Simple Chicken Breast Salad

Name: Simple Chicken Breast Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 13 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 1/3 cup mayonnaise; 2 tbsp sour cream; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tsp lemon zest; 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill, plus more to finish; 2 celery ribs, thinly sliced; 1/3 cup diced red onion; 4 cups chopped romaine hearts; 1 ripe avocado, diced; 3/4 tsp salt, divided; 1/2 tsp black pepper

⏲ ~33 min total · prep 20 · cook 13 · 4 servings

Lunch⏱ 50 min total🔥 11.1g net carbs

By the KFI Test Kitchen · Tested & approved by Jason Lieu, KFI recipe editor

Published Sep 15, 2026 · Updated Sep 15, 2026

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill, plus more to finish
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1/3 cup diced red onion
4 cups chopped romaine hearts
1 ripe avocado, diced
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Nestle the chicken in a saucepan, cover with cold water by 1 inch, and add 1/2 tsp of the salt; bring to a bare simmer over medium heat — the surface should barely shiver, with sparse bubbles.
Poach 12-14 minutes at that lazy simmer until the thickest breast registers 160°F, then lift out, cool 10 minutes, and chill uncovered in the fridge for 15 minutes until cold.
Dice the chilled chicken into 3/4-inch cubes.
Whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, dill, remaining 1/4 tsp salt, and pepper until smooth.
Fold the chicken, celery, and red onion through the dressing until every cube is coated.
Divide the romaine among plates, mound the chicken salad on top, add the avocado, and finish with dill fronds and a grind of pepper.

Why this recipe works

A lazy simmer Poaching at a bare shiver, where the surface barely moves, keeps chicken breasts from tightening up. Boiled breast is chalk; this one dices into clean cubes.
Cold before the dice Fifteen minutes uncovered in the fridge chills the meat so it cuts 3/4-inch cubes with sharp edges instead of shredding.
Dressing with structure Sour cream alongside the mayonnaise thins the richness, and lemon zest plus dill keep the bowl from tasting flat.

Tips for making this recipe well

Trust the thermometer

Twelve to 14 minutes is typical, but the thickest breast reading 160°F is what matters. The meat finishes as it cools and stays juicy.

Start in cold water

Chicken covered by an inch of cold water heats evenly from the start. Dropping it into hot water seizes the outside while the center lags.

Dress the chicken cool

The chilled cubes hold the mayo mixture cleanly. Warm chicken melts it into a slick at the bottom of the bowl.

Avocado last

Dice the avocado and lay it on at serving, not during the toss. Stirred in early, it bruises and smears into the dressing.

Salt the poaching water

Half a teaspoon in the pot seasons the meat from within. The remaining quarter teaspoon seasons the dressing, so neither step skimps.

Serving suggestions

Fifty minutes sounds long for chicken salad, but most of that is poaching, cooling, and chilling while you slice celery. Mound the dressed chicken on chopped romaine hearts and fan the avocado alongside so it stays intact. At 11.1 net carbs a serving, lunch is handled, and the extra dill on top is worth the chopping. Eat it cold; that is the design.

Storage and meal prep

This is a make-ahead lunch by nature. The chicken salad portion keeps 3 to 4 days covered in the fridge, and it settles in nicely by day two as the dill and lemon do their work. Store it separately from the romaine and avocado so nothing wilts; assemble servings as you eat them. Freezing is not worth 2 to 3 months of risk, since mayonnaise-based dressings separate when thawed and the texture never comes back.

Variations worth trying

Tarragon instead of dill Tarragon pushes the bowl toward French bistro territory; use the same tablespoon.
No onion version Leave out the red onion if the table is divided; the celery carries the crunch alone.
Lettuce-wrap lunch Skip the romaine base and spoon the salad into whole leaves for hand-held eating.
Extra lemon Double the juice and zest if you like a sharper dressing; it holds against the mayo without breaking.

Frequently asked questions

Why poach instead of roast or grill the chicken?

Poaching keeps the meat moist without added fat and leaves it neutral enough for the lemon-dill dressing to lead. Roasted or grilled chicken brings browned flavor that competes with the mayo mixture.

Can I use rotisserie chicken?

Yes, and it skips the poaching and chilling entirely. Pull the meat into large chunks rather than shredding so the salad keeps some texture.

How do I keep the avocado from browning?

Dice it at the last minute and keep it off the dressed chicken until serving. A squeeze of the recipe's lemon juice over the cut pieces slows the browning further.

Is the poaching liquid reused?

No, the recipe seasons it lightly and lets it go. If you like, the strained liquid makes a light base for soup on another day.

Can I make it dairy-free?

The sour cream is the only dairy, and it can be replaced with more mayonnaise or a dairy-free sour cream. The dressing thickens slightly either way, so thin it with a teaspoon of lemon juice.

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