Tzatziki chicken salad is the perfect make-ahead cold lunch recipe. Shredded rotisserie chicken is topped with a tangy tzatziki sauce that's filled with fresh flavors from cucumber, dill, and Greek yogurt.
Recipe summary
Flavor: Fresh, bright, tangy. Cucumber and dill serve as the main flavors.
Make with any chicken. Canned chicken, rotisserie chicken, or Juicy Oven Roasted Chicken Breasts.
Great for: Meal prep, quick lunch on the go.
Serve on: Pita bread, sandwich bread, crackers, or a salad.
Similar to: Rotisserie Chicken Salad, Dill Pickle Chicken Salad, and Buffalo Chicken Salad
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Rotisserie chicken - Can be substituted with 16 ounces of cooked and shredded chicken or canned chicken. If cooking your own, lightly season your chicken with salt and pepper. Taste your chicken salad before serving and season more as needed.
- Red onion - Adds flavor and a bit of color to your chicken salad.
- Fresh dill - Can be substituted with fresh mint or parsley, or a combination of all three. However, I highly recommend fresh dill for the best flavor. However, dried dill can be substituted if needed (at ⅓ the amount).
- Greek yogurt - The base of your sauce, which adds creaminess and a tangy flavor. Reduced fat or full fat yogurt will work in this recipe. Make sure you're using plain, unflavored Greek yogurt - nothing that's sweetened or with added flavors.
- Lemon juice - Can be substituted with red wine vinegar.
- Cucumber - Adds a refreshing, light flavor to your tzatziki sauce. Make sure to squeeze the extra water out of the shredded cucumber before adding it to the chicken salad. Extra moisture will make your sauce runny.
- Garlic, salt, & pepper - Enhances the flavor of your chicken salad.
How to make chicken salad
- Mix dressing ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add shredded chicken and red onions to the bowl and toss until evenly coated. Refrigerated until ready to serve.
Tips and tricks
Squeeze liquid from cucumber - Don't skip the step of squeezing the excess liquid from your cucumber before adding to the chicken salad. That extra liquid can make your chicken salad thin and runny.
Use fresh when possible - Fresh ingredients add the brightest and freshest flavor to your chicken salad. Whenever possible, use fresh dill, onion, and lemon juice for best flavor.
Ways to serve chicken salad - Looking for new ways to serve chicken salad? Here are my favorites: on pita with fresh veggies (like shown), on sandwich bread, with pita chips, on crackers, as a salad (over a bed of lettuce), on finger sandwiches as an appetizer, or spread onto tortillas and rolled into pinwheels.
Storage
Chicken salad will keep for 3 to 5 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
If your chicken salad has been sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours, it should be discarded. If packing your chicken salad for lunch, store it in an insulated lunch bag with an ice pack.
Frequently asked questions
Tzatziki (pronounced zaht-zee-key) is a creamy, mild, and tangy sauce that's commonly found in the cuisine of Southeast Europe and the Middle East. Cucumber and dill give it a refreshing and light flavor, making it perfect for spring and summer.
If you've ever had a Greek gyro, it is often filled with lamb, chicken, or pork, served with sliced vegetables and tzatziki sauce. The sauce is made with yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and fresh herbs like dill, mint, or parsley.
For more information: Wikipedia - Tzatziki
Yes, tzatziki chicken salad is excellent to make ahead for weekday meal prep and keep on hand for lunches all week.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Tzatziki Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 medium cucumber, finely grated
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cooked rotisserie chicken
- ½ red onion, diced
Instructions
- Wrap grated cucumber in a paper towel (or a tea towel) and gently squeeze to remove excess moisture. Add grated cucumber to a bowl along with Greek yogurt, dill, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Shred rotisserie chicken into small, bite size pieces and add to your prepared sauce along with red onions. Toss until evenly coated.
- Serve on pita bread with fresh sliced tomato and red onion, on crackers, with pita chips, or over a bed of lettuce. Refrigerate leftovers.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Storage: Chicken salad will keep for 3-5 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. Chicken salad that has been sitting out for more than 2 hours at room temperature should be discarded.
- Chicken variations: Rotisserie chicken can be substituted with 16 ounces of seasoned, cooked, and shredded chicken, or canned chicken.
- Dill substitute: 2 tablespoons of fresh dill can be substituted with ⅔ teaspoon of dried dill if needed (fresh herbs add the best flavor).
Yum ! Followed recipe and it is delicious. I did cook 1 pound of chicken and shred it myself. I’ve never graded a cucumber that was interesting and not the funnest but definitely makes the meal fantastic. Recommend and will make again, I served Like the picture with Peter bread, sliced tomato, red onion, and added lettuce
Great recipe! Wonderful flavors. This is going to be a go to for us. Made according to recipe except used leftover dark meat which we prefer. Thank you for posting this.
I really loved this. I think if I had used Greek yogurt it might have had some of that “zing” I felt was missing. I used almond based yogurt. So next time I will add more cucumber, dill and lemon to off-set the non-dairy yogurt. Thank you!