Tangy dill pickles, crunchy celery, chopped egg and fresh dill in a creamy mustard dressing made with Greek yogurt and a little mayo. My dill pickle chicken salad needs no oven, and with rotisserie chicken it’s ready in about 20 minutes. Fine, it’s the most delicious chicken salad you’ll ever eat if you love pickles and mustard. But if you’re reading this, I think it’s time to try.
It’s NUMBER ONE in my house, and I’ve been asked politely never to let it run out. Ha. Each serving is 200 calories with 24.4 grams of protein, and the recipe makes 4.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Dill Pickle Chicken Salad
- Ready In: 20 minutes
- Serves: 4 servings
- Calories: 200 cal
- Protein: 24.4g
- Fat: 6.6g
- Carbs: 8.2g
- Why You'll Love It: A quick and easy chicken salad that fits your macros with the perfect amount of crunch!
Before You Start Cooking
- Wake up rotisserie chicken. I would never want to eat Costco’s pre-packaged rotisserie breast plain. I shred and chop it, then toss it in a super hot pan with a GOOD pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder for about a minute and a half. Cool it in the fridge while you chop the veggies.
- Keep the sear short. Too long and it tastes like re-cooked poultry. You just want to bring it back to life.
- Have your eggs boiled. Hard-boiled eggs from the fridge keep this quick. If you’re boiling them fresh, plan on extra time.
- Chop the pickles and celery fine. Small pieces mean pickle in every bite and a salad that holds together on a cracker.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Dill pickles: Use a brand you love eating straight from the jar. Readers love Grillo’s, and one used Grillo’s hot pickles for a spicy version.
- Sweet relish: It balances all that tang. One reader skipped it and still loved it.
- Celery: Chopped fennel works too if you want a little anise flavor.
- Mayo: I use a low-fat mayo labeled 3.5 grams of fat per tablespoon.
For dairy-free, use a dairy-free yogurt or skip the Greek yogurt and use all light mayo. One reader skipped the yogurt and added a little extra mustard.
How to Make Dill Pickle Chicken Salad
- Prep the chicken. Shred and chop the chicken. If it’s rotisserie, give it the quick sear above and let it cool.
- Combine. Add the chicken, eggs, celery, pickles, green onion, relish and dill to a bowl.
- Dress it. Whisk the mayo, Greek yogurt, vinegar and mustard, then stir it into the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it keep?
About 4 days in the fridge, which makes it great for lunch prep. Stir it before serving, since the pickles release a little juice as it sits.
Mine seems dry. What should I do?
One reader who tripled the recipe made a little extra dressing on the side. Whisk up another half batch of the yogurt and mustard dressing and stir in as much as you like.
Can I leave out the eggs?
Yes. One reader skipped the yolks and kept the whites, and it was still great. The macros will change a little, so log it the way you make it.
How to Serve Pickle Chicken Salad
We eat it on rice cakes, corn thins, crackers or a sandwich. For something lighter, try it in jicama tortillas (Trader Joe’s sells thin jicama rounds) or wrapped in lettuce. It’s also great stuffed in pitas with sprouts and extra mustard. One reader says her kids request it for school lunches.
If you like having lunches like this planned out, my meal plans do the planning and the macros for you every week.
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Dill Pickle Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken breast* or other cooked chicken (300g)
- 2 hard-boiled eggs chopped (75g)
- 1 ½ cup celery chopped fine (150g), fennel works too
- 1 ½ cup dill pickles chopped (200g)
- ½ cup green onion chopped (60g)
- ¼ cup sweet relish (60g)
- 2-3 Tbsp dill chopped (8g)
- 2 Tbsp low-fat mayo (30g)
- 3 Tbsp non-fat Greek yogurt (45g)
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar (15g)
- 1 Tbsp mustard (15g)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients from chicken to dill.
- Make a quick dressing by whisking Mayo, Greek yogurt, vinegar, and mustard. Mix dressing in salad and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Eat on rice cakes, corn thins, crackers… wrapped in lettuce or build a sandwich!
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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I’m not a fan of pickles at all but I tried this recipe because I love chicken salad and wow, SO GOOD!
So good!!! Great for meal prep!
I made this tonight and wish I hadn’t planned it for dinner because I wanted to keep it all for myself! DELICIOUS!!
This is a winner!! Great to keep in fridge and have for easy lunches on a hot summer day when you do not want to cook. Also a great dish to bring to gatherings, all my girlfriends raved how delicious it was. Splurge on some really good refrigerated pickles, the shelf pickles always feel soggy to me.
***I noticed when you choose a multiplier for the recipe it changes the cups measurement, but it doesn’t update the grams…keep an eye out if you are making a larger portion.
Genius. I crave this — always.
Soooo good! I kept seeing people making this and raving. I figured there was no way it could live up to the hype! It absolutely did!
Soo good. On rotation every week!!
Ok I was a little skeptic of this recipe. Like…a pickle chicken salad? Uhh what. Haha BUT it was so good!! And refreshing and the perfect amount of savory and salty and even a little sweet? (Must have been the sweet relish?) definitely want to make again. It was so easy to put on a sandwich or make it into a wrap!
I’ve made this 3 times now in the past three weeks because it really is THAT GOOD. So yummy and it always fits my macros so well! Perfect amount of dill. I’ve even made it with canned chicken because I happened to have some on hand and it was still super yummy. Which reminds me, I need to get more celery because I’m out of pickle chicken salad. Lol
So good!!! My new favorite!
LOVED this recipe. Added some extra greek yogurt. Can’t wait to make it again!!
Ii don’t like pickles in my food so I’m not sure what made me want to try this recipe – maybe how much Lillie raves about it? But I made it and now I make it once a week. It is unbelievably delicious. It’s light and fresh and tasty. I leave the relish out – I just can’t do relish- and make it with egg whites only – but it’s still AMAZING! Even if you think it’s not something you’d be into – just try it.
Loved it! Make this today – you won’t regret it!
I LOVE chicken salad. This recipe put chicken salad OVER THE TOP! This was absolutely delicious! Will be making regularly. SO GOOD!!! My husband was blown away by it too! He loved it! So much flavor. I did Sub most of the dill pickles for bread and butter pickles so I used A regular relish instead of a sweet relish! Seriously, it was amazing!!
So so yummy!! I’ve had it 2 weeks in a row and I can’t get enough!