Chicken Apple Salad (without Mayo)

This chicken apple salad is made without mayo and without dairy, instead using an easy vinaigrette with crisp apples, celery, and crunchy cashews. Made in 15-minutes, it’s perfect to make-ahead as an easy high-protein lunch or chicken salad for any gathering.

An Easy Chicken Salad with No Mayo and No Dairy

Allow me to introduce you to the quick chicken apple salad I could happily eat on repeat, which I created using a quick vinaigrette instead of mayo or dairy, making it bright, tangy and allowing the dressing to cling to everything instead of smothering it. 

Now, even though we’re departing from the classic mayo-heavy chicken salad here, everything else is reassuringly familiar, with chicken and plenty of celery for crunch, plus chopped sweet-crisp apple and salted cashews for even more flavor and texture.

The other reason I make it constantly is that it only takes about 15-minutes and nothing has to be cooked. You just whisk the vinaigrette right in the bowl, throw everything in, and bam, you’ve got yourself the perfect simple chicken salad.

I love serving this one piled on greens, scooped with crackers (highly recommend), tucked into a wrap or lettuce cups, or made into a sandwich. It’s sturdy enough for all of it and doesn’t turn bread soggy the way mayo-based chicken can.

On that note, I’m kinda the queen of chicken salad, so if you want a more classic version, my chicken salad with cranberries and walnuts is the one to make, and my chicken salad with grapes is always a hit!

Make This Apple Chicken Salad When:

• You need a packable lunch that doesn’t need reheating. It holds up to 4-days in the fridge and tastes better on day two.
• You’re feeding someone with dietary restrictions because it’s naturally dairy-free and gluten-free so it’s the bowl you can set out at a potluck or shower without a list of caveats attached.
• You want a high-protein lunch that isn’t heavy because the vinaigrette in place of mayo means it doesn’t sit like a brick for the rest of the afternoon.
• When you have a rotisserie chicken to use up. One bird gets you the 3-cups you need, and this is my favorite thing to do with the leftovers.

Welcome to My Kitchen, Let’s Make Chicken Apple Salad!

Robyn’s Testing Tips for a Chicken Salad without Mayo

• I definitely recommend using whole grain mustard, not Dijon or yellow. I’ve made it with both and the whole grain version gives you those little mustard seeds that pop against the apple, which is half the texture of this salad.
• Chop the apple, celery, and chicken to roughly the same size. I got sloppy with this once and ended up with bites that were all celery and bites that were all chicken, and it matters more here than in a mayo-based salad where everything binds together.
• I like to leave the apple peels on, since it saves time, plus you lose the color the peel lends.
• Use roasted salted cashews, not raw or unsalted. The salt is doing real work against the vinaigrette, and I tested raw cashews once and they tasted flat and a little chalky in the bowl.
• Be sure to let the shallot sit in the vinaigrette while you chop everything else. I tested adding it raw at the end and it came through harsh enough to bully the rest of the bowl, where ten minutes in the vinegar mellows it completely.
• Don’t skip the teaspoon of honey, even though it seems like nothing. I tested the dressing without it and it came out sharp in a way that made the whole salad taste unfinished.

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