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Recipes

Chicken Waldorf Salad

Easy to make for Mother's Day.

Can you believe this was one of my recipes May 2011 for National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (now Beyond Celiac)?

I came up with this recipe many years ago as a relief from a sticky summer and getting fed up with meat from the grill plus salad for dinner. So I threw together some favorite foods and ended up with this salad that is a variation on Waldorf Salad. I made this salad without the chicken for a client for a barbecue. Her son doesn’t normally like fruit but kept eating bowls of this salad. I did add some sweetened whipped cream which also helped him, and made it wonderfully evil to eat. I also made a batch for a picnic when we went to Boston with friends for Sail 2000. We traveled in style in a limo eating this salad, fresh quiche and salad with herb vinaigrette, Finnish Pulla bread (not gf at the time) and really fudgy brownies. All washed down by champagne, courtesy of the limo service. That was a really civilized way to travel. We came straight off the cruise of the harbor and ships and into the limo without waiting and got back here in one hour. And we finished every scrap of food.

Gluten Free Chicken Waldorf Salad www.kenwphoto.com

In order to cook the chicken from scratch. Put about 1+1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 3 portions) in a saucepan with hot tap water to cover. Cover and bring slowly to a boil on the top of the stove. Turn heat down to a simmer, simmer for about 7 minutes, turn the heat off and leave the meat to cool down with the water. Of course, cooking time depends on size of the breasts as well as pan size and original temperature of meat. This results in very moist, tender meat with very little heating of the kitchen. Do check that the meat is cooked all the way through before using.

Update 2018 - yes, you can make this with store bought rotisserie chicken. Just check that it is labeled gluten free. Anything that comes under USDA doesn't have to follow FDA labeling guidelines and broth etc is where gluten can be hidden, remember gluten is natural so natural flavors can mean gluten.

June 2011 I bought in Costco a jar of Rothschild Pineapple, Coconut Mango Tequila sauce/marinade/dressing labeled gluten free and added a few spoonfuls to taste to the lemon yogurt. Lovely flavor and the yogurt and Rothschild sauce mixed together tasted good as a dip for raw vegetables.

Chicken Waldorf

1½ lbs. cooked chicken breast cut into 1-2” cubes or deli chicken or turkey cut thick, bought roast chicken or left over barbecued chicken or turkey. Do check that bought cooked, meat is gluten free.

3 Gala, Fuji or Braeburn apples (US version of English Cox’s orange pippin apple), cored and cut into small dice. I don’t peel the apples as they give a lovely red color to salad.

About 1 c seedless grapes, preferably red or black for color. Cut large grapes in half.

3 stalks of celery. Washed, quartered lengthwise and cut into ¼ “ dice

½ c chopped walnuts, salted peanuts, or cashews. (I tend to use cashews since I’m not fond of walnuts and walnuts cause allergic reactions in certain people, as well as peanut allergies. But I noticed that some containers of nuts are now roasted in peanut oil which is just as dangerous for people with peanut allergy.

½ c raisins – I prefer golden raisins (known as sultanas in UK) for color

1 x 6 oz carton of Chobani Greek Style lemon yogurt, posted as gluten free on their web site. I originally used Yoplait custard style lemon yogurt which is slightly sweeter and creamier, but I can’t find any longer. Or Cabot vanilla Greek yogurt and add zest of half a lemon.

½ c mayo – lite is fine

Gluten Free Chicken Waldorf Salad

1. Mix mayo and lemon yogurt together.

2. Add diced apples and turn until well covered by dressing. Even after 24 hours I find that the apples don’t discolor in this salad.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. I found that the Chobani lemon yogurt made the dish a bit tarter than I liked and would have added a little bit of honey or maple syrup to sweeten it slightly. Plus if the apples are tarter and the grapes not sweet enough, it can be tart. Adjust to your taste.

4. I don’t add the nuts unless the salad is to be served in less than 4 hours as nuts will soften and lose their crunch.

5. Note that I don’t add salt or pepper as I don’t find it is necessary. Add more fruit to make the chicken go further if you like. Try adding some bell peppers or dried apricots or even fresh nectarines. I found one time when I used Granny Smith apples, they made the salad taste quite tart so I add about ½ c of slightly sweetened fresh cream. You could also use the aerosol cream or cool whip if you must.

6. Serve with mixed salad for a wonderfully refreshing meal that is also special enough to be served to friends. My gluten free savory cheese breads would complement this meal.

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