June 22, 2021
updated
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This Spicy Chicken Salad is packed with flavor and a little heat thanks to the addition of Creole seasoning and hot sauce. It’s perfect for sandwiches, on top of fresh lettuce, or with crackers for snacking.
If you love all things savory and spicy, this chicken salad recipe will be a favorite.
How to Make Spicy Chicken Salad
Spicy chicken salad is similar to my original healthy chicken salad recipe but has a little more heat and flavor from the hot sauce and Creole seasoning, which is a blend of paprika, cayenne, salt, garlic powder, and sometimes oregano.
The important step is to make sure you add just the right amount of seasoning. For this recipe, that is about a teaspoon fo seasoning and a couple of dashes of hot sauce to the mayo mixture. Once you’ve whisked the dressing, toss it with the chicken and ingredients so everything gets evenly coated. This way, each bite will have the perfect amount of spice.
If Creole (aka Cajun) seasoning isn’t available at your grocery store, you can always make your own creole seasoning blend. It is a staple in the South and goes on everything from grilled, baked, or roasted meats to chicken, pasta, and sauteed veggies.
Watch how it’s made here:
Read Next: How to cook chicken for chicken salad
How to Serve Spicy Chicken Salad
I like to serve this recipe in all the classic ways as I do with these five chicken salad ideas, but I want to share other delicious options below:
- With tortilla chips- crunchy, salt, and spicy, it’s delish!
- In a warm croissant
- On top of crackers
- With baby carrots
Read Next: How Long Chicken Salad Lasts
Spicy Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 whole roasted chicken, meat off
- ½ cup celery, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ⅓ to ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning
- 2 dashes of hot sauce
Instructions
- Put chicken meat in a food processor and pulse a few times to roughly chop. Continue pulsing for about 30 seconds until the chicken is finely chopped. *If you turn “on” the food processor, your chicken will become a “paste” instead, use the pulse method until it’s very finely chopped.
- In a bowl, combine lemon juice, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, creole seasoning, and hot sauce. Blend well.
- Toss chicken into the bowl, combine a few times with a spatula and add finely chopped celery.
Pamela H Cadd
Laura, can you give us a measurement for the chicken? I like to use packaged rotisserie chicken as a convenient starter for this kind of recipe, but I don’t know how much would equal one chicken.
I cook with my 15-year-old granddaughter, and when she was in fourth grade we started using your recipes to pack her school lunches. We use the Paprika app, and when we put one of your recipes in, we always add “Laura’s” to the title (“Laura’s Spicy Chicken Salad”) to indicate that this will be a reliable favorite.
Laura Fuentes
Thank you so much Pam! 1 whole rotisserie chicken tends to yield about 4 cups of chicken, depending on the size of the chicken (as you know, they can vary from Costco/Sam’s club sized chickens to a traditional grocery store!). For this recipe, 4 cups of cooked chicken (breasts, thighs, mixed) is all you need. Thank you for making my recipes. You warmed my heart with “Laura’s” in your app. <3
Mary
I LOVE this recipe, I do this salad at list twice a week for lunch. Thanks Laura is really good!!!