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This spicy chicken salad is loaded with tender shredded chicken and tossed in a tangy homemade Greek yogurt dressing. It’s perfect for serving in a sandwich, a lettuce wrap or even as part of a snack plate.
My spicy chicken salad takes everything I love about my 4-ingredient chicken salad and adds a kick of hot sauce (like in my buffalo chicken salad recipe, which you should also make!).
Thanks to tangy yogurt, it’s ultra creamy and is balanced with a little crunchiness from fresh ingredients like celery and sweet onion. It’s perfect piled on your favorite bread or scooped up with crackers. And if you want a less spicy chicken salad, you’ll to love my cottage cheese chicken salad.
Chicken Salad, But Make It Spicy
- Not your basic chicken salad. My recipe goes way beyond an ordinary chicken salad by adding banana peppers and Greek yogurt to keep things lightened up and delicious.
- Spice-lover’s dream. If you love spicy food, this is the chicken salad for you! We’ve got banana peppers, hot sauce, and optional cayenne pepper to keep things nice and hot.
- Make-ahead friendly. Prep this chicken salad ahead for a quick meal option. As it rests in the fridge, the chicken will soak up the dressing, making the salad just as flavorful the next day.
- Easy. This easy chicken salad recipe uses super simple ingredients easily found at the grocery store and comes together in no time at all.
Recipe Ingredients
I’ve included what you’ll need to make this recipe below, plus some ingredient swap suggestions if needed. Make sure to check the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Shredded chicken: You’ll need about 1-1 1/2 pounds of cooked chicken breasts, either homemade or from a rotisserie chicken. You can also make my Air Fryer Shredded Chicken or use any leftover chicken breast you have.
- Sweet onion: I like to use a sweet onion for its milder flavor- you could also use green onions or red onion.
- Celery: Fresh celery adds crunch. Make sure to finely dice it.
- Hot banana peppers: A good substitute for banana peppers is pepperoncini.
- Greek yogurt: I use full-fat Greek yogurt, but you could also use low-fat. Always use plain yogurt.
- Mayonnaise: If you don’t care for mayonnaise, substitute 2 tablespoons of additional Greek yogurt.
- Hot sauce: Use your favorite brand of hot sauce. You could even swap in buffalo sauce.
- Cayenne pepper: This is optional, but will amp up the spice! You could also add chili powder.
Variation Ideas
- More vegetables. Increase the amount of vegetables by stirring in 1/2-1 cup of red bell peppers or halved cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes!).
- Use turkey. Substitute shredded turkey for the chicken to make this into a spicy turkey salad.
- Add fresh herbs. Add chopped fresh cilantro or parsley for more fresh flavor.
- Try another dressing. Want to change up the dressing? Use my cottage cheese ranch dressing, creamy garlic cilantro sauce or buffalo ranch sauce.
- Serve as a lunch plate: Serve with baby carrots, peppers, and tortilla chips for dipping!
- Add some citrus: Brighten up the flavor with a squeeze of lime juice or lemon juice!
How to Make Spicy Chicken Salad
It could hardly be easier to make this salad—all you’ll need to do is stir everything together. Here’s a look at how to do it, with the detailed instructions in the recipe card lower down.
1. Add to a bowl. Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix. Stir and fold together to combine.
Jamie’s Tips
Ways to Use It
- Make a sandwich. Layer your favorite whole grain or gluten-free bread with chicken salad and lettuce for an easy lunch.
- With greens. Add a scoop of spicy chicken salad to a pile of fresh baby greens, fresh jalapeño, black beans and tortilla strips for spicy Southwest chicken salad!
- Crackers. My crisp lavash crackers were made for this chicken salad!
- On toast. Use the method in my cottage cheese avocado toast recipe, but swap chicken salad for the cottage cheese
How to Store
Transfer spicy chicken salad to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing this salad because of the Greek yogurt in the dressing, which could separate when it’s defrosted, and the vegetables, which could become soggy after thawing.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
If you’ve made and loved this Spicy Chicken Salad Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and comments below!
Spicy Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 pounds chicken, cooked/shredded, about 3 cups
- ⅓ cup sweet onion, diced small
- ½ cup celery, diced small
- ¼ cup hot banana peppers, diced
- ⅓ cup plain full fat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons hot sauce
- *optional ⅛-¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, if you want it spicier!
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well.
- Serve as a sandwich, on top of salad, or with crackers
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an estimate.
