Hawaiian Chicken Salad

Treat yourself to a taste of the tropics with this Hawaiian Chicken Salad. It's quick to make and completely delicious with plenty of meaty chicken, dried pineapple, chopped macadamia nuts, and toasted coconut flakes. Serve it for a special occasion or just because you deserve it!

The inspiration for today's chilled chicken salad comes from my Orange Cashew Chicken Salad recipe, which I absolutely adore! To me, there's something comforting about having a delicious chicken salad in the refrigerator for a quick lunch or dinner that makes me so happy. If you're a chicken salad lover, too, then you understand!

Jump to:

• The ingredient list:
• Ingredient savvy:
• How to make Hawaiian chicken salad:
• Suggestions for ingredient substitutions:
• Additional add-in suggestions:
• FAQs:
• Serving suggestions:
• Additional cold chicken salad ideas:
• Additional Hawaiian-inspired recipes:
• Printable Recipe Card

The ingredient list:

Ingredient savvy:

CHOPPED COOKED CHICKEN - I poached two chicken breasts in salted water for this recipe until they were no longer pink in the center. I rinsed and cooled them before chopping the breasts into bite-sized pieces. Feel free to use store-bought rotisserie chicken (using both white and dark meat, if you prefer) and make this a rotisserie chicken, chicken salad. Also, feel free to shred and not chop the chicken. It's your chicken salad recipe now; make it your way!!

DRIED PINEAPPLE CHUNKS - I used the dried pineapple for the extra chewy texture I knew it would provide. After the finished chicken salad sits in the refrigerator, the dried pineapple reconstitutes slightly to become less chewy. You can, however, use fresh or pineapple chunks (dried thoroughly before adding them to the chicken salad) for a bit more pineapple flavor.

SEA SALTED MACDAMIA NUTS - Hawaii's favorite nut, and mine too!! Macadamia nuts are buttery in flavor with a fantastic firm crunch and slight saltiness. However, they are pricy, so feel free to substitute them with other nuts (suggestions listed below).

CELERY - To me, celery is one of the quintessential ingredients for an epic chicken salad. It's the one ingredient (besides the chicken) that pulls everything together with an undeniably satisfying flavor and crunch.

SHALLOTS - A cross between an onion and garlic, shallots are a wonderfully mild alternative to both. I adore using shallots in my cooking, especially something that isn't cooked, like a chicken salad.

UNSWEETENED TOASTED COCONUT FLAKES - When I think of Hawaii, I think of a small handful of ingredients, and coconut is one of them. I opted for unsweetened coconut flakes in this recipe because I didn't want the end result to be overly sweet. The flavor of the coconut is very mild in this salad, so if you're a fan of more coconut flavor, you may want to add more than the half cup called for in this recipe—your call.

CORIANDER - Ground coriander adds brightness to this salad, but it's not a flavor that is easily detectable. You'll definitely notice the bright flavor, but you might need help determining what it is! Please don't skip the ground coriander in this recipe.

MAYONNAISE - I used Duke's mayo, but you can use whatever kind you have on hand or is your favorite. If you prefer to avoid mayonnaise, please use one of the suggested substitutions I have listed for you further down below.

UNSWEETENED COCONUT MILK - You can also use sweetened coconut, almond, soy, or any other milk you enjoy. I used the milk only to thin the mayonnaise, so I used very little, two tablespoons, to be exact.

GRATED GINGER - This final ingredient was a last-minute addition after thinking this chilled chicken salad needed a slightly spicy zip to make it a real stand out. You can also use ground ginger if you'd prefer, but if doing so, I recommend cutting back the amount from ½ teaspoon (called for in the recipe) to ¼ teaspoon because dried herbs and spices are always more potent than fresh.

How to make Hawaiian chicken salad:

Suggestions for ingredient substitutions:

If you're not a fan of egg-based mayonnaise, how about trying this homemade eggless mayonnaise that uses oil, milk, apple cider vinegar and a few other pantry staples. Or you could try my recipe for healthy avocado oil mayonnaise. This recipe still uses a few eggs but the star of this delicious production is the avocado oil.

If you'd like to use fresh pineapple instead of dried pineapple, make sure to dry it very, very well before adding it to the bowl or the chicken salad will turn into a watery mess while it chills in the fridge, and nobody likes a watery chicken salad!

I get if if you'd prefer not to use macadamia nuts because of their cost, and if that's the case, why not substitute some roasted, chopped almonds or hazelnuts? I think either of those would be a nice substitution, or you could forgo the nuts altogether and just rely on the celery for the textural crunch.

Minced red onion (soaked for 30 minutes in water) would be a delicious substitution for the minced shallots, and by soaking them in water first (drain and dry them well) will take away some of their pungent bite and make them more mellow in flavor.

Not a fan of coconut? No worries, leave this ingredient out entirely, or you can substitute sliced water chestnuts (drained and dried) for additional texture and crunch.

If you fall in the "eww, cilantro, camp," why not add some chopped fresh parsley instead, or the zest of one or two limes? Both those flavors will liven up the end product making your Hawaiian chicken salad a salad to remember.

Additional add-in suggestions:

• grape halves
• apple chunks
• raisins
• crushed pineapple, drained well
• chopped pecans
• dried ginger
• ground mustard

FAQs:

Serving suggestions:

You can eat this chicken salad right out of a bowl or container using only a fork (not that I'd know anything about that)! LOL

Spread it on toast or your favorite bun for a delicious lunch or dinner sandwich.

Scoop some onto a nice pile of lettuce salad and munch until your heart's content.

Use it as an appetizer spread with crackers or pita bread.

Additional cold chicken salad ideas:

Tzatziki Chicken Salad is the Greek-inspired homemade chicken salad recipe you've been waiting for, and it can be ready in no time flat with the use of store-bought rotisserie chicken! Make some today and enjoy it for lunch, dinner, or anytime snacking.

Orange Cashew Chicken Salad uses rotisserie chicken, roasted cashews, and pecans, along with a touch of orange zest and juice. It's simply the best chicken salad, ever!

Sweet and savory creamy Chicken Salad with Dried Apricots makes a delicious summer meal when served in lettuce cups for a low-carb meal option, or between some delicious bread as a sandwich filling.

Avocado Chicken Salad is a wonderful and easy filling for tortilla wraps. Store-bought rotisserie chicken makes it the perfect choice for a quick and tasty grab-and-go lunch or dinner. 

Rainbow Chicken Salad is healthy and delicious! Chock full of so many of Mother Nature's wonderful ingredients, this is a chicken salad you can feel good about eating!

You may think that with a name like Christmas Chicken Salad, you can only make and serve this delicious chicken salad for the holidays. Not so. You'll want to serve it any time of the year. It's THAT good!!

Additional Hawaiian-inspired recipes:

Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken Thighs are a moist and flavorful family favorite that comes together in a snap with the help of the slow cooker. 

This super cute Aloha Pineapple Cheese Ball will be the hit of your next summer party. It's really easy to make and it's crazy delicious too!

Coconut Macadamia Nut Cookies are just what you're craving when you need a little something sweet, and a little something rich and buttery.

Whether you make Pineapple Pork Tenderloin on the outdoor grill, or inside in the oven...just make it. The pineapple gives the pork a wonderful flavor that you're going to flip over!

Printable Recipe Card

I hope you've enjoyed today's Hawaiian-inspired, flavorful chicken salad recipe as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you!