Slim & Healthy Chicken Salad with Chopped Apples & Dried Cranberries
Leftover rotisserie chicken, apples, celery, and dried cranberries in a light creamy Greek yogurt based dressing combine to create this light and delicious healthy chicken salad with apples and cranberries. Which reminds me of a classic Waldorf salad – only lighter – and with chicken.
I served this chicken salad with apples and cranberries for lunch on a bed of mixed greens and baby arugula. And garnished it with a little shredded carrot and chopped cucumber.
All I can say is, “YUM.”
The Skinny on Chicken Salad with Apples and Cranberries
I rarely cook chicken just to make chicken salad. It seems like too much work. Instead, it’s a recipe I tend to make when there’s leftover home cooked or rotisserie chicken staring back at me from the fridge.
To keep this chicken salad with apples and cranberries lighter and healthier, I use plain nonfat Greek yogurt and a little Hellman’s light mayonnaise to dress it without drowning it.
Adding apples and celery is a tasty way to add flavor and crunch for minimal calories and points.
This chicken salad with apples and cranberries would be yummy on whole wheat crackers or a toasted english muffin or stuffed into a pita too.
According to my calculations, each serving has 220 calories and *5Points Plus. According to Weight Watchers Recipe Builder this healthy chicken salad has 4 SmartPoints when made with chicken breast. Enjoy!
- 2½ cups chopped cooked chicken
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 cup chopped apple (about 1 large; I used a Pink Lady and kept the peel because it was organic)
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons Hellman's light mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Place the chicken, celery, apple and cranberries in a bowl and stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise and lemon juice.
- Add to the chicken mixture and stir to mix well.
- Stir in the parsley if desired.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
This would be delicious served on whole grain crackers or in a pita or wrap too.
*PointsPlus® for healthy chicken salad with apples and cranberries calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc.
If you liked this chicken salad with apples and cranberries you might also like:
Favorite Chicken Salad Recipes for Weight Watchers
My Favorite Chicken Salad Recipes, including curried chicken salad, Greek grilled chicken salad, chicken avocado salad, mustard broccoli chicken salad, fruited quinoa chicken salad and more.
Creamy Chicken Salad Recipe – with celery, dried cranberries, and smoked almonds dressed in a combination of light mayonnaise and nonfat Greek Yogurt with 13.6 g fat, 14.6 g carbs. 2.8 g fiber, 39.5 g protein and 8 WW Points+ from Cooking Light found at MyRecipes
Curried Chicken Salad with Apples and Raisins – fruit studded chicken salad for two with with 222 calories and 6 WW Points+ from Cooking Light found at MyRecipes
Ellie Kriger’s Curried Chicken Salad – with grapes, almonds and cilantro has 325 calories and 6 WW Points+ per serving from Ellie Krieger found at the Food Network
Lighter Chicken Salad – from chicken cooked in broth so it needs less dressing with 4 WW Points+ from Gina at SkinnyTaste
Mango Chicken Salad – with yogurt, fresh mango, and mango chutney with 6 WW Points+ from Alanna at Kitchen Parade.
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This was delicious!! I added a bit of garlic and onion powder to the dressing, then threw it in a low carb wrap with lettuce, swiss cheese, sliced almonds, and a little garlic mayo. Great light but filling meal!
Katie, your wrap sounds delicious!!
I love this! I added some garlic powder & paprika. Look forward to customizing it each time! My question is, can you make it two days ahead of time for an event? And also, how many days can it keep?
Thanks! This will be a new “regular” recipe for me now!
Hi Tania,
Thanks for your comment! I love tweaking recipes and hardly ever make anything the same way twice!! I think it should be fine for 2 or 3 days. Before serving it I would say taste it and adjust your seasoning adding more salt and pepper and whatever else you think it needs. Dishes can change a bit as they sit in the fridge. Hope this helps!
i love this! just made a comment about how this will be a new staple for my house! i added some garlic powder and paprika, but only for fun to tweak it. this can stand alone as is. but it would be fun to tweak each time!
i asked how long it can keep in the fridge and if it’s okay to make 2 days ahead of time for an event?
also, i forgot to rate it last time!
Hi, this says this is 5 & 6 pts plus. Which one is correct? Thanks! Can’t wait for lunch!
Hi Malea, I rechecked my WW calculator and it’s 5WWPP. I’ve updated the recipe and post. Sorry about the confusion and hope you enjoy lunch!
THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. I’VE NEVER LEFT A COMMENT/REVIEW FOR ANY RECIPE, BUT I HAD TO WITH THIS ONE. GREAT JOB! MY HUSBAND LOVES IT.
Hi Dana,
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I really really appreciate it 🙂
I Martha, I found your recipe on Pinterest because I was looking for this kind of recipe. Yours looks delicious. The only thing I would probably omit is the celery me and celery don’t get alone. thanks for sharing this.
Thanks, Louise. Yes, by all means, if celery is not your thing, leave it out!
I was considering subbing greek yogurt for mayo and just did a quick search to see if that was going to taste really weird, and ended up here. Thanks for sharing! Just thought I’d add – at my house we like to hollow out a bell pepper and fill it with chicken salad. It makes a great to-go meal – we always take them on the river when we go boating!
Hi Natali,
Thanks for sharing. Love the idea of a chicken salad filled pepper!
I have been doing this same recipe as a staple in my house, but not using the mayo. 1/2 c =1SP Yummy?
Thanks Toni!
I made this salad tonight in a wholewheat wrap. Definitely a keeper. Will try it with nuts next time. Thanks for posting this. Will try some of your other salads another time.
Thanks Shelley! Glad you liked it. Nuts sound like a yummy addition 🙂
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