Low-Calorie Chicken Salad Recipes

This scrumptious and healthy salad combines elements of Caesar salad, pasta salad and chicken salad for an easy weeknight dinner that comes together in less than 30 minutes (and most of the prep can be done ahead). Use your blender to whip together the tangy buttermilk-based dressing, which would also be great on a salmon or chickpea salad.

For a healthy variation on creamy chicken salad, we've replaced half the mayonnaise with basil pesto. Serve over greens or make it into a sandwich for a healthy lunch.

We lightened up the creamy dressing in this healthy chicken salad recipe with a combo of mayonnaise and plain Greek yogurt. Dill, grapes, celery and walnuts make up this classic chicken salad but feel free to experiment with your favorite fruit, vegetables and herbs. Serve it open-face on toasted bread or scoop it on top of fresh salad greens.

Looking for a clean, packable lunch for work? This healthy homemade chicken salad served inside an avocado instead of with bread is just the ticket. Plus, this recipe makes enough for ready-made lunches for the week! If you have leftover cooked chicken on hand, skip Step 1 and use about 2 1/2 cups shredded chicken in Step 2.

Prepared pesto is the secret ingredient in this lightened-up, healthy creamy chicken salad recipe. For the prettiest dressing, go for a bright-green colored pesto. Serve the salad open-face on toasted bread or scoop it on top of fresh salad greens.

This healthy chopped salad is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken. You can reserve the remaining hard-boiled egg half for a snack.

Avocado makes an exceptionally creamy and healthful dressing for this chicken salad. A bit of ranch dressing with pickled jalapeño adds a tangy spin to the lunchtime classic. Serve it on a slice of whole-wheat toast for an open-face sandwich or in a lettuce cup for a low-carb lunch.

In this Buffalo wings-inspired chicken salad, Greek yogurt replaces more than half of the mayonnaise. We like the flavor of Frank's RedHot hot sauce, but Sriracha and Tabasco are delicious options too. Serve this healthy chicken salad as an open-face sandwich or scoop it on top of fresh salad greens.

A simple dressing, using yogurt rather than mayo, moistens the chicken in this tasty lightened-up chicken salad. Plus, it's flavor-packed thanks to a quick-to-fix honey mustard. Whip up a batch while you're meal prepping for easy, packable lunches.

The buttermilk dressing for this easy and healthy chicken salad recipe calls for using dried herbs, which gives you a more intense flavor blast and cuts down on prep time. But if you prefer the flavor of fresh, use 3 tablespoons fresh for each 1 tablespoon dried. Using leftover cooked chicken further speeds prep in this 20-minute dinner recipe.

This vibrantly colorful and healthy make-ahead salad is sure to become a go-to weekday lunch, though it's pretty enough to serve to guests. Fresh ginger gives a pleasant bite to the toasted sesame salad dressing, which is inspired by the dressings served at Japanese hibachi restaurants.

Sweet chili sauce spikes the creamy yogurt dressing in this healthy chicken salad recipe for a fun taste of Thai flavors. If you don't have sweet chili sauce, try substituting 1 tablespoon ketchup, 1 teaspoon Sriracha, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Serve the salad open-face on toasted bread or scoop it atop more shredded napa cabbage.