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A bowl filled with Tzatziki Chicken Salad, and all the Greek sides, with pita slices to the side.

Labneh Tzatziki Chicken Salad

All the flavours of the Mediterranean come together to make this bright and versatile chicken salad. Basic ingredients, and a quicker way to make Tzatziki make this a recipe you'll love to make all year round.
Course Salad
Cuisine Greek, Levantine, Mediterranean
Keyword labneh tzatziki, rotisserie chicken
Prep Time 15 minutes
Assemble 20 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Labneh Tzatziki

  • 1 cup labneh, can replace with skyr, avoid greek yogurt, see Notes
  • 1 larger, or 2 smaller Persian or mini cucumbers
  • 4-5 medium garlic cloves, minced or grated, use as much as you like garlic
  • zest and juice from half a medium lemon
  • 1 tbsp dill, finley minced
  • 1 tbsp mint, finely minced
  • salt and pepper

Chicken Salad, enough for four servings

  • 2 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, no skin
  • Labneh Tzatziki, see above
  • 1/4 cup celery, diced small
  • 1/4 cup red onion, diced small
  • 3 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp dill, finely chopped
  • one lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1/8 tsp dried chili flakes
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2-3 tbsp sliced kalamata olives, optional

Instructions

Labneh Tzatziki, make in advance

  1. Using a box grater set over a clean tea towel, shred the cucumber(s) I like to use both large and small holes for a variety of texture, it's fine if some of the green skin gets in. Wrap the towel around the shredded cucumber and squeeze over a bowl or the sink till all excess liquid is removed.
  2. Transfer the cucumber to a bowl.
  3. Grate or mince the garlic and add to the bowl. Add the labneh.
  4. Add the finely chopped herbs, the lemon zest and juice and the salt and pepper. Stir till evenly combined. Taste and re-season as desired. Store in a sealed container in the fridge to allow the flavours to meld.

Chicken Salad

  1. In a large bowl combine the shredded chicken, celery, red onion, parlsey and dill. Add roughly 1/2-2/3 cup of the Labneh Tzatziki to the bowl to start. Gently stir to combine. Add more Tzatziki if desired. Add in the lemon zest and chili flakes.
  2. If you find the chicken salad a little stiff, feel free to add lemon juice, or even red wine vinegar to help thin it out. Only start with a tablespoon till you get the consistency you like. Season with salt and pepper as desired, start with 1/2 tsp.
  3. Fold in sliced kalamata olives for a bright, briny contrast to the creamy salad.
  4. See blog post for serving suggestions.
  5. The finished Tzatziki Chicken Salad will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to five days.

Recipe Notes

To avoid the step of draining, avoid using Greek yogurt. The labneh or skyr are already thick enough to move on to making the dip.