Lemon Chicken Salad with Apples is an easy homemade chicken salad recipe with a light, creamy dressing. Serve over fresh greens, in a sandwich or in wraps.
Lemon chicken salad with apples is our favorite chicken salad recipe. It’s made with baked chicken breasts and apples in a creamy dressing with a touch of lemon for extra flavor. If you want a change from traditional chicken salad, this easy recipe is for you!
I’ve been making this lemon chicken apple salad for awhile now. It started out as a way to use up leftover lemon chicken, but it changed over the years.
Now, I use my favorite oven baked chicken recipe whenever I need cooked chicken for chicken salad. I also started making the dressing lighter by using Greek yogurt.
It’s super simple, and the prep is minimal. There’s no celery, nuts or onions, so you don’t have a lot of chopping to do — just the apples.
Sometimes, I make this chicken salad with cranberries. And since the kids love grapes, I make this chicken salad recipe with grapes just for them.
How to make lemon chicken salad with apples
Start out by mixing the dressing ingredients in a large mixing bowl. It’s super simple — just a mix of Greek yogurt, mayo, a little bit of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
Then, throw in some chopped apples, lemon juice and zest. I used Granny Smith this time, but you can use any apple. Sometimes, I even do a combo of different apples.
The lemon juice adds flavor and keeps the apples from turning brown. The zest isn’t totally necessary, so if you don’t have a zester, it’s fine.
Mix in your chopped cooked chicken, and that’s it! You can also zest some lemon peel over the top and add fresh parsley for even more flavor.
What do you serve with chicken salad
This recipe makes the best chicken salad sandwiches, especially on a croissant! You can also serve chicken salad over fresh greens or make wraps using tortillas. My aunt once served chicken salad stuffed in tomatoes at a ladies’ lunch!
How long does chicken salad last in the fridge
Since this chicken salad has apples, it’s best to eat it within a day or two. Otherwise, the apples start to brown. Without the apples, chicken salad should last 3 days.
Easy lemon chicken salad recipe with apples
Lemon Chicken Salad with Apples
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 diced Granny Smith apples washed, cored and diced
- 3 small cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest optional
Instructions
- Add yogurt, mayo and mustard to a large bowl, and mix until well combined
- Stir in the sea salt and pepper
- Add the chicken, apples, lemon juice and zest (if using) and mix well. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to eat
Notes
Nutrition
I hope you enjoy this easy lemon chicken salad with apples as much as we do!
Such an amazing meal any night of the week!
This is perfect for a lighter lunch. I love that you have added lemon and apples to this.
Looks fabulous! This is indeed one of our favorite, definitely having this on our table!
Thanks, Melanie! It’s a favorite here, too. 🙂
Love adding apples to my chicken salad. Haven’t tried lemon before. Super intrigued. Will have to give it a go : )
I hope you get a chance to try it, Paula! 🙂
It’s big-time hard for me to resist a lemon chicken salad. Chicken salad is a favorite of mine!
Such a great way to use up leftovers! I love lemon and this sounds amazing.
Thanks so much! It’s our favorite chicken salad. 🙂
This is my husband’s favorite for lunch on the weekends. It has so much flavor without making you feel too full.
This is exactly why we love this salad! 🙂
Yum! Yum! Yum! This sounds so good, Dee! I've been kind of in to lemons lately as well, probably because we have "producing" lemon trees this year for the first time!
I love a cold salad for dinner when it's hot, so this is going right on my list of Summer meals. Thank you, Dee 🙂
I love the flavors in this chicken salad!!
I love your twist on chicken salad…I have to try this!! It looks so delicious!
This salad looks so delicious. I don't like mayo…do you think salad dressing will work? The combination of the lemon and the apples sounds awesome.
That's exciting, Carol — I wish we had a lemon tree! 🙂
There's some ranch dressing in this, but sometimes I add more, since the kids aren't fans of mayo either, so I think whatever you prefer would be fine. 🙂
What a great salad we will just love this combination. Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great week.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Sounds yummy! Thanks for linking up with Best of the Weekend!
Thanks so much for visiting, Miz Helen. 🙂
Thanks, Michelle — everybody loved it! 🙂
We eat so many meals like this in the summer. Thanks, Rue! 🙂