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This Rainbow Chicken Salad is packed with vegetables, lean protein, and fiber to keep you satisfyingly full and focused all day long. Plus, it’s low in fat and a great nutritious meal prep option to enjoy in so many ways all week!
About This Recipe
You don’t need a bowl of Lucky Charms to taste the rainbow when you have my Rainbow Chicken Salad! This recipe is light and packed with veggies, lean protein, and fiber to keep you feeling satisfyingly full and focused all afternoon long.
This chicken salad recipe is light because it doesn’t use mayonnaise. Instead, we toss our protein and vegetables in creamy yogurt and low fat cottage cheese. Not sure about cottage cheese? Trust me, it’s so good and you won’t even notice a difference!
There are so many yummy ways to enjoy this high protein chicken salad recipe! You can serve this chicken salad on toast, in a croissant, or with your favorite chips as a lunch dip! To keep this meal low carb, you can enjoy this recipe over mixed greens or in a lettuce wrap.
Chicken salad is one of my FAVORITE things to prep for meal prep. It’s easy to make, last all week in the fridge and doesn’t require any reheating!
Why You’ll Love This Rainbow Chicken Salad
- It’s full of flavor and texture! Each bite is crunchy, savory, sweet, and tangy!
- Lower in fat and higher in protein than traditional chicken salad recipes.
- Packed with a ton of veggies and gut-friendly fiber!
- Super easy to make and last all week long! Perfect for meal prep or busy summer days!
- So many ways to enjoy! Serve on top of rice cake, in between a croissant or toast or enjoy it in a low carb lettuce wrap!
- Chicken – any type of cooked and shredded type of chicken will work for this recipe. I always use my Basic Shredded Chicken recipe for any chicken salad recipe. You can use canned, rotisserie, grilled, etc.
- Celery
- Baby bell peppers – An assortment of colors will help create the rainbow! You can use normal size peppers, too.
- Red onion
- Red grapes – can also substitute apples, cranberries, or dates.
- Yogurt – I used plain Greek yogurt. I recommend using a thick, creamy one like Fage or Good Culture. Use dairy-free if needed.
- Cottage cheese – I used Good Culture 2% low fat cottage cheese.
- Lemon juice
- Ranch seasoning
This recipe is naturally gluten-free.
To make dairy-free: use dairy-free Greek yogurt and sub cottage cheese for dairy-free Greek yogurt or lite mayo.
Ways to Mix It Up:
- Add nuts! This recipe is naturally low in fat so sometimes I love adding almond slices or walnuts for extra healthy fats!
- Switch up your veggies! I love the bright colors of the fruit and veggies in this recipe but feel free to switch it up! You can add apples, carrots, dates, jalapeno (for a kick!), radish, etc.
- Herbs and spices! You can also get creative and add extra herbs for flavor! You can add cilantro, parsley, basil, etc! You can also substitute the ranch seasoning for your favorite seasoning blend!
Equipment Needed
- Vegetable chopper (optional) – this veggie chopper isn’t required but is a MAJOR time savor this type of recipe!
How To Make
Keep your Rainbow Chicken Salad stored in an airtight container in fridge for up to 7 days.
Helpful Tips
This recipe is a great meal prep option! It stores beautifully in the fridge and holds up for several days!
Can I use mayonnaise for this recipe if I don’t like cottage cheese?
Absolutely! I personally love the blend of cottage cheese and greek yogurt. I promise, you don’t even taste the cottage cheese it just has a really nice creamy consistency. But if you are adamantly against cottage cheese, you can easily sub for regular or lite mayo (or sub for more Greek yogurt). The mayo will have a slightly sweeter taste but will still be absolutely delicious!
What type of chicken should I use for this recipe?
Any cooked chicken works for this recipe! You can use a simple bulk chicken recipe, leftover grilled chicken, store-bought rotisserie chicken or canned chicken!
What is the best way to chop all the veggies for this recipe?
My favorite (and the quickest) way to chop all the veggies for this recipe is with a veggie chopper/dicer! This kitchen tool is such a major time saver plus I love how it cuts everything up in small, uniform pieces! If you don’t have one of these (even though I highly recommend) you can simply chip everything with a cutting board and sharp knife (or buy precut from the grocery store!).
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure leave a review, tag me on Instagram or TikTok at @LaurenFitFoodie or hashtag #LaurenFitFoodie so I can see your creations!
Rainbow Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 9 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (900g)
- 2 cups celery (230g) about 7 stalks
- 6 baby bell peppers, diced (240g) I used an assortment of red, orange and yellow but any color works, regular peppers work fine too
- 1/2 medium red onion, diced (115g)
- 1.5 cup red grapes, quartered (220g)
- 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese (220g)
- 3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (180g)
- 2 Tbsp ranch seasoning (12g)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice (30g)
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Instructions
- Prepare the veggies by using the dice setting on a food chopper or by dicing them with a knife. Use a knife to quarter the grapes.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients. Fold using a large wooden spoon until ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
Equipment
- Vegetable chopper optional
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition is hand-calculated and accurate. No autocalulations! However, note that values can vary based on the brands you use and if you substitute ingredients.
