Hawaiian Chicken Salad (low Carb Gluten Free), with coconut, pineapple, macadamia nuts, and a creamy dressing with curry - this is a delicious taste of the tropics. A perfect make-ahead salad - great for parties, potlucks, and leftover lunches!
Tastes best the next day after the flavors and juices have blended together. Try this tasty Hawaiian spin on a traditional chicken salad recipe. So delish, everyone will love!
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Recipe Video
Why You'll Love this Hawaiian Chicken Salad
This salad is built for potlucks and parties 'cause it's so easy to make! If you really want to get fancy, channel your inner Martha, and serve it in a hollowed-out pineapple for a dramatic presentation! 🙂
Taste of The Tropics
Aloha! Hawaiian Chicken Salad is a taste of the tropics you will love! A simple make-ahead recipe, this healthy salad is perfect for parties, cookouts, and leftovers. Everyone loves this healthy tropical chicken salad!
Quick and Easy Make-Ahead Recipe
Our chicken salad has a tropical Hawaiian twist that you will love. With chicken, pineapple, grapes, celery, water chestnuts, macadamia nuts, toasted coconut, with a creamy dressing, it is a pretty straightforward and simple recipe.
This quite literally tastes best if you make it the day before and let the flavors blend. Fix and forget about it - the perfect salad if you are having company over or heading out the next day to a party or cookout. It couldn't be easier. Love it!
Serve on its own, make a lettuce wrap, or stuff it over half an avocado - SO GOOD!
Chicken Salad for a Crowd
This salad serves from 10 to 12 people, so it is a great salad for a crowd.
Make It Your Own Salad!
Easily play around with the ingredients! If you don't love water chestnuts substitute additional celery. Use almonds in place of macadamia nuts. Use pineapple tidbits instead of chunks.
How To Serve Hawaiian Chicken Salad
- On its own, on a bed of lettuce
- As a lettuce wrap
- Stuff half an avocado. Make a Hawaiian Chicken Salad stuffed avocado - yum!
A Low Carb Salad
With 31.8 grams of fat, 7.4 g net carbs, and 16.2g protein it fits nicely in with a low carb and diet. Yay!
Pineapple and grapes do contribute to some of the carbs and natural sugar content, but on a serving, by serving basis it is manageable depending upon your daily allowance.
You can certainly reduce the number of grapes and pineapple if needed. Remember, this is a meal in one and makes a perfect lunch to pack!
Want another easy make-ahead salad recipe? Check out this Layered Salad (Layered Overnight Salad)
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make Hawaiian salad recipe with chicken! 🙂
Salad
- 3 cups cooked chicken breast, cut into 1/2" cubes
- 1 cup celery sliced
- 3 oz. water chestnuts, sliced then roughly chopped
- 1-1/2 cup seedless grapes
- 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts or slivered almonds (sliced almonds are fine too)
- 1 20 oz can pineapple chunks or tidbits (no added sugar), drained
- 1/2 cup toasted unsweetened coconut flakes (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)
Dressing
- 1-1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 tbsp. curry powder (adjust to your taste preferences)
- 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
- juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
Step by Step Instructions
Here are the steps to make this amazingly delicious low carb Hawaiian chicken salad:
Prep and Assemble Your Ingredients
Cook your chicken, cool, cut into 1/2" pieces. Wash your celery, and chop. Wash the grapes and drain. Drain the pineapple and water chestnuts. Toast the coconut.
Tip: in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, toss coconut until toasted. Be careful it burns easily!
Add Salad Ingredients to Bowl
Add chicken, celery, pineapple, grapes, water chestnuts, nuts a mixing bowl
Mix Dressing
Stir mayonnaise, soy sauce, curry, lemon, and coconut milk together. Pour over salad ingredients and mix.
Refrigerate
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Serve
Give it a stir and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a pretty serving bowl, and dress it up by sprinkling some toasted coconut flakes and nuts on top.
📋 Printable Recipe
Hawaiian Salad Recipe (Low Carb Hawaiian Chicken Salad)
Reminiscent of the Hawaiian tropics, you will love this spin on the traditional chicken salad with coconut, pineapple, macadamia nuts, and curry. This is the perfect make ahead salad - great for parties, potlucks, and leftover lunches! Tastes best the next day after the flavors and juices blend together. So delicious!
Ingredients
Salad
- 3 cups cooked chicken breast, cut into 1/2" cubes
- 1 cup celery sliced
- 3 oz. water chestnuts, sliced then roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups seedless grapes
- 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts or slivered almonds (sliced almonds are fine too)
- 1 20 oz can pineapple chunks or tidbits (no added sugar), drained
- 1/2 cups toasted unsweetened coconut flakes (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)
Dressing
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 1/2 tbsp. curry powder
- 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
- juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
Instructions
- Combine chicken, celery, water chestnuts, grapes, coconut flakes, pineapple and nuts. (Don't forget to set aside some coconut and nuts for garnish)
- Mix mayonnaise with curry, soy sauce, lemon juice, and coconut milk. Stir into chicken mixture until well combined.
- Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.
- Garnish with remaining almonds and coconut flakes.
Notes
Tastes great, served on it's own or over a bed of lettuce. Makes a great lettuce wrap, or maybe even stuff it in an avocado. Yum!
Lower carbs and sugar by reducing the grapes in this recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 384Total Fat: 31gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 227mgCarbohydrates: 9.9gNet Carbohydrates: 7.4gFiber: 2.5gSugar: 6gProtein: 16.2g
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Christy Boston says
I was going to make this for my husband's lunch, then I got sick with bronchitis. My husband was kind enough to take the recipe and make this, and it turned out very well, even for him making it, lol! Which means it is an easy recipe to make. I loved the grapes, they were little bursts of juicy flavor in this creamy dish. It got better as the leftovers sat in the refrigerator, too. The flavors melded nicely after a few days.