Easy Jalapeño Popper Chicken Salad Recipe
Published Apr 07, 2022 Updated Jan 21, 2024
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This Jalapeno Popper Chicken Salad recipe is easy to make and loaded with homemade chopped chicken, mayo, bacon, onions, and jalapenos. Serve this salad over lettuce or on top of cucumbers. Only 2 NET carbs per serving! Whole30, Keto, GF, DF, and Paleo.
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Great
This Jalapeno Popper Chicken Salad recipe is the perfect lunch, dinner, or appetizer. It’s filled with so much flavor and can be added over lettuce, on top of cucumbers, or stuffed in mini peppers for the perfect meal or snack. This recipe can be whipped up in no time at all and serves as an amazing meal prep option.
This creamy chicken salad is one of those recipes where you can really customize it for your lifestyle and dietary needs. Make it lean with Greek yogurt, spice it up with more jalapeno, top it with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, serve it on sandwich bread or in lettuce wraps, and more. Make it your own with simple swaps and substitutions, and enjoy this delicious recipe!
Ingredient Notes
Full recipe with measurements, located in the printable recipe card.
- Chopped Chicken: I like to use Rotisserie chicken for this, so I don’t have to spend time cooking the chicken. Feel free to do the same or prepare your chicken how you like it.
- Cooked Bacon: Use regular bacon or turkey bacon, depending on your preferences.
- Mayonnaise: You can substitute Greek yogurt if desired. I like to make homemade mayo (see recipe below!), but feel free to use the regular or light mayonnaise of your choice.
- Red Onion
- Green Onion
- Hot Sauce: I use Frank’s Red Hot.
- Jalapeños
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Salt and Black Pepper
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Transfer the chopped chicken to a large mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix with a large wooden spoon to combine chicken and ingredients until fully mixed and creamy.
- Place a lid on the large bowl and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight before serving. Serve with sliced cucumbers, lettuce wraps, or mini bell peppers.
What Kind of Chicken To Use
- Rotisserie Chicken (I love buying mine at Sam’s Club)
- Boiled Chicken
- Canned Chicken
- Grilled or Baked Chicken
- Chicken Thighs
Mac’s Pro TipS
Serving Tips
- In a lettuce wrap with additional toppings like cheddar cheese, tomato, pickles, and more!
- Wrapped in jicama wraps (available at Trader Joe’s or slice your own fresh)
- Stuffed in mini peppers
- Wrapped in a coconut wrap
- Gluten-Free Crackers (Not Keto or Whole30)
- On top of cucumber slices
- On a hamburger bun or bread of choice (Not Keto or Whole30)
Tips & Tricks
- Let it sit in the fridge overnight: Making sure to allow the chicken salad to sit between 3-24 hours makes a big difference in the taste. I always like making my salad the night before and allowing it to sit in the fridge overnight before serving. The flavors are incredible, and serving it cold is best in my opinion.
- Homemade Mayo: Store-bought mayo is not my jam. Making mayo homemade is the only way I can eat it. My 60 second Mayo recipe is filled with super simple ingredients and doesn’t have any junk. Click here to grab the recipe.
- Crispy Bacon: If you are using this as meal prep, don’t add in the bacon. Add the crumbled cooked bacon to a separate Tupperware container. Before serving, heat the bacon up and then add it to the top of the cold salad. This will ensure the bacon doesn’t get soggy as it sits in the fridge. Using it this way will give you that awesome crunch with every bite.
- Extra Creamy: For extra creaminess, feel free to stir in ¼ cup of softened cream cheese.
- Toppings: You can get creative with this jalapeno popper chicken salad and add any additional toppings you like or make additional substitutions. Chives, shredded cheese, hot sauce, and more!
Storage Tips
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Give it a good stir before serving.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes
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Easy Jalapeño Popper Chicken Salad Recipe
This Jalapeno Popper Chicken Salad recipe is easy to make and loaded with homemade chopped chicken, mayo, bacon, onions, and jalapenos. Serve this salad over lettuce or on top of cucumbers. Only 2 NET carbs per serving! Whole30, Keto, GF, DF, and Paleo.
Ingredients
- 4 cups chopped chicken rotisserie, grilled, or baked
- 4 slices of cooked bacon chopped
- 3/4 cup mayo or Greek yogurt if not dairy-free
- 1/3 cup chopped red onions
- 3 tbsp chopped green onions
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce I use Franks
- 2-3 diced jalapenos seeds removed
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt/pepper to taste
Instructions
- Transfer the chopped chicken to a large mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix with a large wooden spoon until combined and creamy.
- Place a lid on the mixing bowl and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight before serving. Serve with sliced cucumbers, over lettuce, or mini bell peppers.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Serving Tips
- In a lettuce wrap with additional toppings like cheddar cheese, tomato, pickles, and more!
- Wrapped in jicama wraps (available at Trader Joe’s or slice your own fresh)
- Stuffed in mini peppers
- Wrapped in a coconut wrap
- Gluten-Free Crackers (Not Keto or Whole30)
- On top of cucumber slices
- On a hamburger bun or bread of choice (Not Keto or Whole30)
Expert Tips
- Let it sit in the fridge overnight: Making sure to allow the chicken salad to sit between 3-24 hours makes a big difference in the taste. I always like making my salad the night before and allowing it to sit in the fridge overnight before serving. The flavors are incredible, and serving it cold is best in my opinion.
- Homemade Mayo: Store-bought mayo is not my jam. Making mayo homemade is the only way I can eat it. My 60 second Mayo recipe is filled with super simple ingredients and doesn’t have any junk. Click here to grab the recipe.
- Crispy Bacon: If you are using this as meal prep, don’t add in the bacon. Add the crumbled cooked bacon to a separate Tupperware container. Before serving, heat the bacon up and then add it to the top of the cold salad. This will ensure the bacon doesn’t get soggy as it sits in the fridge. Using it this way will give you that awesome crunch with every bite.
- Extra Creamy: For extra creaminess, feel free to stir in ¼ cup of softened cream cheese.
- Toppings: You can get creative with this jalapeno popper chicken salad and add any additional toppings you like or make additional substitutions. Chives, shredded cheese, hot sauce, and more!
Storage Tips
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Give it a good stir before serving.
Equipment
Nutrition
Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 380mg | Potassium: 336mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 106IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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My favorite chicken salad. Perfect for spring and meal prep
This. Is. So. Good! I’m convinced I’ll never eat chicken salad any other way as long as I’m living! EASY and so dang delicious!
Yay! So happy to hear. Thank you
The picture shows garlic powder and onion powder as ingredients, but I don’t see them listed in the recipe. About how much of each spice?
Thank you,
Angela
Made this tonight using tuna instead of chicken. It was delicious in bell pepper with a bit of sharp cheddar on top!
So happy to hear this! I love the addition of the sharp cheddar.
I have to make this right now! I don’t have fresh jalapeño but have a jar of diced jalapeño so I am going to use that instead and I bet it’s still amazing. All your recipes are so good!