This Mediterranean Chicken Salad without mayo will be a Spring and Summer staple for any potlucks or barbecues. This rotisserie chicken salad comes together easily using some pantry staples (hello CA GROWN x CA Ripe Olives), seasonal herbs, spices and is oh-so-flexible to adapt to your favorite chicken salad additions! Once you have the chicken and mix-ins chopped up you just blend together an easy dressing with lemon juice, honey, dijon mustard, olive oil and tons of herbs to create a vibrant and luscious green dressing. This Mediterranean inspired no mayo chicken salad is herbaceous and lovely. Pictured here served in butter lettuce leaves with some cooling, creamy avocado slices it can also be scooped with your favorite crackers, or served on toast. A far cry from your traditional mayo-laden chicken salad this is a light, refreshing and easy rotisserie chicken salad for the masses!
This post was made in partnership with CA GROWN x CA Ripe Olives as we love and eat olives regularly in our home.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This Mediterranean chicken salad recipe is easy to put together.
It’s light, refreshing, delicious and satisfying!
Rotisserie chicken makes this an easy and satisfying meal or meal prep.
It’s a flexible format – substitute black CA Ripe Olives or use both green and black!
You can prep the dressing and the mix-ins prior and serve it warm or cold.
This mayo free chicken salad will keep better for outdoor potlucks and events.
This is allergen friendly to accommodate varying eating preferences as it is naturally gluten free, dairy free, nut and seed free.
Rotisserie Chicken
A rotisserie chicken is such an amazing convenience item to help create magic when you’re running low on time and energy. If you’re preparing to attend a potluck, barbecue, or picnic you can make this in advance entirely, or individual components in advance and simply add the warm rotisserie chopped chicken with the chopped mix-ins like California Olives, fresh herbs, tomatoes, fennel, artichoke hearts, pickled onions with the vibrant herby dressing and serve warm or cool.
Why California Olives?
CA Ripe Olives are a pantry STAPLE for us. They have a unique and beautifully smooth, nutty flavor that is a lovely addition to most anything you’re cooking or serving.
We love them raw or added into a warm meal. A can doesn’t last 20 minutes in our house. My 2 year old daughter declares it’s her favorite fruit! Did you know olives are fruits?
We buy them at ANY market – just look for the ‘California Grown’ addition to your label. Over 95% of olives in the US are grown and processed in California. They are so good to us olive lovers!
The quality reflects a family farm operated industry that KNOWS what they are doing. Generations of farmers have created the perfect product, and you can find them on your favorite market shelves in two colors, many sizes, sliced or whole – always pitted and ready to roll!
Check out the amazing olive recipe database here for more inspiration, but ABSOLUTELY pick up a few cans of California Grown Ripe olives next time you’re at the market! In our house we regularly use both black and green olives in:
Kiddo lunch boxes
After school snack plates
Cheese and cracker ‘girl dinner’ meals
Easy, quick tapenade with fresh herbs and olive oil
Pizza / Pasta toppings
Dressings and dips
Salad additions
Quinoa salad
Tuna salad
Eat a handful as a satisfying snack every day
The CA Ripe Olives operation is incredible and consists of hundreds of family owned olive farms that grow and harvest olives that are cured and canned by two multi generational family operated California canneries!
The flavor and quality of the versatile California Ripe Olives can lend itself to endless applications around your kitchen to level up your appetizers and meals such as this recipe, but also cheese boards, salads, pastas and midday snacks! Stock your pantry with California Grown Olives to enhance everyday recipes.
What would be good substitutes in the Mediterranean Chicken Salad?
The possibilities are truly endless, and I encourage you to be creative. You can use any summer fresh herbs in place of or in addition to the basil, parsley and chives I included here.
Here are some more Mediterranean vegetable ideas for your no mayo chicken salad:
Cucumbers
Celery
Spring or green onion
Cauliflower
Carrots
Sun dried tomatoes
Peppers
Pickled vegetables
Can I add Mayo to this Mediterranean Chicken Salad?
Sure! You absolutely can. It’ll be delicious. It’s going to make it heavier, obviously. I would recommend going with greek yogurt if you’re looking to make it creamy. This will add more tang to the finished product but will be creamy and satisfying.
How long will chicken salad last in the fridge?
You can refrigerate the mixed chicken salad without mayo in a tightly sealed container for 3 days. You can keep the chopped chicken and dressing individually stored if you want to make it stretch for an extra 1-2 days, simply mix it as you need it for meal prep purposes.
How To Make Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Step 1: Prepare the dressing by combining all of the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic, honey, sumac, parsley, basil, chives, salt and pepper into a food processor. blend. Using a silicone spatula, scrape down the sides and blend very well until entirely smooth and vibrant green. Adjust to your preferences by adding in any additional herbs, citrus, or honey.
Step 2: Add ½ of the green dressing to the bottom of a large bowl. Add the chopped chicken, fennel, CA Ripe Olives, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, parsley, onions, chives, and basil over top, then add the remaining dressing and toss to dress, coat and combine your no mayo chicken salad. Garnish with reserved tomatoes and any additional herbs, or optional additions.
Step 3: Preferably allow the Mediterranean mayo free chicken salad flavors to marinate for an hour after it’s been combined. Serve as pictured in lettuce leaves with cool and creamy avocado slices.
Recipe Tips & Variations
For best results, let the mixture marinate flavors for 1 hour.
Prep ahead the green sauce.
Prep ahead by having the chicken and veggies chopped and assemble.
Add even more nutty, salty flavor by doing a duo of green and black CA Ripe Olives
This Mediterranean Chicken Salad without mayo uses a rotisserie chicken and comes together easily using some pantry staples seasonal herbs, spices and is oh-so-flexible to adapt to your favorite chicken salad additions!
Once you have the chicken and mix-ins chopped up you just blend together an easy dressing with lemon juice, honey, dijon mustard, olive oil and tons of herbs to create a vibrant and luscious green dressing. This Mediterranean inspired no mayo chicken salad is herbaceous and lovely.
Pictured here served in butter lettuce leaves with some cooling, creamy avocado slices it can also be scooped with your favorite crackers, or served on toast. A far cry from your traditional mayo-laden chicken salad this is a light, refreshing and easy rotisserie chicken salad for the masses!
Scale
Ingredients
Mediterranean No Mayo Chicken Salad Ingredients:
1 rotisserie chicken, meat pulled and finely chopped or shredded (approximately 3 cups of meat)
½ cup canned artichoke hearts, packed in water, drained, roughly chopped
¾ cup small tomatoes, halved. Save approximately ¼ cup for garnishing
¼ cup onion, use red green, or pickled red onions
2 tbsp basil, sliced
2 tbsp Italian parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Green Dressing Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp lemon zest
3 tbsp dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, smashed
1–2 tbsp honey, taste with 1 tbsp and adjust if you prefer sweeter
3/4 tsp sumac
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup basil leaves, sliced
3 tbsp chives, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Serving Ingredients:
Fresh lettuce leaves – butter, romaine, or radicchio work great!
Avocado slices
Additional herbs
Chopped roasted pistachios, pepitas or slivered almonds *optional
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
How To Make Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Step 1: Prepare the dressing by combining all of the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic, honey, sumac, parsley, basil, chives, salt and pepper into a food processor. blend. Using a silicone spatula, scrape down the sides and blend very well until entirely smooth and vibrant green. Adjust to your preferences by adding in any additional herbs, citrus, or honey.
Step 2: Add ½ of the green dressing to the bottom of a large bowl. Add the chopped chicken, fennel, CA Ripe Olives, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, parsley, onions, chives, and basil over top, then add the remaining dressing and toss to dress, coat and combine your no mayo chicken salad. Garnish with reserved tomatoes and any additional herbs, or optional additions.
Step 3: Preferably allow the Mediterranean mayo free chicken salad flavors to marinate for an hour after it’s been combined. Serve as pictured in lettuce leaves with cool and creamy avocado slices.
Notes
Recipe Tips & Variations
For best results, let the mixture marinate flavors for 1 hour.
Prep ahead the green sauce.
Prep ahead by having the chicken and veggies chopped and assemble.
Add even more nutty, salty flavor by doing a duo of green and black CA Ripe Olives
How should I serve this?
With crackers or chips for scooping.
As a sandwich in your favorite bread.
In a wrap, pita pocket or tortilla.
On cucumber coins
Keywords: Mediterranean Chicken Salad, Mayo free chicken salad, No mayo chicken salad, Rotisserie Chicken Salad
