For years and years, we ate strictly paleo in my house. Then we were all feeling so well (and the kids got older) and we started easing up a bit. We ate more dairy and we ate more gluten free foods like bread and pizza.
But the truth is that I feel best when I stick to strict paleo (no grains, no dairy, no legumes, no refined sugars). I’ve made a deal with myself recently: I will eat paleo all week and will allow some dairy and treats on the weekend. This has been working well. The only downside is that it becomes clear pretty quickly that my body is happiest without the dairy and gluten free treats.
Then I make a recipe like this chicken salad. Now listen, this is nothing earth-shattering, but this combination together is really, really good. I do not feel at all deprived when I have a great big bowl full of this chicken salad.
If you’re in a place where you’re new to the paleo diet and missing some of your favorite foods or if you’ve been around a while and need to reignite your love affair with paleo, I hope this recipe will help.
Within the chicken salad recipe, I include the recipe for homemade mayonnaise, which I highly recommend you try. It is sooooo much better than the store-bought stuff and way better for you if you use a non-inflammatory oil.
Ultimate Chicken Salad
No boring salad here!
Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American, Comfort Food
- 1 whole rotisserie chicken
- 1 package bacon
- 1 cup pecan halves
- 2-3 stalks celery
- 1/2 cup grapes
- 3/4 cup *homemade mayonnaise more or less to your taste
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3/4 tsp. pepper
This is more of a method than a recipe. You can add more or less of any of these ingredients to make this to your liking and to make the quantity you need. If you want lunches for a week, make the full batch. If you're serving fewer people and don't want leftovers, consider using half the chicken for something else and cutting the other ingredients by half.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay out bacon in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes or until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. Once cool, chop into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. If not serving the chicken salad immediately, store the bacon separate from the rest of the salad so it stays crisp.
Pull chicken from bones and chop. I like my chicken cut into pretty small pieces, but you can leave them in big chunks if you like. Save that carcass for making broth. Add the diced chicken to a large bowl.
Wash and dice celery and add to bowl with chicken.
Wash and quarter the grapes and add to the bowl with chicken.
Add pecans to a dry skillet over medium low heat. Heat, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted and fragrant. Remove to a cutting board and chop. If not serving the chicken salad right away, store these pecans separately and add them in at the last minute so they stay crisp.
How to make homemade mayonnaise: add one egg at room temperature (room temp is key) to a bowl with 1/4 cup of avocado or very light olive oil. Begin to blend (I use an immersion blender), slowing drizzling in 3/4 cup more oil. Once all blended and thick (at this point, it should look like mayonnaise), add in 1 tsp. dijon mustard, 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice, 1/8 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Use as much of this as you want in your chicken salad. Store the rest in a jar in the refrigerator.
When ready to serve, toss together the chicken, celery, grapes, chopped pecans, chopped bacon, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Taste and add more seasoning if you prefer. This is basic, but somehow, fancy chicken salad. There are no weird ingredients or special herbs, but it's more than just chicken and mayonnaise. My family loves this exact combination of ingredients, but feel free to play around with this to make it your own.
Keyword Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, sugar free
