise of years of critical eating, drinking and writing to the table. Plus, as the country’s leading title in the luxury sector, Gourmet Traveller works closely with Australia’s leaders in the travel and hospitality industries to give our readers exclusive access. The Gourmet Traveller legacy is one of trust, prestige and relevance.