Recipe: Hummus Chicken Salad

This easy Hummus Chicken Salad is a great way to get in quality protein, veggies, healthy fats, and phytonutrients all in one! It's a great recipe for meal prepping lunches throughout the week as you can make it ahead of time and use it in a variety of way, like on sandwich, a wrap, on top of a salad, etc. Feel free to add additional herbs or spices for increased nutritional value such as garlic, cumin, crushed red pepper, parsley, cilantro, etc. You can also mix it up by using different flavors/varieties of hummus! For the chicken, you can either cook boneless chicken breast or thighs yourself, or use chicken off a rotisserie chicken.

Ingredients:

- 4 cups shredded, cooked chicken (using rotisserie chicken is a great time saver)

- 1 diced red bell pepper 

- 1 cup diced cucumber 

- 1 cup shredded carrots

- 1/2 cup diced red onion 

- 1/4 packed cup dill, roughly chopped

- 1 8-ounce container hummus (feel free to use whichever is your favorite flavor to get a different taste profile)

- 1 lemon, juiced (lemon squeezers make fast work of this!)

- 2 tablespoons water

- salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

- Make the hummus dressing. Add hummus, lemon juice, water, and a good pinch of salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Mix well to combine.

- Make chicken salad. To a large bowl, add shredded chicken, peppers, cucumber, carrots, red onion, dill, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour dressing overtop and stir well to combine. Adjust according to taste. If you have time, let it chill for a few hours to allow the flavors to come together.

- Enjoy! Serve in a sandwich, salad, or however you like!

Christina Krisciunas, MSW, RDN, LD

Recipe adapted from Eat the Gains