I don’t want to brag, but then again, this healthy low-carb chicken salad is high-protein and rich fiber and it tastes amazing. And you have to try it, even if you don’t like healthy food! It’s an easy keto friendly chicken recipe that is also antioxidant-rich, yet so amazingly delicious and filling. Perfect for lunch or dinner!
Low-Carb Chicken Salad (High-Protein)
So for the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking about trying the keto diet. I know, I know…it’s so out there. Can you be any more obvious? It’s so famous right now, but what if it actually works?
So, naturally, I started it 3 days ago. So far so good. I came up with this salad, so it’s definitely been a win for me.
The last push I needed to actually try this extreme looking low carb diet was measuring my blood sugar after I had dinner with my family. It was a little bit high, which I wasn’t happy about, but didn’t think much of at that point. And then for fun, I measured my husband’s and my sister’s blood sugar as well. Turns out, the only one who had high, out of the normal blood sugar was me.
Now, true I had gestational diabetes and was left with insulin resistance after I had the baby. But the doctors told me I’d return to normal once I lose some weight.
As you might have read, I already lost 20 pounds, which brought me back to a normal BMI range months ago. So I was really surprised that my blood sugar was so high, even though I lost the weight and wasn’t pregnant anymore. So I decided to give low carb/keto a try and also decided to do it in a healthier way. My goal is not only to lose weight but to improve my insulin resistance and to have more energy.
Update: So I made this low-carb chicken salad again and again after and it’s still the best salad ever. It was so good I decided to re-shoot the pictures and now they’re brand new and pretty like Richard Gere. Or was it Cindy? Or Julia Roberts? Highly, highly recommend this salad to anyone wanting to eat healthy, even if you’re not on the keto diet. Other than that, I didn’t update the text, as I would just be repeating myself. Oh, if you want to see more about my keto diet experience – find out here.
Chicken Salad Ingredients
Here are some of the ingredients you need for this amazing chicken salad:
- grilled/cooked chicken, because umami
- avocado, because healthy fats
- lettuce, because volume and nothing else
- sesame seeds and walnuts, because crunch
- purple cabbage, because health
- Parmesan, because Italy
- garlic, because fresh breath
How To Make A Low-Carb Chicken Salad
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. You can use any type of cooked chicken – grilled, boiled, baked – whatever you have.
- Chop the vegetables – lettuce, cabbage, avocado, parsley, basil – get it all nicely chopped!
- Put everything you’ve got so far into a salad bowl.
- Top with some roughly chopped walnuts and toasted sesame seeds.
- Make a secret genius dressing using mustard, Greek yogurt, tamari sauce, olive oil, vinegar and garlic
- Pour that over the salad
- Add olives and Parmesan cheese and start eating, because it’s really good and you should try it, whether you’re doing keto or not.
I will report about my experience with the keto diet in another post, for now, let’s focus on this beautiful, tasty salad. (and here’s my report!)
Low-Carb Chicken Salad Options
So, because I didn’t have all the exact ingredients when I was making the salad recently, I made some changes. Here’s what I did:
- no cabbage, so I used spinach; arugula would be great as well!
- made with these spiced garlic chicken bites
- forgot the toasted sesame seeds;
- only added 1/2 avocado
- added a handful basil leaves, because I had it – added great flavor!
- will add pickled jalapenos next time
And that is pretty much it! Still delicious, still one of my favorite chicken salads EVER!
Low-Carb Chicken Salad (High-Protein & Fiber)
Make this amazing low-carb chicken salad that is high-protein and high-fiber, for dinner or lunch today! Using chicken breast, avocado, olives, leafy greens and lots of other vegetables, this keto friendly salad is satisfying, fresh and super healthy!
Ingredients
- 2 cup lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup cabbage, chopped
- 1 avocado
- 8 oz chicken breast, boneless, skinless (around 200 g)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp basil, dry
- 1 tsp coriander, ground
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp yogurt
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp tamari sauce
- 1/2 tsp mustard
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
- 5 walnut halves, chopped (optional)
- 8 olives, pitted (optional)
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken: Marinate the chicken with coriander, basil, crushed red pepper, 1 garlic glove, black pepper and some salt.
- In a non-stick pan, cook the chicken with 1 tbsp olive oil at medium to medium-high heat, flipping the for 5-6 minutes until the chicken is done. Let it cool off a little, before you add it to the salad.
- Make the dressing: in a small bowl whisk yogurt, vinegar, tamari, 1 garlic clove and mustard together.
- Making the salad: In a large salad bowl add the lettuce, parsley, cabbage, olives, avocado, chicken, walnuts (optional), scallions sesame seeds. Add the dressing, Parmesan cheese, mix well and add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
In the updated version of this salad I didn't use walnuts or olives - still delicious! You can leave out the walnuts or olives if you don't want them, but I highly recommend the Parmesan cheese and toasted sesame seeds!
Nutrition Information
Yield 2 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 578Total Fat 36gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 28gCholesterol 101mgSodium 1122mgCarbohydrates 24gFiber 13gSugar 5gProtein 45g
Other Low-Carb Recipes You Might Also Like:
- Low Carb Avocado Shrimp Bowls
- Mediterranean Chicken Skillet (Low Carb & Paleo)
- Mediterranean Bowls With Chicken
This recipe was originally published in March 2019, updated in December 2019 and then many many years after in January 2026.
Very nice recipe ?? But I was wondering what is that yellow ingredient at the picture?
Hi Kate, it was a very, very spicy pickled pepper. I did not mention it, because I usually made the salad without it and it was too spicy for me smh