I make this Creamy Chicken Cucumber Salad at least once a week because it's so simple and delicious! It's packed full of shredded chicken, sliced cucumber, and sweetcorn, covered in a tangy, delicious healthy dressing. I think you're going to love it!
Hey! I'm Emily Roz — food content creator, recipe developer, and cookbook author behind Myriad Recipes and this high protein chicken cucumber salad is one of my favourite things to eat on a summer's day.
The dressing is made from cottage cheese, mayonnaise, paprika, lime juice, garlic, and coriander/cilantro. You can serve it as a side dish or eat it as a main meal, which I love!
My boyfriend's parents harvest SO many cucumbers from their polytunnel, and along with this chicken cucumber salad recipe, we also love making my cucumber dill salad and spicy asian-inspired cucumber salad too!
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Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cottage cheese: I'm using low fat cottage cheese to make this dish as healthy as possible, but you can go for full fat cottage cheese if you'd like! If you don't have cottage cheese, feel free to use Greek yogurt!
- Mayonnaise: this adds to the creaminess of our chicken cucumber salad dressing. For a lower calorie option, feel free to choose the 50% fat mayonnaise.
- Chilli flakes: these are optional, but I think the chili flakes add a lovely kick to our creamy chicken cucumber salad. You could use fresh chillies if you'd like too!
- Paprika: this adds smokiness and additional flavour. If you don't have paprika, feel free to use mild cayenne.
- Lime juice: fresh lime juice adds a fantastic tang and acidity to our salad. You can alternatively use lemon juice.
- Garlic: fresh garlic is the one but if you don't have it, feel free to use ¼ teaspoon of garlic granules.
- Coriander/cilantro: if you love cilantro, then go to town with this herb. If you're not a fan, then sub it out for fresh parsley.
- Chicken breast: I've used chicken breast and poached it in boiling water for 15 minutes, then shredded the chicken and added it to the salad once it's at room temperature. But feel free to buy rotisserie chicken and shred it!
- Sweetcorn: canned sweetcorn will do! It adds a lovely sweetness and textural difference to our salad.
For the full ingredients list with measurements and instructions, scroll down this blog to the recipe card.
Popular Additions
- Chilli oil: if you want to make this extra spicy, chilli oil is a great option.
- Avocado: creaminess and extra flavour! Add a chopped avocado for yumminess!
- Sesame seeds: for a bit of crunch and nutty flavour.
- Chickpeas: I love a chicken and chickpeas combo and so adding ½ cup chickpeas into your chicken cucumber salad is such a win!
- Chopped tomatoes: baby chopped tomatoes add acidity and extra tang. I'd add ½ cup of sliced tomatoes.
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1: In a large bowl or a 32oz food container, add in cottage cheese, mayonnaise, chilli flakes (optional), paprika, lime juice, garlic, coriander, salt and pepper. Stir to combine, or close the lid of the tupperware and shake to combine.
Step 2: Taste the dressing and season according to your preferences. Next up, add in the room temperature shredded chicken, sweetcorn, and sliced cucumber. Once again, stir to combine or add on the lid of the container and shake until well combined.
Step 3: The cucumber, chicken, and sweetcorn should all be coated in the creamy sauce. Serve up and enjoy!
Top Tips!
- If you like a softer bite, slice your cucumbers as finely as possible. If you're more of a chunky sliced cucumber lover, then slice them slightly thicker.
- If you don't have time to prepare the chicken, feel free to buy rotisserie chicken and shred it to then add to the salad.
- Storing the cucumber chicken salad for a few days? Chill the cucumber slices for 20 minutes and then drain them before adding to the creamy dressing. They’ll release a lot of water while they chill, and removing it from the salad makes it considerably less soggy.
FAQs
Absolutely, you can use rotisserie chicken, or boil 2 chicken breasts for 15 minutes and then shred the chicken and leave to cool before adding it to the chicken cucumber salad.
I love serving it with pasta, rice, or in a pitta or on toast!
This dish already is pretty healthy with low fat cottage cheese and low fat mayonnaise. But if you want to reduce the calories further, feel free to omit the mayonnaise and replace it with low fat yogurt.
For sure, place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More Salad Recipes
If you tried this Chicken Cucumber Salad or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you!
Creamy Chicken Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon low fat cottage cheese
- 3 tablespoon low fat mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon mild chilli flakes optional
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 lime juiced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 15 g fresh cilantro finely chopped
- 2 chicken breasts rotisserie chicken or poached for 15 minutes in boiling water, then shredded
- 150 g sweetcorn
- 1 cucumber thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a large bowl or a 32oz food container, add in cottage cheese, mayonnaise, chilli flakes (optional), paprika, lime juice, garlic, coriander, salt and pepper. Stir to combine, or close the lid of the tupperware and shake to combine.
- Taste the dressing and season according to your preferences. Next up, add in the room temperature shredded chicken, sweetcorn, and sliced cucumber. Once again, stir to combine or add on the lid of the container and shake until well combined.
- The cucumber, chicken, and sweetcorn should all be coated in the creamy sauce. Serve up and enjoy!
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