Maui Mama Chicken Salad
Big fan of Chicken Salad Chick over here, so I recreated my favorite summer variety they have! The Maui Mama chicken salad has little bits of pineapple, jalapeno, and bacon all throughout and it's so creamy and flavorful. This one is a bit spicy, but we love it with the pop of sweet pineapple!
Servings 6 servings
Calories 300kcal
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts about 1 pound
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt divided
- 1 celery rib
- 1 slice cooked bacon
- 4 tablespoons diced canned jalapeno
- 3 tablespoons pineapple tidbits
- ¾ cup Duke’s mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Add the chicken breasts to a pot and fill with water to 1 inch about the chicken. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat and then cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and remove from the heat. Let sit, covered, for 20 minutes. The chicken is done when a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees in the thickest part of the chicken.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and add to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until finely shredded. Alternately, place in a mixing bowl and use a hand mixer or shred with two forks.
- Mince the celery, jalapeno, and bacon and add to the chicken.
- Drain the pineapple well and give it a rough chop, just enough to break up some of the pieces a bit. Add to the chicken.
- Add the mayonnaise, garlic powder, onion powder, and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt to the bowl and stir well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Video
Notes
If you don’t want to poach chicken breasts, you can use 2 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken here.
Feel free to swap fresh jalapeno for the canned, if you prefer. It will add more crunch and I just prefer the texture of the canned ones.
This does tend to get spicier the longer it sets, so if you plan on making it ahead, keep that in mind and adjust the amount of jalapeno as needed.
I’ve found that the multigrain Club crackers taste just like the ones from Chicken Salad Chick and work perfectly for serving. This is also good on white bread or stuffed inside a croissant.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 1260mg | Potassium: 332mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 157IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.4mg