Hello to Spring Weather
Fresh strawberries are such a delicious hello to the gentle unthawing of winter into warm spring weather. One of my favorite ways to use the sweet red berry is in this Strawberry Poppy Seed Chicken Salad, packed with poppy seeds, mint, and a creamy lemon Dijon dressing. If you have a rotisserie chicken or leftover shredded chicken, this sweet and savory chicken salad can be ready in as little as 10 minutes!
How to Serve this Strawberry Poppy Seed Chicken Salad
This Strawberry Poppy Seed Chicken Salad is delightful served as a sandwich filling, on top of salad greens, or in lettuce cups.
If you use it as a sandwich filling, my favorite bread to pair it with is a buttery brioche or a sourdough, as the natural sweetness compliments the flavors in this salad. This chicken salad also works really well in gluten-free breads as well, if needed.
If you prefer to serve this chicken salad with greens, I prefer butter lettuce. The sweet leaves are a fantastic compliment to the sweet strawberries in this chicken salad and are sturdy enough to hold plenty of filling if using it for lettuce cups. Romaine lettuce is also a nice option if you prefer a crunchier salad green.
An Easy Shortcut
This chicken salad recipe is ideal for easy meal prep because it can easily be constructed using a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken or leftover shredded chicken and can keep for up to 4 days when stored properly in the fridge. If you choose to prepare this recipe in advance for packable weekday lunches, I suggest packing any lettuce greens separately from the chicken salad so the greens stay as fresh as possible.
What tools do I need to make this recipe?
- A cutting board
- A chef's knife
- A kitchen scale - OR - Measuring cups (for less precise measurements)
- Measuring spoons
- A citrus zester
- A large mixing bowl
- A small bowl
- A small whisk or fork
- A mixing spoon - OR - Spatula
Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.
Looking for more Dinner Inspiration?
Love this Strawberry Poppy Seed Chicken Salad recipe? Here are some additional salad recipes that you might enjoy!
- French Chicken Salad
- Strawberry Peach Summer Salad with Basil Walnut Pesto
- Creamy Raspberry Kale Salad
- Smoked Salmon and Citrus Salad with Cucumber and Avocado
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Blue Cheese, Cranberries, and Pecans
- Crunchy Greek Salad with Avocado and Feta
A note for special diets
Depending on how you choose to serve this Strawberry Poppy Seed Chicken Salad, it can be friendly for grain-free, gluten-free, nightshade-free, dairy-free, and low-carb diets; including Keto, Whole30, Paleo, and Low-FODMAP diets. Looking for a way to lighten this recipe up? If your diet allows for dairy, I've had good success swapping half of the mayo in this recipe for thick Greek yogurt instead.
Print
Strawberry Poppy Seed Chicken Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 portions 1x
- Category: Salads & Dressings, Mains
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Strawberry Poppy Seed Chicken Salad is packed with poppy seeds, mint, and a creamy lemon Dijon dressing and can be made in 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- 208 g (about 1 cup) mayo
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
- 1 ½ tsp poppy seeds
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 ½ lbs chicken, cooked and shredded (a rotisserie chicken works too!)
- 225 g (about 1 ½ cups) fresh strawberries, chopped
- 51 g (about 1 cup) green onions, chopped
- 56 g (about ½ cup) sliced almonds
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together mayo, Dijon mustard, mint, poppy seeds, lemon zest and juice, salt, and pepper.
- Add the shredded chicken, strawberries, green onions, and almonds. Mix together until well combined.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 portion (about ⅔ cup)
- Calories: 376
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 220 mg
- Fat: 28 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 29 g
- Cholesterol: 129 mg
Keywords: Chicken Salad, Strawberries, Mint, Almonds
This salad is really delicious. Since I got a prepared chicken, it’s perfect for 100 degree days when I don’t want to turn on any heat. The mingling of flavors is really lovely and refreshing - a hit of mint, some zesty lemon, a bit of sweet strawberry, slight crunch of poppy and almond. And just enough protein. It’s day 3 of the batch I made and it’s still holding up very well. I put it on a bed of plump butter lettuce, atop a bagel and olive sourdough - all terrific! Thanks, Jenni!
★★★★★
Oh my goodness my toddler would gobble this up! I love the fresh strawberries in this chicken salad and using pre-cooked rotisserie chicken is genius. We are moving into a house this weekend so everything is packed up, but I think we could still make this! Doin it!
★★★★★
The strawberries are so good this year. I'm always looking for more recipes to include them and I love how creative this is. Serving this is lettuce cups is both beautiful and nutritious, great idea! I don't do mayo, or dairy, but I think a mashed avocado would work well too.
★★★★★
Fantastic salad recipe! I love putting strawberries into a salad and you really partnered them with great flavours here. I like the idea of subbing in some yogurt for part of the mayo too, but I'm sure it's delicious either way. And I have to say, as a poppy-seed-lover it's wonderful to see them used in a savoury dish like this!
★★★★★
I love this so much! I've never had chicken salad with strawberries before. It's always been grapes. Which is awesome and all, but stepping outside of that and dabbling with another fruit is exciting and refreshing. It gets so so hot here in the summertime—to the point where cooking and/or eating anything hot seems like the worst idea in the world. We turn to cold salads and lettuce cups often, so this will be a regular thing this summer!
★★★★★
This is certainly a super salad for any meal. I can see it at a brunch, lunch, or light dinner. The addition of strawberries and poppy seed really appeals to me and I know the family would love it. Now that it's strawberry season I can see me making this salad once a week.
★★★★★
Such a great way to add some springtime sweetness to a favorite savory dish. Super refreshing and a great twist on chicken salad.
★★★★★
Summer and salad go hand in hand, and strawberries in salad go so well. Perfect for a lunch or BBQ party.
★★★★★
This is my kind of chicken salad! I absolutely love everything about your recipe and I'm so excited to try it out. It just looks so so tasty!
★★★★★
What a perfect salad for the summer! I love using butter lettuce for lettuce cups as well. I'm defniitely adding this one to my summer list
★★★★★
Our family can't get enough lettuce wraps. I've been making a variety of Asian inspired lettuce wraps and just yesterday I thought maybe I should do the same to chicken salad sandwiches. I love how light and refreshing chicken salad is during the hot heat of the summer and replacing the bread with lettuce seems like a winner.
★★★★★