Chicken Salad With Pineapple

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This Chicken Salad With Pineapple is delightfully refreshing, combining bright and refreshing flavors like pineapple, cilantro, and dijon mustard. It’s great by itself or with croissant sandwiches.

3 pineapple chicken salad croissant sandwiches on a grey plate

Made with Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, lemon juice to brighten it up, plus celery and slivered almonds for a nice crunch, this pineapple chicken salad recipe recipe is easy to make and the perfect healthy lunch option.

Make lunch time easy with some of my other favorite lunch recipes like Air Fryer Shrimp And Peppers, Lemon Orzo Salad With Garlic Butter Shrimp, Pesto Chicken Power Bowls, and Whole30 Egg Roll In A Bowl.

Chicken Salad Croissants Recipe

A perfect variation to traditional chicken salad…with a great twist! This Hawaiian chicken salad recipe brings more life and flavor to the traditional dish and there is no mayonnaise!

Perfect for quick and easy lunches, you can serve this on its own over a bed of leafy greens, in lettuce wraps, or pair perfectly with a buttery croissant.

This dish is typically enjoyed in the summertime, and is one of the best simple recipes for a picnic or outdoor gathering (I love bringing them to breweries or vineyards). However, you can enjoy a chicken salad croissant sandwich any time of year! If fresh pineapple isn’t available, grab some canned pineapple instead.

The addition of sweet pineapple in chicken salad makes it more vibrant and flavorful, and is a nice change from the traditional seedless red grapes.

Creamy dressing for chicken salad is typically made with mayonnaise. However, in this recipe, you’ll see that I used greek yogurt. I found this to be the best ingredient to make a creamy and simple dressing for anyone who doesn’t like mayonnaise! Using greek yogurt as opposed to mayonnaise also makes it healthier and lowers the calories.

Ingredients You Will Need

Chicken: you will need 2 cups shredded chicken breast. Speed up the process! I recommend picking up a rotisserie chicken from the store and shredding it.

This recipe is a great way to use up any leftover rotisserie chicken you might have from another recipe.

Fruits and vegetables: bring in those fresh flavors with pineapple, crunchy celery, cilantro, red onions, butter lettuce leaves, and lemon juice. Sometimes I like to add diced red onion too.

You can also use chopped green onion, parsley, or dill in place of cilantro.

Almonds: I love a little crunch to my chicken salad. To achieve that perfect crunch, flavor, and texture, I like to use sliced almonds. Looking for another nut? You can also use sliced macadamia nuts or pine nuts.

You can also add water chestnuts or a diced bell pepper for extra crunch.

ingredients in small bowls - chicken, mango, celery, cilantro, almonds, lettuce, croissants

Yogurt: I used 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt, full fat. I don’t recommend using low-fat Greek yogurt. I tried this recipe with 2% fat greek yogurt and didn’t think that it was as good.

Mustard: Dijon mustard adds a nice bold flavor to the chicken salad mixture with notes of wasabi-horseradish that marry nicely with the other ingredients.

Croissants: round butter croissants work best because they have a larger surface area to hold the chicken salad. I use these on my salmon salad sandwiches too!

How to make chicken salad with pineapple

steps to make pineapple chicken salad

1. Combine chicken salad ingredients. In a large bowl, stir the shredded chicken with the pineapple, celery, almonds, and cilantro. If you are using red onions, add them here.

2. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk the Greek yogurt with lemon juice, dijon mustard, and salt. I like to add a little fresh cracked black pepper in here sometimes too.

2. Combine chicken salad and dressing. Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture and stir gently to combine.

Assemble the sandwiches. To assemble the sandwiches, lay 2-3 pieces of lettuce over the bottom half of each croissant. Spread one quarter of the chicken salad over the lettuce and top with the other half of the croissant.

Serve and enjoy!

Tip!

You can pop the sandwiches in the air fryer for 1-2 minutes to get them nice and toasty.

How do you cut a sandwich for croissants?

Cutting a croissant may seem difficult, but it is actually rather easy!

Make sure you have a sharp knife. A serrated knife will work best for this because it will prevent tearing the bread.

Place your knife in the middle of the croissant (direction going horizontally) and carefully move it back and forth to slice the top half off.

Tip!

I recommend investing in a good bread knife if you haven’t already. It will last a long time and always serve you well in the kitchen!

Should you toast croissants?

Much of this is personal preference, you do not have to toast your croissants if you don’t want to. I prefer mine toasted, but they are perfectly fine cold with a sandwich.

If you are looking to toast your croissant, I recommend air frying the whole sandwich at 350 F for 1-2 minutes or placing the sliced croissants in the oven at 375 F for 3-5 minutes. You can also place sliced croissants (sliced side down) in a hot pan over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes.

How long does chicken salad last?

Your leftover chicken salad will keep in the fridge for about 3-4 days.

Do not keep your chicken salad out at room temperature. Bacteria will grow rapidly at room temperature. If you do keep it at room temperature (for example, making it and serving it) it should not be kept out for more than 2 hours.

I recommend plating two dishes, one to keep out and one for the fridge and rotate the dishes every 2 hours or so to keep the chicken cold.

pineapple chicken salad in a bowl

More Chicken Recipes you will love

And don’t forget to download my e-book if you haven’t already – it is chock-full full of easy rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken recipes!

Rotisserie Chicken Dinners Ebook

25 easy recipes that all start with a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store.

They’ll make your life easier and dinner time even yummier.

rotisserie chicken dinners ebook

WANT TO TRY THIS CHICKEN SALAD WITH PINEAPPLE RECIPE?

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5 from 9 votes

Chicken Salad With Pineapple

This Chicken Salad With Pineapple is delightfully refreshing, combining bright and refreshing flavors like pineapple, cilantro, and dijon mustard. It's great by itself or with croissant sandwiches.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 sandwiches
Calories: 581
Author: Jordan

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
  • 1 cup finely diced pineapple, fresh or canned
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons finely diced red onions, optional
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, full fat*
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 8-12 butter lettuce leaves
  • 4 round butter croissants, sliced in half

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, stir the shredded chicken with the pineapple, celery, almonds, and cilantro. Add your red onion here if you are using them.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the Greek yogurt with the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and salt.
  • Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture and stir gently to combine.
  • To assemble the sandwiches, lay 2-3 pieces of lettuce over the bottom half of each croissant. Spread one-quarter of the chicken salad over the lettuce and top with the other half of the croissant.
If you tried this recipe, please leave a review letting me know how it was!

Video

Notes

  • I don’t recommend using low-fat Greek yogurt. I tried this recipe with 2% and didn’t think it was very good.

Nutrition

Calories: 581kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 153mg | Sodium: 955mg | Potassium: 378mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1514IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.
Tried this recipe?I’d love to see your dish, mention @jzeats or tag #jzeats!
5 from 9 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




6 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made this chicken salad for lunch today and it was amazing! The pineapple totally made it!

  2. Sara Welch says:

    5 stars
    This was such a unique and unexpected recipe! I love the combination of chicken and pineapple; easily, a new favorite dish!

  3. 5 stars
    What a fantastic chicken salad! The addition of creamy Greek yogurt adds just the right amount of tangy flavor, and the combination of ingredients is just perfect.

  4. 5 stars
    I love the addition of pineapple in this chicken salad! It added just the right amount of sweetness and texture. Delicious!

  5. 5 stars
    Yum!! So much flavor and so easy to make ๐Ÿ™‚ This is perfect for summer picnics and is going into our rotation. Thanks for sharing!

    1. 5 stars
      Never had anything like this before, but as a huge pineapple pizza fan I was sure I’d love this salad! And guess what? I LOVED it! Pineapple is delicious with chicken and celery and your dressing was perfect!