Cherries scream summer, am I right? You can’t buy good cherries any time of year, so you have to get your fill during the summer. If you’re able to go cherry picking during the summer when cherries are peak freshness, I highly recommend it. I grew up (and still go) cherry picking in July in northern Michigan and it’s usually a highlight of my year. And this year, I’ll have a new recipe to put to use after picking pounds and pounds of cherries — easy & healthy cherry chicken salad!
Chicken salad is usually packed with tons of mayo, but this healthier and sweeter chicken salad recipe is made with clean, wholesome ingredients. You won’t even miss the traditional chicken salad, that’s how good this one is! For starters, we have cherries and craisins in the chicken salad to give it a sweet taste without all the added sugars, sunflower seeds for a little crunch and plain greek yogurt for the same creamy taste without the extra fat and calories. If you want to make this recipe really easy, you could use rotisserie chicken instead of preparing it yourself. Although, I love cooking chicken for chicken salad in the Instant Pot, then shredding with my hand mixer. You do whatever is easiest and best for you!
This healthy and easy cherry chicken salad is perfect for meal prep lunches, dinner on the patio or as a snack with crackers or celery for scooping. However you choose to eat it, I promise it will be delicious!
Ingredients & alternatives
- Cooked chicken: You’ll need 4 chicken breasts cooked for this recipe, which you can either cook on the store, grill, in the Instant Pot, or however you prefer. You can even use a store-bought rotisserie chicken for this recipe.
- Fresh cherries: I highly recommend fresh cherries for this recipe, although you could use frozen if you thaw them, just know your chicken salad may turn out a little liquidy.
- Salted sunflower seeds: I prefer salted seeds for this recipe, but you could use unsalted if that’s all you have available. If that’s the case, I’d recommend adding a little extra salt when mixing all your ingredients together.
- Plain greek yogurt: If you’re not a plain greek yogurt gal and don’t want to buy the big tub of it, you could buy the single cups for this recipe. You should only need one of those for this recipe.
- Craisins: This ingredient is optional, but I think it adds amazing flavor to the dish and pairs nicely with the fresh cherries. But if you don’t want to buy one more ingredient, feel free to omit it.
- Red onion: You’ll need half a red onion chopped for this recipe.
- Salt: I mean you should have this on hand but if you don’t, do yourself a favor and pick some up for this recipe and beyond!
How to make chicken salad
This cherry chicken recipe could not be easier. After cooking the chicken, it’ll only take you about 10 minutes to chop the remaining ingredients and mix them all together. Easy enough, right?
First up, cook your chicken however you’d like. While that’s cooking, begin pitting your cherries and chopping your red onion.
Once the chicken is cooked, shred it in a large bowl with two forks or your hand or stand mixer. I promise this is the quickest way to shred chicken. Then add all of the remaining ingredients and mix well.
That’s it! Now it’s time to eat the cherry chicken salad on a sandwich, a bed of greens, or on your favorite crackers and veggies. My preference is in a tortilla or lavish wrap and with celery (the perfect scooper)!
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Easy & Healthy Cherry Chicken Salad w/ Greek Yogurt
Ingredients
- 4 cooked chicken breasts cook in the Instant Pot, on the grill or stove, or use store-bought rotisserie chicken (~15.7 oz or 445 g)
- 2 cups cherries ~277 g
- 3/4 cup salted sunflower seeds 90 g
- 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt 170 g (add more if you prefer a creamier chicken salad)
- 1/4 cup craisins ~40 g, optional but recommended
- 1/2 red onion ~70 g
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Shred your cooked chicken in a large bowl. If you have a stand mixer or hand mixer, use this to quickly shred the chicken, otherwise use two forks.
- Finely chop the red onion and add to the large bowl with chicken.
- Wash, pit and chop cherries. If available, use a cherry pitter. Otherwise, use a pairing knife to cut the cherry twice all the way around (in both directiosn), then pull away from the pit. Add pitted and chopped cherries to the large bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients to bowl — sunflower seeds, plain greek yogurt, craisins and salt.
- Mix until well combined and until the greek yogurt fully coats the remaining ingredients. Feel free to add additional yogurt if you desire a creamier chicken salad.
- Add to a tortilla wrap or toasted bread for a chicken salad sandwich, plop on top of a salad or eat with crackers, chips or veggies. Enjoy!