September 23, 2011

A Mayo-Free Chicken Salad Sandwich

Those of you who know me well know that I have a condiment phobia.  It's bad.  I still can't eat at a Panera because in high school, I ordered a dry sandwich and it came with "special sauce" on it.  Shudder... While I'm starting to get used to mustard (which I think is a really big step on my part) the one thing I still can't abide is mayonnaise.  Big, thick globs piled on a sandwich make me run in fear (or at least politely decline to take the plate in front of me). However, I love the idea of chicken salads.  They seem so light and fresh and they are a wonderful use of leftover grilled or roasted chicken breasts.  Plus, they fit in with my fantasy of fancy tea parties.  So I was determined to find one that still brought together the flavors and leftover rewards of a regular chicken salad, while steering clear of mayo.  Thank goodness for Martha.  She provided me with the start of a great version that is easily adapted to your tastes, and uses plain yogurt and dijon mustard instead of super creamy mayonnaise.  It was a hit, and I found I was able to play with the ingredients to make it feel a bit more gourmet.  Serve it on a heavily seeded sandwich bread with arugula, preferably at a tea party or a civilized picnic in the park.


Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad
adapted from Martha Stewart


  • 2 leftover cooked chicken breasts 
  • 3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
  • 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp. chopped parsley
  • 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
  • 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup finely diced celery
  • Salt & Pepper

  • Take the meat off of the bones of the chicken and chop it into bite-sized pieces.  Toss in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, mustard, and salt & pepper to taste.  Add the cranberries, walnuts, celery and parsley to the chicken and toss to combine.  Pour the yogurt mixture over the chicken mixture and toss again until all of the ingredients have combined.  Add more salt and pepper to taste.  Serve on lettuce or on seeded bread with a bit of arugula.

2 comments:

  1. Aahhhhhh yogurt is such a GREAT touch!! I try to stay away from that mayo so this works for me too :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. We're two of a kind, Alia! Glad this works for you too :)

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