Chicken Salad Pitas

These easy Chicken Salad Pitas make for a perfect light lunch on a warm day! It takes your classic chicken salad up a notch!

Summer Lunches

During the warmer months, cold salads are what I crave every day for lunch. I think salads get a bad rap of being boring and tasteless.

But I am here to tell you that salads are anything but boring! With the right combination of vegetables, flavors and a good dressing, I’m sure you till agree with me too!

You can’t go wrong with a leafy green salad, but there are also pasta salads, fruit salads or even cold meat salads (like tuna, chicken and ham.) That’s where this Chicken Salad Pitas recipe comes in.

If you’ve never had pitas, they are magical! They are like little “pockets” to stuff all kinds of sandwich goodness into. Because they are so thin, they are lower in carbs than the big fluffy croissant or regular slice of bread that you might usually make a chicken salad sandwich with.

Chicken Salad Pita Ingredients

The actual chicken salad part of this recipe is the same as my Classic Chicken Salad with Grapes. Here are the ingredients I like to use in mine:

• mayonnaise
• cooked chicken
• celery
• onion
• red grapes
• walnuts
• lemon juice
• dijon mustard
• sea salt
• ground white pepper

PRO TIP: To save even more time in the kitchen, use a mini food processor to finely mince the celery and sweet onion.

My secret to making this out-of-this-world easy Chicken Salad Pitas recipe is using both Dijon mustard and lemon juice to brighten up the mix. Nearly every family has a “secret ingredient” and we’d love to hear yours in the comments!

Light Chicken Salad

Traditional chicken salad uses mayonnaise (I use my blender mayo recipe), which tastes great but has a lot of fat and calories. If you are watching your figure, plain Greek yogurt is an excellent sub for mayo when making these light Chicken Salad Pitas. You can also use super ripe and mashed avocados or a mix of the two.

For the chicken, you can use leftover chicken chopped up, canned chicken, store bought rotisserie chicken or even deli chicken. Some people have subbed in canned tuna or even salmon.

How to make Chicken Salad Pitas

This recipe really could not be simpler. And when you have kids to entertain and sun to soak up this summer, easy lunches are a must!

After you’ve cooked your chicken (or opened the can, or cut up the store bought rotisserie,) combine it with the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Next, cut up the vegetables you’d like to put on your sandwich. I like using sliced tomatoes and lettuce, but sliced red onions or even pickles would be great too.

Put those vegetables in side of your pita pocket, and then add in the chicken salad. You will be surprised at how much goodness fits into those pockets!

And that’s it! It’s easy peasy, light and refreshing, and totally delicious. It might just be your new go to summer lunch.

Be sure to come back and leave a comment letting us know how you enjoyed your Chicken Salad Pitas! You can also make these low carb by using avocado or tomato halves or even stuff them curried chicken salad.

What You’ll Need

Wood cutting board – wood won’t dull your knives like plastic and if treated properly, has natural antimicrobial properties.

Good knife – Global is my favorite! They are worth the price, I promise. I am kind of obsessed with them and store them tucked away so no one else can use them. Including hubby. Hands off my good stuff!

Large Mixing Bowl– Use a mixing bowl a little larger than you think you’ll need. There is less pressure to keep it in the bowl. You can always transfer it to a smaller serving bowl later. I personally look for ones with lids so I can cut down on plastic wrap and aluminum foil waste.

More salad recipes you’ll enjoy this summer:

• Gouda Corn Salad
• Ranch Pasta Salad

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This is the best fruit salad dressing recipe! With an easy fruit salad dressing using 4 ingredients, it's the perfect refreshing salad recipe for summer!

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Mexican Street Corn Salad (Esquites)

Traditional Mexican street corn is turned into the best Mexican Street Corn Salad ever! Lime, Mexican cheese with avocado, red onions and crema mexicana. 

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Chicken Salad Pitas

4.79 from 14 votes

These easy Chicken Salad Pitas make for a perfect light lunch on a warm day! It takes your usual classic chicken salad recipe up a notch!

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 15 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 ½ cups cooked chicken , chopped or shredded
• ¼ cup celery , finely minced
• 2 tablespoons sweet onion , minced
• 1/4 cup red grapes , quartered, optional
• 1/4 cup walnuts , chopped, optional
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• Bibb or butter lettuce
• Fresh tomato
• 4 Pita breads , cut in half

Instructions

• Combine mayonnaise, cooked chicken, celery, sweet onion, grapes, walnuts, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, fine sea salt and white pepper in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
• Stuff 1 piece of lettuce and a tomato slice into each pita bread halve.
• Spoon in chicken salad.
• If you’ve tried this recipe, please come back and let us know how it was!

Notes

Omit walnuts if there is an allergy. 

Use plain Greek yogurt or avocado instead of mayo for a lighter chicken salad. 

Nutrition

Calories: 403 kcal, Carbohydrates: 35 g, Protein: 7 g, Fat: 26 g, Saturated Fat: 4 g, Cholesterol: 12 mg, Sodium: 643 mg, Potassium: 134 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 3 g, Vitamin A: 47 IU, Vitamin C: 1 mg, Calcium: 58 mg, Iron: 1 mg

Author: Jessica Formicola

Calories: 403

Course: Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken salad pita, chicken salad sandwich

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