A Vegan Chicken Salad everyone will love. This traditional salad is made with green jackfruit and mixed with celery, onions, and pickles for a healthy twist on a classic salad. Soy and gluten-free!
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Somehow, during all the craziness going on in the world, we find ourselves in the middle of May. This year seems both impossibly long and impossibly short at the same time.
I know this spring (and likely this summer) will be nothing like years past, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the warm weather headed our way with some fresh food and springtime recipes.
I’ve recently been craving Classic Chicken Salad and so I decided now was the best time to start experiment with a recipe.
This recipe uses one of my favorite whole-food meat replacements for a light, soy-free, and gluten-free Vegan Chicken Salad that will rival its traditional counterpart. What is the key component of this vegan chicken salad?
Let’s take a closer look.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Making a delicious vegan chicken salad means finding the perfect meat replacement. While there are many options: tempeh, tofu, and even chickpeas, I wanted to try something new.
Here is everything you need.
- Jackfruit. If you don’t like or can’t find jackfruit, feel free to use tempeh, tofu, or mashed chickpeas following these instructions.
- Vegetables. celery, red onions, pickles
- Vegan Mayonnaise. My favorite brand is Just Mayo. It is shelf-stable and has a similar price point to non-vegan mayonnaise. However, any vegan mayo will do.
- Fresh Dill
- Spicy Mustard
- Lemon Juice
- Salt and Pepper
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step One – Prepare the Jackfruit
Drain and rinse the jackfruit through a colander. Shake out any excess water. Lay the jackfruit on a paper towel and pat dry. Using your fingers, press the jackfruit chunks and the base to fan out, pushing it into large shreds. See this video for a visual.
Step Two – Prepare the Veggies
Dice all your vegetables and herbs into uniform pieces and set aside.
Step Three – Mix it Together
Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until the salad is combined. Serve it over a bed of lettuce or in between a baguette for a vegan chicken salad sandwich.
Serving and Storing
Serving – For best results, serve within 4 hours of making. Serve the salad on toasted bread, with crackers, or on a bed of lettuce.
Storing – Store the leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Tips and Tricks
- If you don’t like or can’t find jackfruit, feel free to use tempeh, tofu, or mashed chickpeas following these instructions.
- This salad is very versatile. Make sure to taste and adjust flavors. You can also add raisins, apples, or your favorite chicken salad mix-ins.
- Dice your veggies small. This allows the flavors to mix well without any big bites of veggies or jackfruit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why, yes it is! In fact, this vegan salad is also low-carb and keto-friendly!
Jackfruit is a large green tropical fruit that, when green, has very little flavor. The stringy texture, however, is similar to that of chicken or pulled pork, making it one of the most popular whole food vegan meat substitutes.
While some people buy jackfruit whole, I find getting it canned is the most convenient way to introduce jackfruit into your recipes.
Jackfruit is an incredible whole-food meat substitute. It has a similar texture to that of chicken or pulled pork and it takes on any flavors you give it. (Hello, Buffalo Jackfruit Tacos!)
When buying jackfruit in a can, it comes in small triangles. At the base of the triangle, you’ll find a thick core. To shred it, hold the core between your thumb and forefinger and gently press up while pressing into the fruit with your thumb. The tops will easily shred into what you see below.
I’ve tried several different replacements for vegan chicken salad and I have to say that I love jackfruit the most. However, if you don’t like jackfruit or can’t find it, tempeh or smashed chickpeas make a great replacement.
More Classic Salad Recipes
Make sure to check out all my vegan salad recipes for inspiration!
More Jackfruit Recipes
- One-Pot Burrito Bowls w/ Jackfruit
- BBQ Jackfruit “Pulled Pork” Sliders
- Buffalo Jackfruit Tacos with Cilantro Slaw
- Jackfruit Taquitos with Salsa Verde
Vegan Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 (14 oz) can jackfruit
- 1 heaping cup celery, diced
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup dill pickle, diced
- 2 tbsp. fresh dill, minced
- 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp. spicy mustard
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the jackfruit through a colander. Shake out any excess water. Lay the jackfruit on a paper towel and pat dry. Using your fingers, press the jackfruit chunks and the base to fan out, pushing it into large shreds. See this video for a visual. Set aside.
- Dice all your vegetables and herbs. Set aside.
- Place the prepared jackfruit in a medium bowl. Add the remaining chicken salad ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Serve on sandwich bread or a baguette with lettuce. Leftover chicken salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
vivian says
Delicious recipe that is also so quick and easy to make. It’s unfortunate that there is so much waste in a can of jackfruit, but following the instructions in the video is essential to avoid weird textural issues. Thanks for a great recipe!
Paula says
I not a fan of some of the jackfruit recipes out there but I had all the ingredients. I loved this recipe. the only things that I did different was a added pickle juice and I had horseradish Dijon mustard and it worked really too. It was a nice change from my usual go to chickpea sandwiches. Thank you for the wonderful pictures if it didn’t look so good I probably wouldn’t have tried it. keep up the great work I love your recipes. Stay well
Isabella says
Greetings!!!
I just finished making the vegan “chicken” salad. It is great. I made sure I had all the ingredients before I started. I am familiar with the Just Mayo….but I couldn’t find it at first. It wasn’t at the usual store where I normally buy it. This past Sunday I came across it at another store. I knew it wouldn’t be the same using another brand.
I will be making this again as you had me drooling over here when I came across your version of chicken salad.
Thank you for all you do. I will be scrolling your other recipes and diving in!!!
Many blessings!
Isabella