Creamy cottage cheese replaces mayo in this healthy low carb Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad. Tender diced chicken is blended with crisp celery, crunchy pecans and red onion in a zesty dressing. It’s the perfect easy make-ahead high protein lunch.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad Recipe

• Tender diced chicken
• Crisp celery, crunchy toasted pecans and sweet red onion
• Tossed in a creamy cottage cheese dressing
• Healthy low carb lunch
• Perfect for meal prepping
• Family friendly

If you’re not a huge fan of mayonnaise, but love cottage cheese, you will love the dressing used in this chicken salad. It’s blended with zesty lemon, dijon mustard and fresh dill, tossed with celery, toasted pecans and red onion, for a delicious contrast in textures.

This easy Keto lunch recipe is the perfect meal prep or make ahead meal that takes just minutes to put together. It’s simple, yet full of flavor so your whole family will enjoy it, even if they’re not following a low carb diet.

Serve over a plate of mixed greens, with some homemade Keto friendly cracker or scoop over your favorite salad. I’ve included some serving ideas down below that you can check out.

🛒 Ingredients for Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad

• Chicken
• Cottage cheese
• Celery
• Pecans
• Red onion
• Lemon
• Fresh dill
• Dijon mustard
• Salt
• Ground black pepper

*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.

🥣 Recommended Tools

• Bullet blender or food processor
• Mixing bowl

🔪 How to Make Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad

Add the cottage cheese, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt and ground black pepper to a bullet blender or food processor.

Blend until smooth and combined.

In a large mixing bowl, add in the chicken, celery, dill, lemon zest, pecans and red onion.

Pour the cottage cheese mixture over the top.

Toss to combine and it’s ready to serve.

☑️ Storage Instructions

Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

🍴 What To Serve This Chicken Salad With

You can eat a scoop all on its own or serve it:

• Over a bed of mixed greens
• Inside an avocado half
• Over your favorite tossed salad
• With some Keto friendly crackers
• Inside a cucumber boat
• Stuffed into a bell pepper or in mini bell peppers
• Inside a carved out tomato

💡 Tips

• Don’t skip the step to blend the cottage cheese.  The idea of this recipe is that the cottage cheese replaces the mayonnaise that is typically in chicken salads. So it’s ideal to have it blended up creamy like mayo.
• Use fresh lemon juice, not the bottled stuff.  You also need some lemon zest and you can’t get that from a bottle!
• It you want to prep this ahead of time, it gets better as it sits and the flavors have time to meld.
• You can either poach or bake the chicken, or save yourself some time and use store bought rotisserie chicken.

🔄 Substitutions and Additions

• If you don’t have pecans, you can use walnuts instead.  Just make sure to toast and chop them first.
• If you don’t like red onions, you can use chopped scallions instead.
• Not a fan of celery?  Chop some cucumber and use it instead. Just make sure to remove the seeds and dice the cucumber into small pieces.
• To add a little kick of heat, add in a few shakes of hot sauce when you’re mixing up the dressing.
• For a little added pickle flavor, add in some chopped dill pickles.
• If you don’t have fresh dill on hand, you can use 1 teaspoon dried dill instead.

Can you use cottage cheese instead of mayo for chicken salad?

Absolutely and that’s precisely what this recipe is all about. It also gives you added protein, while still containing some healthy fats.

What can I use as a substitute for mayonnaise in chicken salad?

Cottage cheese, which is what inspired this recipe, makes a perfect substitute. Greek yogurt would also work well.

Is cottage cheese actually healthy?

Yes, it sure is! Not only is it low in carbs, it’s also packed with protein, some healthy fats, calcium and Vitamin B12.

🍽️ More Keto Salad Recipes

• Caprese Salad with Balsamic Reduction
• Grilled Shrimp Salad with Apricot Vinaigrette
• Keto ” Big Mac” Cheeseburger Salad
• Asian Grilled Chicken Salad
• Buffalo Chicken Salad
• Keto Taco Salad
• Classic Cobb with Ranch Dressing