The weather is finally cooling (in fits and spurts here), the days are getting shorter, the holidays are nearing….It is Autumn.
For October’s round of C.L.U.E., we are all celebrating Autumn and the foods we associate with it.
C.L.U.E. is a group of like-minded food bloggers. Each month we are assigned a member’s blog, look in depth into our assignment’s recipes and dishes, and create food around a central theme.
I became acquainted with Kate early on in my blogging “career.” Kate and I have been commenting back and forth since 2011. (I am pretty sure we became friends back in the Food Buzz era.) Since that time I have followed Kate and Connie’s (her husband) adventures. They are a warm and gregarious couple and great hosts. I think the funniest story they tell at Kate’s Kitchen is one about a very large party they threw for their many friends. A young couple appeared and Connie went around to all their guests asking if anyone knew them or if they had been invited by some of Connie and Kate’s friends. No one had a clue to the identity of this mysterious couple. Finally, Connie confronted them. They had just seen all the cars and the festivities and decided to join in. They were truly party crashers. As I recall, Connie let them stay.
As I perused Kate’s Kitchen looking for an Autumn-inspired dish, I kept coming back to two posts: Hot Chicken Salad and Autumn Vegetable Soup. Since I had just recently made soup, I went with the chicken salad. Kate has a couple of different Hot Chicken Salad recipes on her site but I went with the one that had the curry spice because I love curry. (For her “plainer” Hot Chicken Salad and a wonderful sounding Warm Mushroom Salad, click here.)
Hot Curried Chicken Salad with a side of roasted Autumn veggies.
2 c. cooked and diced chicken breast (I used the meat from a small rotisserie chicken.)
2 c. celery, sliced
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 (8 oz.) can diced water chestnuts
1 c. olive oil mayonnaise
1/2 t. celery seed
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. curry powder
3/4 c. shredded Swiss cheese
handful of potato chips
Toss the chicken, celery, onion, water chestnuts in a bowl. In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients (mayo, celery seed, lemon juice and curry powder.) Fold the dressing into the salad. Pour the mixture into an 8 x 8 baking dish. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top. Crush the potato chips and sprinkle them over the top of the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.
Hot Curried Chicken Salad—hot and bubbly from the oven.
Optional: You may also toss in 1/2 c. toasted and chopped pecans.
I followed Kate’s recipe almost to the letter except I felt my salad was a little dry so I added a bit more mayo. (And, since I was recently extolling the virtues of eating heart healthy, I used an olive oil mayonnaise.) The pecans became optional because I didn’t have any in the house.
This is a great recipe that I will revisit. It reminds me of one that my mom used to make. It was her go-to meal to use up leftover chicken.
Kate, this will now be my go-to meal whenever I want a warm, comforting, curried dish for an easy weeknight dinner. Seriously, using the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken makes this a super quick meal.
Please check out the other October C.L.U.E. autumnal delights:
Love this salad and want to try it soon. And with a rotisserie chicken this looks easy enough for a weeknight treat. Swiss cheese and potato chips … ohmy yummy.
LOL, I’ve been to one of Kate’s big bashes! She and Connie are so nice, I’m not surprised they let the crashers stay! LOVE this chicken salad—going to have to make it for dinner soon 🙂
Fun story about the party crashers! And wow, what a wonderful chicken salad. Love the curry in this. And the fact that it’s hot — so many are cold. This is delish — thanks.
I can remember the first time I had tuna casserole with potato chips on top. I was 5 yrs old and was unexpectedly having dinner at my babysitters. I could NOT believe
such a meal even existed. I am not sure if I had even tasted a potato chips up
to that point. Man I love curry now and the memory lane walk with the chips
on top makes this a fabulous dish in my book.
LOL – We had dinner tonight with the friends who were standing with Connie when he “outed” the party crashers! How much fun that you remembered that story, Deb. Wish you lived close enough to come to one of our parties!! And, I’m SO glad you chose this recipe. It’s our go-to autumn and winter chicken salad. It’s so flexible that you can use loads of different veggies and it still works. Ditto nuts or not, the topping (yes, we’ve used cheese crackers) and the kind of dressing or mayo. Chicken, curry and lemon juice are about the only constants with this. Thank you 🙂
No, Kate, thank you. I would love to come to one of your parties. Thanks for the virtual invite. Lol. You got me started on a curry kick. Since I’ve made your salad, I’ve had a more traditional chicken salad with curry (served between two waffles…more about hat later) and and some curried hummus. This really brought back memories of one my mom used to make. Thanks again, Kate!
I missed this last month and just came across this post… oh my yes!! Loving all the flavors you have going on. My mom always used to use water chestnuts, she would love this!
Comments & Replies
38 responses to “Hot Curried Chicken Salad”
[…] Hot Curried Chicken Salad by Debra from Eliot’s Eats […]
Love this salad and want to try it soon. And with a rotisserie chicken this looks easy enough for a weeknight treat. Swiss cheese and potato chips … ohmy yummy.
This actually would be just as delicious without the Swiss cheese, too.
[…] Hot Curried Chicken Salad by Debra from Eliot’s Eats […]
LOL, I’ve been to one of Kate’s big bashes! She and Connie are so nice, I’m not surprised they let the crashers stay! LOVE this chicken salad—going to have to make it for dinner soon 🙂
I can just imagine the fun you had at one of their parties. Hope you do make this soon!
[…] Hot Curried Chicken Salad by Debra from Eliot’s Eats […]
[…] Hot Curried Chicken Salad by Debra from Eliot’s Eats […]
Fun story about the party crashers! And wow, what a wonderful chicken salad. Love the curry in this. And the fact that it’s hot — so many are cold. This is delish — thanks.
The curry is how I ended up with this recipe. I rationalized it was Autumn-like because it was a hot dish. 🙂
You chose wisely! 🙂 I would probably end up eating half of that dish (and can guarantee that I’d be grateful for the added mayo).
Yep, I ate most of the casserole (at different settings) all weekend b/c The Hubs was out of town. Delish but I did show restraint.
[…] Hot Curried Chicken Salad by Debra from Eliot’s Eats […]
[…] Hot Curried Chicken Salad by Debra from Eliot’s Eats […]
The salad looks very appetizing and healthy! I love the veggies you have put in there, esp. water chestnuts!
I am not a big fan of water chestnuts, but they work here.
Sounds so yummy and I bet it makes great leftovers too!
Yes, yes…the leftovers were fantastic.
Always looking for recipes that use cooked chicken. Thanks for sharing.
You’re so welcome!
It looks delicious!
Thank you kindly, Kelli.
[…] Hot Curried Chicken Salad by Debra from Eliot’s Eats […]
I am a fan of chicken salad yet have never had it hot…this sounds quite yummy!
You must try it!
I can remember the first time I had tuna casserole with potato chips on top. I was 5 yrs old and was unexpectedly having dinner at my babysitters. I could NOT believe
such a meal even existed. I am not sure if I had even tasted a potato chips up
to that point. Man I love curry now and the memory lane walk with the chips
on top makes this a fabulous dish in my book.
I can absolutely guarantee that this curried version trumps your tuna salad memory!
[…] Hot Curried Chicken Salad by Debra from Eliot’s Eats […]
What a perfect Autumn selection for this month’s theme. Looks so tasty. This is a perfect dish to welcome fall.
Thanks. I think because of the curry, I will add carrots and peas next time.
I’ve never heard of hot chicken salad before but it’s genius!
Kate was a genius with this curry!
I like spicy and think you did a great job in choosing this dish for our theme!
Thank you, Lora.
LOL – We had dinner tonight with the friends who were standing with Connie when he “outed” the party crashers! How much fun that you remembered that story, Deb. Wish you lived close enough to come to one of our parties!! And, I’m SO glad you chose this recipe. It’s our go-to autumn and winter chicken salad. It’s so flexible that you can use loads of different veggies and it still works. Ditto nuts or not, the topping (yes, we’ve used cheese crackers) and the kind of dressing or mayo. Chicken, curry and lemon juice are about the only constants with this. Thank you 🙂
No, Kate, thank you. I would love to come to one of your parties. Thanks for the virtual invite. Lol. You got me started on a curry kick. Since I’ve made your salad, I’ve had a more traditional chicken salad with curry (served between two waffles…more about hat later) and and some curried hummus. This really brought back memories of one my mom used to make. Thanks again, Kate!
This salad sounds interesting and different. I bet it is great for lunch.
I missed this last month and just came across this post… oh my yes!! Loving all the flavors you have going on. My mom always used to use water chestnuts, she would love this!