Mayo-Free Chicken Salad (df +gf)
/I was craving Chicken Salad which is funny to me because it traditional has mayonnaise and I can’t stand mayonnaise. If I’m being completely honest, it makes me gag. It’s so goopy and slimy- totally creeps me out! I decided I would make my own version of a chicken salad with upgraded ingredients to make it a little healthier and easy on the digestive system. I decided to do my garlic salad dressing instead of mayonnaise and I am telling you it was SO GOOD. When trying out new recipes, you don’t always know how they’re going to turn out, which is part of the fun, but also can be a total bummer when you’re wanting to eat the finished product and it isn’t very good. I was so happy with how well this one turned out and to top it off, it’s so easy to make and great for leftovers too. I’m not a huge fan of fruit mixed in with my protein (hello, food combining) and definitely not in my salads so I opted out of grapes for this. I included some cilantro, green onion, and pumpkin seeds for some added health benefits, flavor, and crunch. I hope you love this one as much as I do, especially if you’re with me on the whole mayo thing ;)
Ingredients:
Salad-
2 cups shredded chicken (I buy a rotisserie chicken and shred that)
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
Dressing-
1/4 cup cashews (preferably soaked for 2-4 hours, then rinsed)
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
6 garlic cloves
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Directions:
Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Add all of the dressing ingredients to a blender and blend until thoroughly combined and smooth.
Poor dressing over salad and stir until evenly coated.
Serve with crackers, inside butter leaf or romaine lettuce, or in a wrap (my favorite are siete tortillas). Enjoy!
With love,
Ashley
