Dress your typical chicken salad recipe up for the holidays with this delicious Winter Pecan and Cranberry Chicken Salad. Made with sweet cranberries, crunchy pecans, creamy Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, it’s a great healthy, protein-packed meal for easy throw-together meals all week!
Chicken salad…but make it hearty for the holidays! This Pecan and Cranberry Chicken Salad is one of the best chicken salad combinations I’ve ever tried. Don’t let the name scare you off. This chicken salad is great any time of year, but the sweet and savory flavors are just too perfect for the cooler holiday months!
This chicken salad recipe is lighter than traditional recipes because instead of mayonnaise, I used Greek yogurt and cottage cheese. I love mayonnaise, but it does add a lot of fat! But, no one I’ve served this too has ever noticed the substitution! It’s still just as creamy and delicious. I’ve also made this recipe a little healthier by adding more vegetables like celery, bell pepper, and more.
This is a GREAT recipe to prep in advance and eat all week. I find that allowing the chicken salad to sit in the refrigerator helps the flavors develop more and really enhances the taste! Put this chicken salad in a sandwich, wrap it up in a tortilla, or put it in a salad. You don’t have to eat it the same way every day!
You could also use your Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey leftovers in place of the chicken to help use them up! I think it pairs so well with the sweet cranberries and pecans!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS PECAN AND CRANBERRY CHICKEN SALAD
- It’s sweet, crunchy, savory, creamy, and absolutely delicious!
- The flavor dimension and texture is OUT OF THIS WORLD!
- Packed with protein and lightened up from your traditional chicken salad.
- Such a great recipe for meal prep. Make once and eat all week!
- A great way to sneak some veggies into your day. 😉
INGREDIENTS
- Shredded chicken – You can make your own, buy pre-cooked, or use canned or rotisserie chicken if you’re in a time crunch.
- Celery – A crunchy chicken salad classic!
- Red onion
- Bell pepper
- Green onions
- Greek yogurt – Instead of mayonnaise, I used Greek yogurt and cottage cheese to keep this recipe lighter. I used plain nonfat Greek yogurt.
- Cottage cheese – I used 1% low-fat cottage cheese.
- Ranch seasoning mix – I used this to add flavor. You can use whatever other spices you like!
- Sweetener – I used Swerve granular sweetener. A tiny touch of sweetness pairs well with the cranberries and pecans!
- Lemon juice – To enhance flavor.
- Pecans – I love the crunch and earth flavor.
- Cranberries – I used dried cranberries with reduced-sugar. They were a little lower in calories.
- Salt and pepper – Add to taste.
HOW TO MAKE PECAN AND CRANBERRY CHICKEN SALAD
- Prepare the veggies by washing and dicing them.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, fold all ingredients together.
- Taste and add salt and pepper to desired liking.
- Serve as a sandwich, on an open-faced piece of toast, in a lettuce wrap, or eat straight up!
HOW TO EAT YOUR CHICKEN SALAD
- As a sandwich – The classic way! Place your chicken salad between two pieces of bread or toast.
- As open-faced sandwich – Spread chicken salad on a warm, toasted piece of bread.
- As a wrap – Grab your favorite kind of tortilla and roll this chicken salad inside!
- On top of a salad – I like to eat this over a bed of romaine with some crackers on the side.
- Straight up – Enjoy by the forkful. It’s so delicious!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Sure! You can use shredded turkey if you want. It’s a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. If you just don’t want to prepare the chicken yourself, you can always use canned chicken, pre-bought shredded chicken, or shred your own rotisserie chicken.
Enjoy with crackers, carrot and celery sticks, or chips! You could do a side salad or a side of your favorite veggies too.
MORE DELICIOUS CHICKEN SALAD RECIPES
WANT TO MAKE THIS RECIPE?
If you try this winter chicken salad and love it, please rate this recipe!
You can also tag me on Instagram, @LaurenFitFoodie. It makes my day seeing your yummy recreations!
Winter Pecan and Cranberry Chicken Salad (No Mayo)
Ingredients
- 8 cups cooked chicken shredded or cubed* (900g)
- 5 celery stalks diced (230g)
- 1/2 medium red onion diced (115g)
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced (75g)
- 2 green onions diced (16g)
- 1 cup low fat cottage cheese 226g
- 3/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt 170g
- 2 Tbsp ranch seasoning mix 12g
- 2 Tbsp granular sweetener or sugar 24g
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice 15g
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans 64g
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries 60g
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the veggies by washing and dicing them.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients. Fold using a wooden spoon until all ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
- Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.
- Serve as a sandwich, on an open-faced piece of toast, in a lettuce wrap or eat straight up!
Notes
Nutrition
This is such a wonderful recipe any time of the year but I love it during the winter months. I love this lightened version. Tastes like the full fat thing! Lots of flavor and perfect on a big croissant!
This recipe is a really good variation of chicken salad. Perfect for the winter. I used rotisserie chicken and halved the recipe- it still made a large amount and I found my husband sneaking some for lunch too!
This was a nice spin on boring chicken salad- definitely will
Make again!
This is such a great recipe! Great for food prep for the week! I ate mine with a pita bread and it was so good!
Ok but can we talk a second about the perfection *chef kiss* of this recipe? It’s like the rainbow chicken salad went to the spa and got a sweet glow up! I didn’t think her other chicken salad recipes could get any better, but then BAM she creates this beauty! I am not a fan of pecans typically, but that little crunch made this the best lunch I’ve had in a while. I paired it with some lettuce in a wheat wrap. Large portion size and super filling. I’ll be eating on this for a while!!
This is amazing!! Very flavorful and the portions are big! Easy to make and have for lunch all week! This is my new favorite chicken salad recipe!