Here is another winning recipe from my cooking class! This healthy chicken salad has a bunch of different textures and flavors in it to keep it interesting, and it’s made with yogurt instead of mayonnaise. It is best to make this chicken salad one day ahead of when you plan on eating it because the flavors mingle and get much more intense overnight. This is the only chicken salad I like, except for the one from Corner Bakery!

To make this chicken salad, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add enough curry powder to the water to turn it yellow, season it with salt, and drop in some onion and celery trimmings for flavor. Then, add in 1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs with the fat trimmed off. Let the thighs simmer for about 10 minutes until they are fully cooked (to an internal temperature of 160º F). Set the thighs aside to cool.

While the chicken thighs poach, prepare the other chicken salad ingredients. To a bowl, add 1/4 cup of finely minced onion, 1/2 cup of diced apple, 1/3 cup of chopped pecans, 1/3 cup of dried cranberries, and 1/3 cup of diced celery. When the chicken thighs are cool enough to handle, dice them into cubes as well and add them to the bowl.

To the mixture, add 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup of mango chutney or orange pepper jelly, 1 tablespoon of curry powder, and salt and pepper. Stir the chicken salad to evenly distribute the ingredients, and taste it. Adjust the flavor by adding more of any of the ingredients. Then, cover the chicken salad with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to cool completely, preferably overnight for maximum flavor. This chicken salad is great on a sandwich or in a lettuce wrap. Or just eat it with a fork!

Shopping list:

• Chicken thighs- 1.5 pounds
• Onion- 1/4 cup, minced
• Apple- 1/2 cup, diced
• Pecans- 1/3 cup, chopped
• Dried cranberries- 1/3 cup
• Celery- 1/3 cup, diced
• Curry powder- 2+ tablespoons
• Greek yogurt- 1/2+ cup
• Mango chutney or orange pepper jelly- 1/4 cup
• Salt and pepper