This Mediterranean Chicken Salad (AIP/Paleo) is not your mama’s chicken salad! It is fresh, fragrant, punchy and spicy, and can be served two ways.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, I got to stick my pasty white feet into the Mediterranean Sea. It was somehow meaningful. Growing up, that part of the world seemed impossibly far away. Foreign.
Thankfully, the world is smaller now. My childhood dream of visiting France came true! I even got to visit the lovely south of France!
I think we should enthusiastically welcome the flavors from that part of the world into the AIP/Paleo diet. They are fresh, punchy, and alive! We can get so bored on a healing diet, can’t we? Time to wake up our mouths! And in the case of chicken salad, time to get rid of the mayonnaise, and get down to some FLAVUUUUUHHHH.
The chicken
This recipe requires pre-cooked shredded chicken. See my recipe for Falling-off-the-bone Crockpot Chicken for instructions on how to cook a whole chicken. You might also be able to find an AIP-friendly rotisserie chicken, or even canned. Use what you can find.
Sourcing olives
For the AIP, sourcing the olives can be challenging. My best advice to you is to read labels. If the ingredient list says just “vinegar,” skip it. Red wine vinegar is ok, but distilled white vinegar is not. Look for olives that are organic, and GF. I get mine in the grocery store, but if you need to order, you could try this kind.
How to serve it
I’ve tried a couple of different ways of serving this, and I couldn’t decide which would be best to share with you. Ultimately, I decided to share both! In the photograph, you can see:
- Chicken salad in hollowed out cucumber halves, and
- Chicken salad on greens with an extra drizzle of olive oil.
Of course, you could go crazy and do both. Feel free to play with your food!
Mediterranean Chicken Salad (AIP/Paleo)
Course: Salads, MainCuisine: AIP, Paleo, MediterraneanDifficulty: Easy4
servings20
minutes20
minutes
This Mediterranean Chicken Salad (AIP/Paleo) is not your mama’s chicken salad! It is fresh, fragrant, punchy and spicy, and can be served two ways.
Ingredients
For the salad:
2 cups 2 pre-cooked shredded chicken
1/2 cup 1/2 shredded raw zucchini
1/4 cup 1/4 chopped Kalamata olives
2 TBSP 2 chopped fresh basil
3 3 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of one lemon
Salad greens or two hollowed out cucumbers
For the dressing:
2 TBSP 2 freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 TBSP 2 extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP 1 full fat coconut milk (optional, for creaminess)
1/2 tsp 1/2 sea salt, or to taste
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix together chicken, zucchini, olives, basil, garlic, and lemon zest.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk dressing ingredients: lemon juice, olive oil, coconut milk (if using), and salt.
- Add dressing to the chicken mixture, and stir well to combine.
- To serve, place two cucumber quarters on each plate, or greens drizzled with a little olive oil. Top with chicken salad.
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