Chicken Cucumber Salad Recipe (VIDEO)

Chicken Cucumber Salad is for dinner tonight!

My friends, what I am bringing you today is one of the easiest, fastest, most tasty chicken salads, you will ever make!! Some nights you need a quick go-to salad that tastes amazing but tastes no time at all to prepare and THIS IS IT!!

If the thought of a delicious chicken salad appeals to you but you think it will take too long to make on work night, then never fear, you will have this one on the table in less than 15 minutes. It is actually more like 10 minutes, but I am saying 15 in case you need to feed your furry friend at the same time.

Rotisserie Chicken is so versatile and saves time and effort when you don't have time to make a roast chicken 

Save the labour intensive cooking and long baking meals for the weekend and put this salad on your meal plan for the weeknights.

How to make Chicken Cucumber Salad?

In Australia we call a roast chicken from the grocery store a 'BBQ Chicken'. A few of our chains of supermarket sell them, hot, fresh and ready to go. I remember coming back from the airport late one night dying for a home cooked meal but bleary eyed didn't have the energy needed to make one. We grabbed a roast chicken from the store, also some coleslaw and mayonnaise and it was the next best thing to home cooked.

In the states, they are called 'Rotisserie Chicken' . You can take the skin off if you prefer (but it tastes amazing if you don't) and shred the chicken easily making a variety of meals.

One whole chicken easily feeds 4 adults and if you have little ones, you can also break some off for them.

When you are short on time, low on energy, but want a home cooked style meal, grab a rotisserie chicken, there are so many things you can do with it!

How to prepare cucumber for salad?

I LOVE cucumbers! They are so good for you as well! They have a high water content in them and can be prepared in many ways. For this salad, you will grate them into long thin strips. This allows for a pretty appearance to the salad and takes away any 'ugh, I'm eating salad!' feelings.

Lettuce salads definitely have their place and here is my Crispy Chicken BLT Salad recipe that uses lettuce as a primary ingredient. But I find it so enjoyable to brainstorm ideas for salads where you can spice it up a bit and add variety to your dishes.

 Long gone are the days when wilted lettuce garden salads are the only type you can have!

We are only using 5 ingredients to bring this salad together and the cucumber is absolutely the star of the dish! I admit that whilst I probably should, I don't even normally rinse my cucumbers before using them (they always look good to go!). But if you want to give them a quick rinse then they are ready to prepare.

It helps if you have a good quality grater and you start from one end and grate rotating the cucumber in your hand when you get to the core.

You can use the cucumber core for other recipes or cut the seed part as well into coin size pieces and throw them in (I had another recipe in mind for the core of the cucumber so put them in the fridge for another occasion).

One thing to keep in mind is that you don't want your salad to get too soggy. So if you are making this for work lunches, I recommend leaving the core out and using the grated cucumber only. This will mean that you can make the salad, take the dressing on the side, toss and dress at your desk or lunch room and the freshness of the salad will be maintained.

Can I make this Chicken Cucumber Salad vegan?

If you like the idea of this salad, but are vegetarian or vegan, the option for you is to start by making the skeleton of the salad in the same way. So you have your grated cucumber, then you can add a mock meat or other roasted vegetables (am thinking sweet potato), top with the capers, toasted flaked almonds and dress. That way you are getting a salad with a similar taste but maintaining your lifestyle choices where you wish.

Salad for you, salad for me

If you follow my blog (thank-you :P), you will know that I LOVE making bright and colourful salads! There are many to choose from and ones to suit all occasions.

Some of my favourites are:

• Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad (recipe is here)
• Black Bean Quinoa Salad (recipe is here)
• Shredded Brussels Sprout Quinoa Salad (recipe is here)

 Quick salads, easy salads, warm salads, vegetarian or vegan salads, I have you covered!

About the recipe:

• The chicken can be served hot or cold
• The recipe only has 5 ingredients!
• This dish will take less than 15 minutes to make
• This is a perfect week night salad
• We use rotisserie chicken for this salad 

To answer your questions:

1. The salad is not suitable to freeze
2. You can toast the almonds in the microwave, or stove top 
3. For a vegetarian option substitute sweet potato for the chicken
4. This is a SUPER EASY salad to make

This is a perfect salad to meal prep! Save the core of the cucumber for another dish, so your salad won't get soggy!

Quick and easy recipes

I find therapy in this dish as IT IS SO DARN QUICK AND EASY!!! On week nights when you come in the door from work and you have mouths to feed and you might be a little tired, this is PERFECT! I love that you get such a healthy style recipe on your table in under 15 minutes and that it tastes amazing. I also love that you don't have to go through the drive through to achieve that!

You can shred the chicken using 2 forks, when you purchase it and then use portions of that shredded chicken meat, throughout the week to save time and energy!

There is a time and a place for every dish and this chicken cucumber salad's place is when you don't have time but you still want to be mindful of what you are eating!

📖 Recipe