Traditional
Chicken Salad
Classic chicken salad done the WeightWise way — rotisserie or leftover chicken, crisp celery, red onion, Dijon mustard, and a creamy dressing of half light mayo and half Greek yogurt with a squeeze of fresh lemon. Serve in butter lettuce cups, on cucumber slices, or with celery sticks for dipping. Simple, satisfying, and ready in 10 minutes.
- 1½ cups cooked chicken breast, chopped (rotisserie or leftover — not canned)
- 1½ cups celery, chopped
- ⅓ cup red onion, finely chopped
- 1½ tbsp light mayo
- 1½ tbsp plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- — butter lettuce or romaine leaves, to serve
- — celery sticks or cucumber slices, to serve (optional)
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1
Make the dressing
In a large bowl, whisk together the light mayo, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until smooth and combined. Taste and adjust — a little more lemon for brightness or an extra pinch of salt to pull everything together.
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2
Add the chicken and vegetables
Add the chopped chicken, celery, and red onion to the dressing. Stir gently until everything is evenly coated. Taste once more and adjust seasoning — chicken salad often needs a little more salt than you'd expect.
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3
Serve
Spoon into butter lettuce or romaine leaves for a light, fresh wrap. Serve alongside celery sticks or cucumber slices for dipping and scooping. Or eat it straight from the bowl with a fork — it's just as good that way.
- Rotisserie chicken is the move: Pre-cooked rotisserie chicken breast chops up beautifully for chicken salad and has significantly better flavor and texture than canned chicken — it's the easiest shortcut in the collection and makes a genuinely better finished dish.
- Half mayo, half Greek yogurt: This split gives you the familiar creamy richness of traditional chicken salad with significantly more protein and less fat — most people genuinely can't tell the difference once it's mixed with the mustard and lemon.
- Lemon juice is the upgrade: A small squeeze of fresh lemon brightens all the flavors and prevents the dressing from tasting flat — it's the detail that makes this taste restaurant-quality rather than just thrown together.
- Chill before serving: If you have 20 minutes, cover and refrigerate before serving — the flavors meld and the chicken salad tastes noticeably more cohesive after a short rest in the fridge.
- Meal prep: Keeps covered in the fridge for up to 3 days — stir before serving and taste for seasoning. A great make-ahead lunch that gets even better as it sits.