Chicken Soup Chicken Salad
Chicken Soup Chicken Salad is going viral on TikTok for the clever way it transforms everything we love about chicken soup into an easy-to-make chicken salad! This salad offers savory, comfort-food flavor in a cozy, creamy, scoopable dish that can be enjoyed in many tasty ways.
Chicken Soup Turned Chicken Salad
Like everyone else, I was introduced to Chicken Soup Chicken Salad over at Jenny’s Table on her viral TikTok Video. The deliciously brilliant way she showed us this tasty spin on the classic comfort instantly food got my wheels turning.
And with a few recipe tweaks, I took the Viral Chicken Soup Chicken Salad and made it into a lean protein-filled chicken salad! Instead of loading this chicken salad up with extra calories, I use cottage cheese in place of mayo!
I know, cottage cheese in everything is another viral trend, but hey, it really does work! Now we have a healthy chicken soup chicken salad that’s loaded with protein, making it perfect for meal prepping!
Rebecca’s Recipe Review
Taste: Chicken Noodle Soup in chicken salad form – cozy and comforting!
Texture: Pulled shredded chicken with both pureed veggies in the sauce and crunchy veggie bits, if desired.
Ease: 4/10
Pros: Super flavorful, low-calorie, protein-packed!
Cons: A few more steps than typical chicken salad recipes.
Would I Make This Again? Yes, it’s such a great recipe to add to my meal prep rotation!
Ingredients For Chicken Soup Chicken Salad
The base of this Chicken Salad calls for just about everything you would need for big pot of chicken soup! With a mixture of pantry staples, fresh vegetables, and a few additional ingredients, this Chicken Soup Chicken Salad comes together in no time!
To start, this chicken salad calls for boneless skinless chicken breast, chicken broth, carrots, celery, white onion, and garlic cloves. This soup foundation is then built into a salad with:
- Olive Oil
- Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
- Bay Leaf
- Paprika
- Turmeric
- Lemon Juice
- Lemon Zest
- Cottage Cheese
- Fresh Parsley
- Fine Sea Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
How To Make Chicken Soup Chicken Salad
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.
- Sear boneless skinless chicken breast in the hot pan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then flip the chicken and sear it on the other side.
- Pour chicken broth into the pan and then cover it with a lid and continue to cook the chicken until done.
- Peel and dice the carrots, dice the celery stalks, peel and quarter the white onion, and then peel and smash the cloves of garlic. Set these prepped ingredients to the side in a bowl.
- Transfer the chicken to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat the cooked breasts with a paddle attachment until they’re finely shredded. Be sure to leave the remaining juices in the pot.
- Add the prepped vegetables that were set aside to the pot of juices and simmer them over medium-heat without stirring.
- Stir in sprigs of fresh thyme, a bay leaf, paprika, turmeric, and chicken broth. Then continue to cook until the vegetables are soft, and most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Transfer the cooked veggies to a food processor or blender. Then add in lemon juice and lemon zest. Pulse the food processor or blender until the mixture becomes mostly smooth.
- Add the vegetable mixture to the shredded chicken.
- Add cottage cheese to the food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Then add the blended cottage cheese to the bowl of shredded chicken along with fresh parsley, fine sea salt, and ground black pepper. Mix until the chicken salad is thoroughly combined.
- Chill the chicken salad in the fridge before enjoying!
Rebecca’s Chicken Salad Tips
- Be sure to cook the chicken until it’s thoroughly done to avoid uncooked meat in the chicken salad. Chicken is done cooking when a kitchen thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads at least 160 degrees F.
- Remember to save the juice in the pan from cooking the chicken! We need that broth to cook the veggies in to really pack this chicken salad full of flavor.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer to shred the chicken, you can use an electric hand mixer with beaters. It can also be done by hand using two forks.
- Dicing up the vegetables before adding them to the leftover chicken juices to cook speeds up their cooking time.
- The cooked blended vegetable mixture should have a salsa and pesto-like consistency. Though if you want the mixture to be completely smooth, you can blend it more.
- I used Good Culture low-fat classic cottage cheese when making this recipe. However, feel free to use your choice of cottage cheese or a cottage cheese substitute if you prefer.
- Once the chicken salad is done, you can continue seasoning it to your liking.
- The chicken salad may look a bit loose, but don’t worry as it does firm up in the fridge!
- To enjoy the best flavor, the chicken salad should chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before enjoying it! This gives time for the chicken salad to cool completely while allowing all of the flavors to meld together.
Storage Instructions For Chicken Soup Chicken Salad
Store the chicken soup chicken salad in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy the chicken salad within 5 days!
Chicken Soup Chicken Salad Substitutions & Variations
- Lemon Zest – This can be omitted if preferred and the chicken salad will still turn out delicious. I just find the addition of lemon zest adds a bit of deliciously bright flavor to balance out the seasonings.
- Nutritional Yeast – The original recipe from Jenny’s Table does include Nutritional Yeast but this is completely optional. The nutritional yeast just adds a bit of cheesy flavor, giving the chicken salad a bit more depth of flavor.
- Chicken – While searing the chicken does lock in the comfort food flavor, you can also just use shredded rotisserie chicken. You can also use boiled or baked chicken, or even cook the chicken breasts in the crock pot with chicken broth.
- Cottage Cheese – I opted to use cottage cheese instead of mayo to reduce the calories while boosting the protein. If you prefer, you can swap cottage cheese out for regular mayo, Kewpie mayo, or even Greek yogurt.
How To Serve & Enjoy Chicken Salad
This Chicken Salad Chicken Soup is mouthwateringly delicious as is, straight off from the fork! You can keep it simple and enjoy it as is, or try it out with one of our tasty suggestions:
- Soup style, topped with oyster crackers or scooped up with Saltine crackers.
- Served on top of your choice of cracker. Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers, Good Thins, Crunchmaster Multi-Seed Crackers, Mary’s Gone Crackers, Wheat Thins, or even Ritz crackers!
- Layer this chicken salad on bread, from Sourdough Bread to French Baguette (Easy 4-Ingredient Recipe) you can’t go wrong with a chicken salad sandwich. Toast the bread first for a delicious crunch!
- Dollop this chicken soup chicken salad on top of a salad for a healthy lunch or dinner option.
- Enjoy the chicken salad in lettuce cups or lettuce boats!
- Use the Chicken Soup Chicken Salad as a ‘dip’ by using carrot sticks, mini peppers, or celery as the dippers.
- Bring all the comfort food vibes by whipping up a toasted Chicken Soup Chicken Salad sandwich as seen in this TikTok by Jenny’s Table!
Try out another viral recipe that has taken the internet by storm!
- Ina Garten’s Brownie Pudding – An impressive molten-like dessert that’s easy to make!
- That Viral Ditalini Pasta Recipe – A 15-minute one-pot dish smothered in creamy garlic butter sauce!
- Viral One-Pan Dumpling Bake – Loaded with bold, spicy-savory flavor!
- Snickers Stuffed Dates – A tasty spin-off from the classic candy bar!
- Viral Onion Ring Chips – Crispy, crunchy ‘chips’ baked to delicious golden perfection!
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Chicken Soup Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 2 carrots about 200g, peeled and sliced
- 2 stalks celery 50g, chopped
- 1 white onion 300g, quartered
- 3 garlic cloves smashed
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¾ cup chicken broth 180mL
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ¾ cup cottage cheese 165g, I use Good Culture low-fat classic
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley minced
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast optional, see notes
Instructions
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast and sear. Season the other side with salt and pepper, then flip and sear.
- Add ¾ cup chicken broth cover, and cook over medium heat for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reads 160℉ with a kitchen thermometer.
- Meanwhile, peel and dice 2 carrots, dice 2 stalks celery, peel and quarter 1 white onion, and peel and smash 3 garlic cloves. Set aside in a bowl.
- Once the chicken is done, use tongs to transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer, then beat with a paddle attachment until finely shredded. Leave remaining juice in the pot.
- Add the prepared vegetables to the pot and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat without stirring.
- Stir the veggies and add 5 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon turmeric, and ¾ cup chicken broth, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the veggies are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Transfer the cooked veggies to a food processor or blender, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest, and pulse until mostly smooth, resembling a mixture between salsa and pesto. Scrape down the sides of the food processor as needed.
- Add the processed vegetable mixture to the cooled shredded chicken, then add ¾ cup cottage cheese to the food processor and pulse until mostly smooth.
- Add the blended cottage cheese to the bowl with the chicken, along with 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, and mix until thoroughly combined. Add additional salt and pepper or other seasoning, such as 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, to taste.
- Chill for at least 2 hours for the best flavor. Enjoy within 5 days.
Notes
- Each serving should be around 225 grams.
- This recipe was inspired by Jenny’s Table; she includes Nutritional Yeast, but it’s completely optional and just adds a bit of cheesy flavor.
Nutrition
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