Crunchy Spicy Chicken Salad

This Crunchy Spicy Chicken Salad is the ULTIMATE chicken salad, with an addicting combination of flavors and textures in every bite. Serve in a sandwich or a wrap, or with crackers and tortilla chips for dipping!

This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Tabasco, and I am so excited to share it with you!

Do you know what is a totally underrated food?

Chicken salad.

Most people think of chicken salad as a boring lunch idea. It's usually served in a wrap or between two dry pieces of bread. It's something you grab and go and hope it doesn't get soggy by the time you get around to eating.

BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY, PEOPLE!

Enter the ultra flavorful, extra tasty Crunchy Spicy Chicken Salad.

The ingredients

This chicken salad has a few special additions that make it absolutely irresistible and addicting.

For one, the easy 3-ingredient dressing is made with a smoky chipotle hot sauce from Tabasco, which gives it an amazing smoky flavor and just enough spice to wake up your taste buds.

Of course, you can use any hot sauce you have on hand, but I found the smoky mild Tabasco hot sauce perfect for a nice balance of flavor and spice. 

You can get some here if your local store doesn't carry it.

I also add a few finely chopped veggies to the salad - celery, red bell pepper, and scallions. These give the salad a nice crisp texture with every bite.

Toasted chopped or slivered almonds are also mixed into the salad for a wonderful crunch. I prefer using slivered almonds because I feel like they hold their crunch better. You can get them here.

And of course, you will need cooked chicken for this recipe. I like to use either canned chicken, homemade sous vide pulled chicken, or chopped rotisserie chicken for this salad because all 3 of these are always so tender and perfect for chicken salad. 

Other easy recipes using cooked chicken: Savory Chicken Crepes, Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Ciabatta

Let's talk about when to serve this Chicken Salad:

This crunchy spicy chicken salad is perfect for many occasions!

• Game Day Meals and Snacks: Make a double batch of this salad for game day and serve it in a bowl. Make sure to grab some tortilla chips to serve with the chicken salad! You'll love the crunchy combination.
• Easy Holiday Entertaining. Put out a bowl of this chicken salad with some crackers and crudites and let guests munch and mingle while you're getting the rest of the food ready.
• Packed school lunch or after school snack, if your kids like things spicy. 
• Packed working lunch. Scoop some on a baby spinach salad, or put it in a wrap or between your favorite sliced bread. If you're going the wrap or sandwich route, I recommend packing the salad and the bread separately and making your sandwich or wrap right before eating, so it doesn't get soggy. Take the extra minute to do that and treat yourself to a much more enjoyable lunch.

Print Recipe

4.76 from 37 votes

Crunchy Spicy Chicken Salad

This Crunchy Spicy Chicken Salad is the ULTIMATE chicken salad, with an addicting combination of flavors and textures in every bite. Serve in a sandwich or a wrap, or with crackers and tortilla chips for dipping!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time0 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Lunch, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Author: Kate

  Cook Mode: Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chicken - chopped (see notes)
• 1/2 bell pepper - seeds removed and finely diced (use red, orange, or yellow)
• 1 celery stalk - thinly sliced
• 2 scallions - diced
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds - toasted
• 3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice - (from 1/2 lemon)
• 2-3 teaspoons TABASCO Chipotle Pepper Sauce - (or your preferred hot sauce, use more or less, to taste)
• Salt and pepper - , to taste (optional)

Instructions

• In a medium bow, combine all the ingredients from the chicken breast through the Chipotle Pepper Sauce. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper, if desired (I skipped the additional salt to cut down on sodium).  
• Serve immediately or chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers, or in a sandwich or wrap. 

Notes

You can use another hot sauce for this recipe, but make sure you start by adding a little before adding the full 2-3 teaspoons - I can't vouch for the spice level of your hot sauce!

You can use any shredded or chopped chicken for this recipe - a rotisserie chicken or canned chicken (such as 2 large cans like these) would work great! You'll need about 2 cups of chicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 366kcal (18%) | Carbohydrates: 2g (1%) | Protein: 1g (2%) | Fat: 11g (17%) | Saturated Fat: 1g (5%) | Cholesterol: 4mg (1%) | Sodium: 67mg (3%) | Potassium: 64mg (2%) | Vitamin A: 60IU (1%) | Vitamin C: 2.6mg (3%) | Calcium: 22mg (2%) | Iron: 0.3mg (2%)

The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.

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