Healthy Marry Me Chicken Salad

This Healthy Marry Me Chicken Salad takes all the irresistible flavors of the viral Marry Me Chicken dish and transforms them into a creamy, crave-worthy salad that’s perfect for meal prep! Greek yogurt brings a lighter twist to the dressing while sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, lemon juice, and garlic bring the classic “marry me” flavor. Tossed with shredded chicken, mashed chickpeas, crunchy celery, pine nuts and parmesan...every bite is just protein-packed lunch perfection!

Servings people

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Equipment

medium pot with lid
hand or stand mixer
cutting board
knife
medium bowl
fork
large bowl
whisk
spatula

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
kosher salt & black pepper to taste
1 ¼ cups full-fat plain greek yogurt or skyr
⅓ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes *
1 tbsp oil from jar of sun-dried tomatoes
½ tbsp dijon mustard
½ tbsp honey or maple syrup
½ tsp garlic powder
juice from ½ lemon
1 cup chickpeas **
½ cup finely diced celery
⅓ cup toasted pine nuts
⅓ cup shaved parmesan cheese (1oz, optional)
¼ cup finely diced red onion
3 tbsp fresh chopped basil

Instructions

First, add chicken breasts to a medium pot and season with kosher salt & black pepper. Cover with at least 1" of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 15 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165F. Timing will vary depending on how large/thick your chicken breasts are.
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, kosher salt & black pepper
Meanwhile, add chickpeas to a medium bowl and use a fork (or potato masher) to mash them until mostly broken up. Set aside.
1 cup chickpeas
Next, transfer cooked chicken to a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer and shred it. Alternatively, you can use 2 forks to shred it, but I like the mixer method because it's quicker!
In another large bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt, sun-dried tomatoes & their oil, dijon mustard, honey, garlic powder & lemon juice. Then, add in the mashed chickpeas, celery, red onion, pine nuts, parmesan, basil and shredded chicken. Use a spatula to stir until evenly coated. If you prefer your chicken salad to be even moister, feel free to add an additional ¼ cup of greek yogurt. Taste and add more kosher salt & black pepper as needed.
1 ¼ cups full-fat plain greek yogurt or skyr, ⅓ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tbsp oil from jar of sun-dried tomatoes, ½ tbsp dijon mustard, ½ tbsp honey, ½ tsp garlic powder, juice from ½ lemon, ½ cup finely diced celery, ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts, ⅓ cup shaved parmesan cheese, ¼ cup finely diced red onion, 3 tbsp fresh chopped basil
Finally, place the healthy marry me chicken salad in the fridge until it has cooled down and the flavors have melded together. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

*NOTE: Be sure to buy and use the kind that come packed in a jar of oil, rather than the dehydrated kind. Then remove the sun-dried tomatoes from the oil and chop them up finely, before adding to the chicken salad along with 1 tbsp of the oil from the jar (which adds extra flavor and moisture).

**NOTE: You can swap in a different white bean, or leave them out entirely. If you are NOT including the chickpeas/white beans, I'd recommend reducing the amount of greek yogurt to 1 cup or even 3/4 cup.

Calories: 409kcal

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: Celery, Chicken Breast, Chicken Salad, Chickpeas, Gluten Free, Greek Yogurt, High Fiber, High Protein, Lunch, Meal Prep, Parmesan, Pine Nuts, Quick & Easy, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Tuscan

Nutrition