The Hen Salad I’ve Been Making on Repeat (No Mayo Included!)

Creamy, crunchy, herby, lemony hen salad…with tzatziki bringing all of it collectively. ♡

This tzatziki hen salad has become considered one of my new favourite weekday lunches that’s excessive in protein (about 40-50g per serving), comes collectively in below half-hour, and tastes so recent and flavorful each single time. As a substitute of the same old mayo scenario, it’s dressed with vivid, garlicky tzatziki sauce and tossed with juicy cooked hen, crisp cucumber, chickpeas, feta, pink onion, a great deal of recent dill, and toasted almonds for that satisfying crunch.

Pile it right into a heat pita, scoop it over greens, tuck it into lettuce cups, serve it alongside crackers, or layer it right into a bowl with rice or quinoa. Or actually — simply seize a fork and eat it straight from the bowl. It’s a kind of recipes that feels mild and recent however nonetheless hearty sufficient to truly hold you full, which is all the time considered one of my favourite combos. Let’s make some!

P.S. If you wish to save much more time, be at liberty to make use of rotisserie hen and/or store-bought tzatziki and this may come collectively in minutes!

Recipe Ideas

Just a few fast ideas to assist this hen salad prove further scrumptious each time:

• Squeeze the cucumber rather well. That is a very powerful tip for the tzatziki. Grated cucumber holds a stunning quantity of water, so give it a superb squeeze in a clear kitchen towel or paper towels or cheesecloth earlier than stirring it into the yogurt.
• Use thick Greek yogurt. thick plain Greek yogurt will give the tzatziki one of the best creamy texture and assist hold the hen salad from changing into watery.
• Season the tzatziki first. Style the tzatziki earlier than including it to the hen salad and alter the lemon, garlic, salt and pepper as wanted. As soon as the salad is blended, you possibly can all the time fine-tune once more!
• Cube the hen small. Smaller items of hen make the salad simpler to scoop into pita, wraps, lettuce cups or bowls, and assist each chew get properly coated within the tzatziki.
• Don’t skip the nippiness time if attainable. Even half-hour within the fridge offers the flavors time to mingle and makes the salad style so significantly better.
• Add the almonds on the very finish. Stir them in simply earlier than serving so that they keep toasty and crisp as an alternative of softening within the dressing.
• Style once more earlier than serving. Chilly salads usually want one last pop of lemon juice, salt or pepper proper earlier than serving.

Variations You Can Attempt

There are such a lot of enjoyable methods to customise this recipe, so please be at liberty to make it your individual:

• Add chopped olives for a briny Mediterranean kick.
• Swap the chickpeas for white beans should you’d like a softer, creamier texture.
• Add chopped roasted pink peppers for further sweetness and coloration.
• Make it spicier with a pinch of crushed pink pepper flakes or a drizzle of chili crisp.
• Swap the almonds for pistachios or walnuts if that’s what you’ve gotten readily available.
• Add avocado simply earlier than serving for further creaminess.
• Add cherry tomatoes should you’d like extra juicy freshness.
• Swap the hen for tuna or salmon for a pescetarian-friendly model.
• Make it further herby with parsley, basil or further mint.

FAQ

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Selfmade Tzatziki

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup finely grated English cucumber, squeezed dry
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped recent dill
• 1 tablespoon chopped recent mint
• 1/2 teaspoon tremendous sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

Hen Salad

• 3 cups diced cooked hen
• 1 cup diced English cucumber
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/3 cup finely diced pink onion
• 1/4 cup chopped recent dill
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus extra to style
• 1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds
• tremendous sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to style

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  Make the tzatziki. Stir collectively the Greek yogurt, grated cucumber, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dill, mint, salt and pepper in a medium bowl till mixed. Style and season with further lemon juice, garlic, salt or pepper if wanted.

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  Combine the hen salad. In a big mixing bowl, mix the diced hen, cucumber, chickpeas, feta, pink onion and dill.

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  Add the tzatziki. Pour the tzatziki over the hen combination and gently toss till the whole lot is evenly coated. Add the lemon juice, then style and season with extra salt and pepper as wanted.

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  Chill. Cowl and refrigerate for a minimum of half-hour, when you have time, to let the flavors mingle.

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  Add the almonds. Simply earlier than serving, gently stir within the toasted sliced almonds in order that they keep good and crunchy.

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  Serve. Serve chilled in pita, wraps, lettuce cups, over greens, with crackers, or nonetheless sounds good. Get pleasure from!!

Let me know the way it turned out within the feedback beneath!