Pesto Chicken Salad

My Pesto Chicken Salad is extra flavorful with green onion, olives, peas, and a tasty pesto dressing with mayo and lemon juice. And this is the perfect low-carb salad to make with leftover rotisserie chicken, and basil pesto fans will swoon over this easy chicken salad idea!

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Pesto Chicken Salad is the perfect salad to make with those packs of rotisserie chicken breast from Costco and this favorite salad is delicious any time of year! But even though I’d happily eat this in the dead of winter, I think salads like this are extra great when it’s really hot and you don’t want to turn on the stove.

And we loved this recipe that has leftover chicken, peas, black olives, and an easy dressing made with mayo, basil pesto, and lemon juice! You can use the Kirkland Basil Pesto from Costco too, if you don’t have fresh basil or don’t want to bother making homemade pesto.

If you like these ingredients I urge you to make Chicken Pesto Salad right away! And if you’re a basil pesto fan I bet you’ll make it over and over.

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• diced cooked chicken
• green onions
• frozen green peas
• sliced black olives
• mayo
• basil pesto 
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice

How did we update the Pesto Chicken Salad recipe?

In the updated version of this salad with pesto and chicken I switched out the edamame I used to use for green peas, and everyone agreed that the peas were a nice pop of color. I know some people may be suspicious about using peas in a low-carb salad, but if you make the recipe and divide it into the six servings I recommend, the peas only add 3 carbs per serving. I thought the flavor with peas was so great that for me it seemed worth the carbs; of course use fewer peas if you prefer.

How low in carbs is this updated Pesto Chicken Salad?

Even with the addition of peas, this amazing salad that’s made with mostly low-carb ingredients has only 4 net carbs per serving and 35 grams of protein!

Tips for making Pesto Chicken Salad salad easy to get on the table!

• To make it extra quick and easy to make this salad, we used the cut-up rotisserie chicken that comes in a package at Costco.
• You can make this salad with purchased basil pesto if you don’t want to bother with making pesto.
• If you buy the little cans of pre-sliced olives that will also save a bit of time.
• And if you keep fresh-frozen lemon juice in the freezer like I do, that will save the time of squeezing a lemon.

What kind of pesto should you use for Pesto Chicken Salad?

I’d love this salad with my Basil Pesto with Lemon, and I love to make that and freeze it so I’ll always have some on hand. But when I don’t have homemade pesto I would use my favorite Kirkland Basil Pesto, which was really good in the dressing for this salad with a little lemon juice added.

Want more tasty salads with chicken?

Check out Keto Chicken Salad Recipes for lots more tasty salads that to make with leftover grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken!

Steps for making Pesto Chicken Salad:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

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. The Pesto Chicken Salad can be chilled a few hours or served right away.
8. This salad 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 Pesto Chicken Salad alone for a summer lunch, but if you want to make it a more substantial meal this would taste great with one of these low-carb side dishes:

• Spicy Mexican Slaw
• Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing
• Artichoke Heart Salad,
• Al’s Famous Hungarian Cucumber Salad
• Kalyn’s Low-Carb Coleslaw.

Weekend Food Prep:

This Pesto Chicken Salad recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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Yield: Makes 6 servings

Pesto Chicken Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Pesto Chicken Salad with olives and peas is an amazing low-carb salad that's amazingly delicious, 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.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If you go easy on the peas like I did, the Pesto Chicken Salad would be approved for low-carb or Keto diets and for phase two or three of the original 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 might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This favorite salad with pesto and chicken was first posted in 2007! The recipe was updated to switch edamame for peas in 2019 and was last updated with more information in 2025.

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