This recipe came from my old website: The Well Fed Homestead. On that site, I wrote about our adventures in homesteading, and I published all of the GAPS Diet-friendly recipes that I had created for our family. I’ve been moving the recipes from The Well Fed Homestead over to this site, because I hope that they will be a blessing for families. The STAR Homeschool site is all about supporting, encouraging and equipping families as they raise and disciple their children through home education. And, in my estimation, discipling happens best when food is involved. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
The original post from The Well Fed Homestead:
I made up this Curry Chicken Salad and served it at a Norwex party at my house last week. I’ll blog more about Norwex later, my friend Erin is selling it here if you want to check them out before I get a chance to blog about them. I don’t typically like microfiber because of the feeling/texture, but I am super impressed by Norwex! (I do not make money off of the link to Erin’s Norwex shop, but she does if you buy something, which I think is fabulous, because she’s a stay at home mommy of a busy 2 year old and a real foodie!).
ANYWAYS, back to the curry! I made this up, because I wanted it to be a safe food for everyone in our family. I mentioned in my last post that my daughter has an anaphylactic peanut allergy. Another daughter has eosinophilic esophagitis, which her doctor thinks may be from an undetected dairy allergy (undetected meaning, absolutely no allergy showed up on skin testing, so we’ve got to try avoiding foods and see if they cure her EoE). So for now, while we undergo this dairy-free trial on behalf of our daughter, I am getting creative. I’d typically enjoy a little plain yogurt in a curry salad, which you can add if you choose, but this salad tastes great without it.
You can adjust this recipe to fit your diet, whether you are on GAPS, Paleo, Whole 30, or some other diet. At my Norwex party, I served this with seed crackers, homemade gluten free French Bread and a homemade dairy-free spinach dip. You can also serve it over lettuce, as a lettuce wrap, on bread for tea sandwiches, or wrapped up in your choice of tortilla or Paleo wrap.
The Ingredient List
Chicken: You can use cooked chicken from any variety of cooking methods. I have used meat off of the bone of a whole chicken that I cooked in my Instant Pot. I’ve also used boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I cooked in oil in a skillet. If you’re ever blessed with leftover chicken, that would work perfectly in this is recipe (big families like mine don’t often know these luxurious things called leftovers!!).
Mayonnaise: You can make your own Paleo/GAPS/Whole 30 approved mayonnaise. I have a recipe, I will make sure to post it this week. If you buy mayonnaise, make sure to get one with an oil that you feel is healthy. Primal Kitchen makes a nice avocado oil mayonnaise. Kensington also makes an Avocado Oil Mayonnaise, and their traditional mayo (the one I can find in most stores) has sunflower oil. I don’t mind sunflower oil if I am not heating the mayonnaise (and it is slightly better than soy or canola oil), but avocado oil is the healthiest choice between the two. I buy good mayonnaise online at Thrive Market.
Honey: The best honey you can buy is raw and local honey. If you must purchase online, make sure you are searching for raw honey. If you are on the Whole 30 Diet or are avoiding added sweeteners for other reasons, you’ll want to skip the honey and add some grapes, unsweetened raisins or apples instead.
Curry Powder: Curry spices have so many health benefits!! There’s cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, cloves, red & black pepper in the blend I used, which was Spice Hunter Organic Curry Powder. These spices are known to help with digestion, blood sugar, your immune system, etc. You can make your own Curry Powder if you choose, or purchase one.
Sea Salt: Make sure you are using Real Salt or a Himilayan Sea Salt for the best health benefits. You can read about the benefits of Real Salt here. I buy mine online from Thrive Market.
Green Onions: Make sure to get organic green onions.
Celery: Make sure to purchase organic celery.
Optional Fruits: Make sure to get organic fruits.
Pumpkin Seeds: I used Go Raw Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds. Sprouting seeds makes the nutrients more available for digestion, so I always recommend sprouted seeds. I buy mine online from Thrive Market.
Substitutions
Chicken: Chicken is a staple ingredient in this recipe, but you could substitute it with turkey or duck if that is all you have.
Mayonnaise: There is no substitute for mayonnaise in this recipe, unless you have an alternative mayonnaise that fits your dietary needs.
Honey: You can omit the honey or use another sweetener of choice. Maple syrup is a good alternative.
Curry Powder: You can combine spices to make your own curry powder.
Sea Salt: There is no substitute for real sea salt.
Green Onions: Green onions add a lot of good flavor to this recipe.
Celery: You may omit the celery if you choose, but it adds a really nice crunch.
Optional Fruits: Use whichever fruits you like, or omit them completely.
Pumpkin Seeds: You can really use any seed or nut in place of the pumpkin seeds.
Equipment Needed
Cutting Board: I use wooden cutting boards for everything except for raw meat. My personal preference is to use a plastic cutting board (that can go in the dishwasher) for raw meat, and to cut everything else on a really nice, thick wood cutting board.
Knife: My husband and I got several Henckels knives IN GERMANY on our honeymoon. They are very nice. They probably need to be sharpened to be nicer, because at this point, my very favorite knife out of all of my German-imported, beautiful knives, is my Cutco Santoku Knife that I bought at Costco. It has a nice weight and feel, and I imagine I am a professional chef when I use it.
Mixing Bowl: You’ll need a large mixing bowl to combine all of the salad ingredients in. I use glass or stainless steel and I avoid plastic bowls due to toxicity.
Spatula or Wooden Spoon: A wooden spoon is the safest tool to cook with. If you decide to use a spatula, my favorite spatula is made by Pampered Chef.
Curry Chicken Salad (GAPS, Paleo, Nut-Free, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups cooked chicken
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 0-3 TB raw honey
- 2-3 TB curry powder or homemade curry powder mix
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- pinch black pepper
- 1/4 cup green onions sliced finely
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
optional add ins:
- 1 cup grapes halved, or
- 1 cup raisins or
- 1 cup apple chopped
- nuts of choice
- 1 head leaf lettuce
Instructions
- Cook your chicken according to your own preference. The first time I made this, I cooked a whole chicken in my Instant Pot and then cut the meat off of the bones. When I made it for this post, I cooked boneless, skinless chicken thighs in olive oil in a frying pan.
- Combine your sauce ingredients in a medium bowl. I mixed the mayonnaise, honey, and curry powder. This is where you can adjust the recipe to your preference. 3 TB of curry powder is a bit spicy for some people, so 2 TB might be just perfect for you. Add some and taste. (And make sure to wash your finger/spoon/whatever you use to taste the sauce!)
- Add in the salt and pepper, and then all of the chunky ingredients.
- Chill until it is time to serve. This recipe really tastes amazing when it is chilled.