Spicy Chicken Salad with Ginger and Lemon
This Spicy Chicken Salad with Ginger and Lemon is a tasty year-round salad to make with leftover chicken or turkey! And I’ve updated this recipe with more user-friendly options to make it a bit easier to get on the table!
PIN the Spicy Chicken Salad to make it later!
Spicy Chicken Salad with Ginger and Lemon is a salad I first made years ago to use some leftover turkey at Thanksgiving. Then though the years I started to make the salad more often with chicken instead of turkey, and now I’m guessing that’s what most people would use to make this tasty salad.
The salad features chunks of turkey or chicken with a dressing that’s seasoned with cumin, coriander, minced ginger, Green Tabasco Sauce, lemon zest, and lemon juice. It also has sliced green onion and chopped cilantro (optional), and then it’s topped with chopped peanuts to add some crunch!
This flavorful and slightly spicy chicken salad is a recipe I always thought should be more popular on the website, so recently I updated the recipe with a few convenience ingredients so now it’s easier to make, and then I took some better photos to entice you to try it!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(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.
- leftover chicken (or turkey)
- green onion
- fresh cilantro (or use more green onion)
- peanuts (or other nuts)
- Ground Cumin (affiliate link)
- Ground Coriander (affiliate link)
- Minced Ginger (affiliate link)
- Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link)
- salt
- zest of 2 lemons
- fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- mayo
How did I make the Spicy Chicken Salad easier to make?
I made a few changes that I think make this chicken salad more appealing and easier to get on the table. If you prefer some of the original ingredients, go ahead and make that switch!
- I increased the amount of chicken for a salad that makes six servings.
- I switched out cashews for peanuts which more people keep on hand.
- I switched whole cumin seed for a slightly smaller amount of Ground Cumin (affiliate link).
- I switched whole coriander seed for a slightly smaller amount of Ground Coriander (affiliate link).
- I switched minced fresh ginger root for Minced Ginger (affiliate link) from a jar, a great convenience product.
- I switched chopped fresh jalapeno for easier to use Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link).
Can you make this chicken salad recipe without cilantro?
If you’re not a cilantro fan, just replace it with more thinly-sliced green onion.
How spicy is this chicken salad?
I love the spicy kick in this salad with Green Tabasco Sauce but you can use less of that if you don’t want it very spicy. Start with a smaller amount and taste the dressing, adding more Green Tabasco until it seems just right to you.
What kinds of nuts can you use for this chicken salad?
You can make this with peanuts, cashews, or almonds, which will all be delicious in this salad.
How low in carbs is this Spicy Chicken Salad?
This tasty chicken salad has only about 5 net carbs per serving and 42 grams of protein!
How to Make Spicy Chicken Salad with Ginger and Lemon:
(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.
- Chop up cilantro and slice the green onions.
- Zest two lemons and squeeze the juice.
- Cut chicken or turkey into chunks about 1 inch square.
- Stir together ground cumin, ground coriander, minced ginger, Green Tabasco Sauce, salt, lemon zest, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and mayo to make the dressing.
- Stir the dressing into the chicken and toss until it’s coated with dressing.
- Add the sliced green onion and chopped cilantro and stir to combine.
- Chop peanuts and serve the Spicy Chicken Salad with a sprinkling of peanuts on each serving or mix them into the whole salad if you prefer.
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe for Spicy Chicken Salad 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!
Spicy Chicken Salad with Ginger and Lemon
You can use leftover turkey or chicken in this Spicy Chicken Salad with Ginger and lemon and this is a low-carb salad that's a delicious and unusual!
Ingredients
- 6 cups leftover chicken or turkey, diced into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup thinly sliced green onion
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (see notes)
- 1/2 cup chopped peanuts (see notes)
Dressing Ingredients:
- 3/4 tsp. ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp. ground coriander
- 3 T minced ginger (see notes)
- 3 T Green Tabasco Sauce (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- zest of 2 lemons (see notes)
- 3 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup mayo
Instructions
- Wash cilantro in salad spinner if needed, spin dry, and chop the cilantro.
- Wash and dry green onions and slice.
- Zest lemons and then squeeze the juice.
- Cut the leftover chicken into cubes about 1 inch square.
- Mix together ground cumin, ground coriander, minced ginger, Green Tabasco Sauce, salt, lemon zest, and lemon juice to make the dressing.
- Put the chopped chicken into a bowl and mix with the dressing.
- Mix the chopped cilantro and sliced green onions into the salad.
- Coarsely chop the peanuts and serve the salad with a sprinkling of peanuts on each serving, or you can mix peanuts into the entire salad if you're serving the whole salad in a bowl.
Notes
If you're not a cilantro fan, replace it with more sliced green onion.
You can use peanuts, cashews, or slivered almonds in this salad.
I used minced ginger from a jar to make it easier, but use fresh minced ginger root if you prefer. I used Green Tabasco Sauce for the Jalapeno flavor but use a slightly smaller amount of seeded and minced fresh Jalapeno if you prefer.
Zest the lemon first, and then squeeze the juice. You can freeze the extra lemon juice to use at a later time.
You can use partly light mayo or fat-free Greek Yogurt for the dressing if you prefer.
Recipe adapted from Lemon Cashew Chicken Salad from Sunset Magazine.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 654Total Fat 53gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 39gCholesterol 142mgSodium 766mgCarbohydrates 8gFiber 3gSugar 1.7gProtein 42g
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:
The Spicy Chicken Salad with Ginger and Lemon is a perfect salad for low-carb or Keto. If you’re making this for the original South Beach Diet, they would prefer replacing some of the mayo with non-fat or low-fat greek yogurt, and maybe use light mayo as well. Other low-carb plans would want full-fat ingredients.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more 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 Spicy Chicken Salad recipe was first posted in 2012. It was updated with more user-friendly ingredients and increased to make six servings in 2024 and was last updated in 2025.
13 Comments on “Spicy Chicken Salad with Ginger and Lemon”
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Thanks Jen, and welcome back! I do try to stay up on what is considered "healthy" but it's always changing. I do agree totally that the internet is full of misinformation.
Kalyn, I've been away for a few years but I'm back and on the SBD. I have tried many recipes on your blog (no dud in the bunch) but this is my favorite: delicious, healthy and full of my favorite flavors. I also like that it lasts in the fridge for a few days. The internet is full of misinformation and garbage but I can always trust your site to provide the best information on nutrition and good food. Thank you. JenRN
Denise, so glad you liked it.
I just made your recipe using chicken. I had to alter it a bit. Since I only had ground spices I couldn't toast them, and I forgot the fresh ginger so I had to use ground. I love that there is so much less fat in this because of the greek yogurt (which by itself I can't stand so I would never have thought to use it!) We can't have regular onions or garlic in our house, so finding a recipe with this much flavor that doesn't require either is exciting. We tossed the salad on top of some fresh warm pita and it was awesome!
Misty, that will still be good, no worries. I might use just a pinch more of each.
If I don't have a spice grinder- or really the budget to buy more spices, would it be horrible to use ground coriander and ground cumin?
I can already imagine the wonderful aroma of those toasted spices! I'm not a cilantro fan, as you know, but I think a little bit would really make the difference in this salad. Maybe I'd use half cilantro, half parsley.
Thanks Prerna; my nephew and I loved the spicy dressing when we tested it!
I am a huge fan of grinding fresh spices in small batches and use it right away. This is a great recipe Kalyn, definitely trying this one.
Joanne and Cara, I definitely agree that leftovers are one of the best things about Thanksgiving (besides seeing the kids, of course!)
It's posts like these that make me jealous that I don't get to host Thanksgiving (and probably never will, it's the only holiday we travel for to spend with my hubby's extended family.) Leftovers are the best part!
I am definitely going to pass this onto my mom! She's going to need it after the big day. 🙂