Curry Chicken Salad Recipe for a Quick Lunch

Not only is this chicken salad recipe quick and easy, it’s also a huge help with cutting down on plastic packaging from deli meats. How does it cut down on plastic? Allow me to explain! The key is that I’m using freeze-dried meats.

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About Freeze-dried Foods

I’m an independent consultant for a freeze-dried food company (Thrive Life)* and I’ve been using their foods for many years now. So don’t be too surprised if a lot of my recipes feature freeze-dried food. They just make meals so much easier! I save time because I can prep shelf stable meals ahead of time like this curry chicken salad recipe. The food comes in metal cans which supports my plastic reduction goals. It even cuts down on food waste because freeze-dried foods have such a long storage window and I can portion out what I need to use when I need it.

As far as waste reduction goes, if I have to choose between metal and plastic packaging, I’m going to go with the metal. This is because metals are infinitely recyclable and have the most recycling options from what I’ve seen and experienced (recyclemetals.org). On that note however, freeze-dried food cans do have plastic lids (LDPE #4) and those little oxygen absorber packets. Which is why I list them as a good reduction of plastic but not a fully plastic-free option. There are also several servings per can, so you get quite a bit of use out of them before you need to take the component parts (paper label, metal can, plastic lid) to the recycling center.

Notes about this curry chicken salad recipe

I use freeze-dried foods* in this recipe but feel free to swap out for fresh ingredients if you prefer. With freeze-dried it’s easier to assemble ahead of time and add water later for future use. Also, if you’re using different ingredients be sure to evaluate the best plastic-free or reduced-plastic options available. Try my Monthly Goal worksheet to help figure out your best options.

This is my go-to Chicken salad recipe. After visiting a coffee shop that served chicken salad with curry, I started adding curry flavor to my own recipe. And I’m so glad I did! The curry and garlic are such a simple way to boost the flavor profile of the humble chicken salad. The peas help to cut the richness of the mayo and add more veggie goodness to the mix 🙂