This Hawaiian-inspired chicken salad is a delicious taste of the tropics. It combines high-protein chicken, coconut, pineapple, and macadamia nuts with a creamy coconut curry dressing. This is the perfect make-ahead salad for parties, brunches, and leftover lunches!
The Best Chicken Salad - Hawaiian Style!
This Hawaiian inspired Chicken salad is a tasty tropical spin on traditional chicken salad. So delish, everyone will love it! If you really want to get fancy, channel your inner Martha, and serve it in a hollowed-out pineapple for a dramatic presentation!" 🙂 -Kori
Taste of The Tropics. Aloha! I think you'll love this Hawaiian Chicken Salad. It has the most wonderful tropical taste! Between the grapes, pineapple, and coconut flakes with the creamy coconut and curry dressing. Good stuff!
Quick and Easy Make-Ahead 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 have company over or heading out the next day to a party or cookout. It couldn't be easier. Love it!
Serves a Crowd. This salad serves from 10 to 12 people, so it is a great salad for a crowd. It's ideal for parties, brunches, and showers. You can make it ahead of time in bulk, and it goes great with croissants and Hawaiian rolls, or just over lettuce.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make this chicken salad Hawaiian style! 🙂
Chicken Salad
- Chicken Breast - you'll need around 3 cups cooked chicken
- Celery
- Water Chestnuts
- Seedless Grapes
- Macadamia nuts - almonds are also a great option!
- Pineapple chunks - or tidbits (no added sugar)
- Toasted Unsweetened Coconut Flakes - reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish
Coconut Curry Dressing
- Mayonnaise
- Curry Powder - you can increase or decrease the amount of curry powder according to your tastes.
- Soy Sauce - you can also use tamari, or coconut aminos. Coconut aminos is a gluten free alternative to soy sauce.
- Lemon Juice - fresh squeezed lemon juice is the best tasting
- Coconut Milk - for the most coconut flavor I used the canned variety.
Substitutions and Variations
- If you don't love water chestnuts substitute additional celery.
- Add some chopped bell peppers.
- Use sliced or slivered almonds in place of macadamia nuts. Walnuts would also be a tasty option.
- Use pineapple tidbits instead of chunks.
How To Make Hawaiian Chicken Salad
Prep
- Cook your chicken, cool, cut into ½" pieces.
- Wash your celery, and chop.
- Wash the grapes and drain.
- Drain the pineapple and water chestnuts.
- In a small skillet, toast the coconut until golden brown. Allow it to cool before adding to the salad. Be careful; it burns easily.
Add salad ingredients
Add chicken, celery, pineapple, grapes, water chestnuts, and macadamia nuts in a large mixing bowl.
Make the salad dressing
Stir mayonnaise, soy sauce, curry, lemon, and coconut milk together.
Mix it all together
Pour the salad dressing over salad ingredients and mix it all together.
Chill
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. The flavors will blend nicely after it's had time to sit in the refrigerator.
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. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
- On its own, on a bed of lettuce (low carb).
- Serve in lettuce wraps or on a croissant.
- Why not serve chicken salad on Hawaiian rolls? 🙂
- Slice a pineapple lenghtwise and remove the pineapple. Use it in the salad then serve this salad inside the pineapple for a dramatic presentation.
- Stuff half an avocado. Make a Hawaiian Chicken Salad stuffed avocado - yum! This is a low carb option.
Chicken salad is delicious! Here are a two more delicious recipes you may want to try! Mexican Chicken Salad (with mango - it's fabulous) and Rotisserie Chicken Salad.
Kori's Tips
- This chicken salad tastes best the next day after the flavors and juices have blended together.
- Buy pre-cooked diced chicken to make this recipe even quicker.
FAQs
Store this chicken salad in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Yes, absolutely! It makes this recipe go fast! You can use pre-cooked chicken breast.
While chicken salad Hawaiian style is low carb and high in healthy fats, the grapes and pineapple add more sugar than is typically allowed when following a keto plan.
Here is how you can adapt this recipe and make it a keto chicken salad:
Reduce the number of grapes and pineapple (or eliminate them altogether), add bell pepper, and increase the celery and chicken.
If serving right away, you could also add some diced avocado. Make sure to use coconut aminos instead of regular soy sauce.
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📖 The recipe.
Hawaiian Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken Salad
- 3 cups cooked chicken breast (cut into ½" cubes)
- 1 cup celery sliced
- 3 ounces water chestnuts (sliced then roughly chopped)
- 1½ cups seedless grapes
- 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts or slivered almonds (sliced almonds are fine too)
- 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks or tidbits (no added sugar) drained
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes toasted (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)
Creamy Coconut Curry Dressing
- 1½ cups mayonnaise
- ½ cup coconut milk (canned variety)
- ½ tablespoon curry powder
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce (tamari, or coconut aminos)
- juice of half a lemon
Instructions
- Combine chicken, celery, water chestnuts, grapes, coconut flakes, pineapple and nuts in a large bowl. (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 salad until well combined.
- Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.
- Garnish with remaining almonds and coconut flakes.
Video
Kori's Tips
Nutrition
© 2025 Seeking Good Eats™
More Salad Recipes
Here are some more salad recipes I think you'll really enjoy!
- Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad (Keto Low Carb)
- Zesty Italian Pasta Salad (with Pasta or Cauliflower)
- Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad with Pomegranate and Pecans
- Italian Antipasto Salad Recipe
- Thai Peanut Salad Recipe (Low Carb Keto Salad)
- Blue Cheese Wedge Salad Recipe (Keto Salad)
- Feta Watermelon Arugula Salad
Cindy
Would mango work as a substitute for the pineapple still using the other ingredients?? Have you tried that?
Kori
I would definitely try that! I love mango, and you have totally inspired me to make it this way next time! I also have a Mexican chicken salad with mango in it if you need more ideas. I think I used 1 mango in that recipe.
Christy Boston
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.