I'm away in Orlando visiting Micky Mouse, so I asked my friend Amie Valpone, HHC, AADP, the Editor-in-Chief of www.TheHealthyApple.com; she is a Manhattan based Personal Chef, Culinary Nutritionist, Professional Recipe Developer, Food Photographer and Writer specializing in simple gluten-free ‘Clean’ recipes for the home cook. Amie recently healed herself from six years of chronic pain, exhausting every doctor in the country and Mayo Clinic; she shares her story of how Clean Eating saved her life and inspires you to Clean up your food, too. Amie lives in Manhattan, NYC where she cooks for a variety of clients including celebrities and people with busy lifestyles who enjoy healthy, fresh food.
Here's the easiest chicken salad recipe that will impress even the pickiest of eaters. In this recipe, cinnamon and pistachios are used to healthfully brighten up the dish, while adding fragrance and flavor. Serve this chicken salad as an afternoon snack with whole grain crackers or sliced vegetables; or for lunch atop a bed of mixed greens and whole grain bread. I've used Greek plain yogurt instead of mayonnaise to cut the fat and a bit more protein and flavor to each bite!
Amie's work appears on Martha Stewart, Fox News Health, WebMD, Prevention Magazine, Glamour Magazine, The Huffington Post, The Food Network, Clean Eating Magazine and many others. Visit Amie on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
Pistachio Cinnamon Chicken Salad
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 6 Serving Size: 1/6 • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 177 • Fat: 5.5 g • Protein: 25.5 g • Carb: 6 g • Fiber: 1.5 g • Sugar: 3 g
Sodium: 178 mg
Ingredients:
- 16 oz cooked shredded boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups Fat-Free Greek plain yogurt
- ½ cup pistachios, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
- 4 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
Directions:
Shred cooked chicken breast using a fork; place in a large mixing bowl.
Add remaining ingredients; gently toss to combine. Transfer to serving bowls. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Sprinkle with additional scallions.




















I don't hate chicken salad but cannot stomach mayo, I am excited to give this a try!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great recipe. I love adding fat-free Greek yogurt to dishes for the creaminess that you would get with mayo or sour cream.
ReplyDeleteSuch a unique mix of flavors. Love it!!
ReplyDeleteUnlike Anne above, I abhor yogurt. What are you suggesting as an alternative. What was the original recipe?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you could use fat free sour cream instead of the yogurt? Or low fat mayo. I know it will change the Points value, but it would take the yogurt out of the equation.
DeleteI personally like doing a blend of yogurt and mayonnaise, you don't taste the yogurt.
DeleteI love nuts in chicken salad, but I've never tried pistachios. Looking forward to trying this!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to try this! @terry you can probably look it up by searching her name. I'd say uts honenade mayo in the original... I did the clean eating and hated the homemade mayo. You should try yogurt in recipes you can't taste it. And the protein is amazing.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to try this! @terry you can probably look it up by searching her name. I'd say uts honenade mayo in the original... I did the clean eating and hated the homemade mayo. You should try yogurt in recipes you can't taste it. And the protein is amazing.
ReplyDeleteLove using a cell to type. Ugh typos
DeleteHow long will this keep in the fridge?
ReplyDeleteI am going to try it with the canned white meat chicken I buy at Costco
ReplyDeleteGina, another wonderful recipe,'ll try it this week! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI need to try this with the grilled turkey chunks I have stored in my freezer. But I will wait until summer when fresh basil is growing in my garden.
ReplyDeleteTried this for lunch and it was great!! Used onion instead of celery and 1/2 the cinnamon but no other changes! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteYou must of heard my plea!! I have had chicken in my fridge all week and wanted to make chicken salad but just couldn't do it. Since I have taken Mayo out of my diet. Now I have a solution! Can't wait to get home to try this. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteTerry, I can't have dairy and mayo so I have used a recipe that calls for hummus instead. I may try that with this recipe...sounds like a great change.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting. I have never put cinnamon or pistachio into a chicken salad before. Really like that you use yogurt instead of mayonnaise as well. Nice post.
ReplyDeletehmmm I would never have thought to add cinnamon to chicken salad. I will certainly need to try this soon!
ReplyDeleteQuick question - it says it serves 6, so would that be a cup, 1/2 cup? I'm just trying to figure out what the portion size would be without having to divide out the bowl into 6 separate Tupperware dishes.
ReplyDeleteI second this. 1/6 isn't particularly helpful as a serving size...
DeleteI haven't made this yet but my guess, looking at the ingredients, is that 1/6 would be about 1/2 cup. 2 cups of chicken plus 1 1/2 cups yogurt would probably add up to about 3 measured cups. Again, just a guess.
DeleteI haven't made this yet but my guess, looking at the ingredients, is that 1/6 would be about 1/2 cup. 2 cups of chicken plus 1 1/2 cups yogurt would probably add up to about 3 measured cups. Again, just a guess.
DeleteSorry it's a guest post and I didn't want to guess.
DeleteI'm not a bit fan of Greek yogurt....could we substitute lite mayo or reduced fat sour cream?
ReplyDeleteSure, I usually do half mayo half yogurt to lighten it.
DeleteI just made this and found that the cinnamon is rather overpowering. Adding another teaspoon of juice helped, but not much. I'll make it again, but with half the cinnamon.
ReplyDeleteSounds yummy! I love to add dried cranberries to my chicken salad, too.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby loves pistachios! He will love this.
ReplyDeleteMade this today w/ lite mayo instead of the yogurt, I also added craisins and granny smith apple. YUMMY:(+)
ReplyDeleteI added some red seedless grapes!!! It added a sweetness to it :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!
Deletemade this today lunch. pretty much per the recipe, just no lime since we had none in the house. very good but next time i'd cut the cinnamon in 1/2 or so.
ReplyDeletethis is very timely as it's been suggested to my husband to try going gluten free for a month, also for health reasons. her website is full of great recipes; great timing on your part! thank you.
ReplyDeleteGina i just wanted to say thankyou for your constant, and AMAZING, posts. I first started using your blog in 2011 when I moved in with my boyfriend, now fiance... unfortunately, soon after, we became lazy with our eating habits and both gained a considerable about of weight. With the wedding soon approaching, we have decided to take control of our lives and strive to look the best we can look for the big day and beyond. Every meal I have made has been using your recipes, regardless of the fact that neither of us are officially on weight watchers. In fact, my mango bread is in the oven right now and it smells delectable. He has lost nearly 30 lbs so far, and I a strong 16 (guys have the easiest time with weight loss, dont you say?) Anyway... I just love the ease of the website (the search bar is especially my best friend) and the photos put everything into perspective. Thank you for making cooking fun and for having my fiance always second guessing if the meals are actually healthy... more times than not he looks at me with big eyes as if he is surprised he can eat REAL food and still feel good and lose weight. So from both of us, THANKS and YOU ROCK!
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a great vacation! I love everything about this version of chicken salad! Can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. I will review it again.
ReplyDeleteRecipes
Interesting flavour combo, can't wait to try!
ReplyDeleteAllie from http://theurbanfeast.wordpress.com/
Can't wait to try this!! I think I will add chopped apples and grapes!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely amazing! Just made it and it tastes fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThis is SO good! The greek yogurt tastes great with it! I also added craisins to mine and it's absolutely delicious! I weighed mine out to portion it, and 1 serving ended up being a little less than 1/2 a cup.
ReplyDeleteJust made this and it's really good. I look forward to having it for lunch this week at work.
ReplyDeleteI found this to be a very strange flavor combination. The cinnamon was SO overpowering... and the whole dish was a strange dingy brown color because of it... LOVE EVERY RECIPE OF YOURS, GINA! This one, though... the first letdown I've ever ever had!
ReplyDeleteWell since it's a guest post & not Gina's recipe, I guess she wasn't the one to "let you down" then.
DeleteSome other people mentioned that they cut the cinnamon in half, that may help with the overpowering taste.
This seems like an interesting combination of flavors... going to try this recipe out this week. Hope you're enjoying Disney (from your photos, it looks like it!)
ReplyDeleteMy husband just started a very restrictive diet. I was THRILLED to find this recipe fits it and offers us both a healthy lunch! So different and so very yummy!
ReplyDeleteThis was awesome. All the flavors blend so well. For those who say there was too much cinnamon and the salad was brown color, are you sure you only mixed in 1 tsp of cinnamon and not 1 tbsp? I am not a big fan of cinnamon - I find it to be very strong and I don't like it that much - but 1 tsp of cinnamon in this salad is perfect. My salad has brown flecks but isn't dingy brown.
ReplyDeleteThis was really good! I ate it for lunch yesterday and today. I put it inside a pita pocket with sharp cheddar and brocco sprouts - delicious!
ReplyDeleteI discovered your blog about two weeks ago, and wanted to let you know how much I've been enjoying it (though I know this is a guest post). I've already made 4 or 5 recipes - in fact made the cuban style black beans twice! I'm not following WW but appreciate that coming to your site I automatically know that everything is healthy!
Lauren
It looks great Gina I can't wait to try it..thanks Janice
ReplyDeleteJust made for a different lower cal lunch. Flavors mesh well, and I ate with a fresh apple on the side. But for my taste, it's too creamy. I will use 1/2 the yogurt called for next time, adding add'l only as I taste. As is I give it a B+!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this chicken salad! I think next time I would cut the cinnamon in half(although I liked the cinnamon flavor in it) and I might use half a cup of low fat mayo and only one cup Greek yogurt. Regardless, we all really enjoyed it! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could eat postachios but they make my lips itch, so i was wondering if I could use cashews or some other nut instead?
ReplyDeleteAnother hit from Skinnytaste - I LOVE this website and I have recommended to so many friends.
ReplyDeleteJust made this salad, and after reading the reviews, started with half the cinnamon, but then added the rest and it is amazing!! For all of you who "can't wait to try it" - don't wait!!
Can't wait to share this with my husband...if there is any left when he gets home, ha ha!! Thanks for another awesome recipe, Gina!