Chicken Pesto Salad

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Chicken Pesto Salad with Olives and Peas is delicious and this is the perfect low-carb salad to make with leftover rotisserie chicken! 

PIN Chicken Pesto Salad to make it later!

I wasn’t planning to share this Chicken Pesto Salad right away when I made it to update the photos, especially since I just shared another low-carb chicken salad last Monday. But when we updated the recipe and took these new photos it was on a cooking day when my friends Marlys and Bev were being recipe tasters, and they were absolutely  crazy over this salad. In fact, Bev was having some friends for lunch and she asked me for the recipe so she could make it for her friends before I updated it on the blog! I can’t say enough about how everyone loved this salad, including Kara, who was lucky enough to get the leftovers. So I decided I had to share it with you right away!

In this updated version of the salad I switched out the edamame for green peas, and I know some of you will be suspicious about the carbs in peas. But we did the math, and if you make the recipe and divide it into the six servings I recommend, the peas only add 3 carbs per serving. And I thought the flavor with peas was so much better that for me it seemed worth the carbs; of course you can use less peas if you prefer.

I didn’t have any of my homemade Basil Pesto with Lemon, so we used Kirkland Basil Pesto, which was really good in the dressing with a little lemon juice added. And to make it extra quick and easy to make this salad, we used that already cut-up rotisserie chicken that comes in a package at Costco.

I’ve already made this one more time just to have in the fridge for myself, so you know it’s a winner for me, and if you like these ingredients I urge you to make this salad right away! Check out My Favorite Low-Carb and Keto Recipes with Pesto for more tasty ideas for using basil pesto!

Steps for Making Chicken Pesto Salad:

(This is just a summary of the steps; scroll down for the actual recipe including nutritional information.)

1. While the peas thaw, cut up the chicken into pieces about 3/4 inch square and put in a large bowl.
2. Thinly slice green onions, drain olives, and measure out the peas.
3. Mix the mayo, pesto, and lemon juice to make the dressing.
4. Mix desired amount of dressing into the chicken and stir well to coat all the chicken with dressing.
5. Gently stir in the green onions, olives, and peas.
6. Season salad to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
7. Salad can be chilled a few hours or served right away. It will keep overnight in the fridge, but you might want to add a little more dressing when you serve the leftovers.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

I’d enjoy just the salad alone for a summer lunch, but if you want to make it a more substantial meal this would taste great with Low-Carb Spicy Mexican Slaw or Kalyn’s Low-Carb Coleslaw.

More Delicious Low-Carb Recipes with Basil Pesto:

Ultra Easy Pesto Lemon Chicken Kabobs
Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese
Barely-Cooked Asparagus with Basil Pesto
Easy Baked Pesto Chicken

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep  to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Print

Chicken Pesto Salad

Yield Makes 6 servings

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Chicken Pesto Salad with Olives and Peas is an amazing low-carb salad and this is easy to make with leftover rotisserie chicken!

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 6 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1 can (3.8 oz.) sliced black olives, drained

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup basil pesto (see notes)
• 1 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice (see notes)

Instructions

1. Thaw peas with in colander while you prep the other ingredients.
2. Dice chicken into pieces about 3/4 inch and put into mixing bowl.
3. Slice green onions, drain olives, and measure out peas.
4. Whisk together mayo, pesto, and lemon juice to make the dressing.
5. Mix desired amount of dressing into the chicken, tossing well so all the chicken is coated with dressing.
6. Gently stir in the green onions, olives, and peas. (You might want to add a little more dressing if you didn't use it all.)
7. Season salad to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
8. Salad can be chilled a few hours or served right away. It will keep overnight in the fridge, but you might want to add a little more dressing when you serve the leftovers.

Notes

We made this recipe with Kirkland Basil Pesto, but if I had some of my homemade Basil Pesto with Lemon I'd definitely use that. I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice for this recipe.

This recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 502Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 137mgSodium: 272mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 35g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If you go easy on the peas like I did, this Low-Carb Chicken Pesto Salad with Olives and Peas would be approved for low-carb diets and for phase two or three of the South Beach Diet. South Beach would prefer light mayo, and other low-carb plans would prefer full-fat; take your choice on that!

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Check out Salad Recipes for more ideas for tasty salads! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

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