This delicious, creamy chicken mushroom salad recipe is inspired by a Russian dish called ‘Salat Sherlock’ and can be enjoyed over shredded lettuce and favourite veggies or as a filling in a wrap or a sandwich. This chicken salad recipe is gluten-free paleo, Whole30 and keto-friendly.
About Chicken Mushroom Salad
While going through a rabbit hole of YouTube recipe videos, I stumbled upon a Russian salad called Sherlock. It looked like a paleo and keto-friendly chicken salad, so I decided to try it out for the blog.
The reason behind the name is that for a seemingly simple dish, this chicken salad has a somewhat unique flavour (delicious, by the way!) which takes the person eating it on a bit of detective journey trying to guess what is actually inside. Hence the name ‘Sherlock’.
Well, I will tell you what’s inside and show you how to make it below. I really enjoyed it myself and we had it both as chicken lettuce wraps and used leftovers in quesadillas. It’s super simple to make and keeps well for a few days, so you can enjoy it for lunches, dinner or as a quick snack.
Ingredients For Creamy Chicken Salad
This paleo and keto chicken salad is made with the following simple ingredients:
- Pre-cooked chicken meat (you can use chicken breasts or thighs, I use roasted chicken you can pick up from the deli section of your supermarket)
- Marinated mushrooms – you know the ones you see in the pickles/gherkins section or sometimes in a can. They add a little acidity to the salad, which you won’t get from fresh mushrooms. If you do want to slice up some fresh button mushrooms, add a little lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to the salad.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Onion – it’s diced and sauteed first.
- Crushed walnuts, which you could swap for almonds, hazelnuts or whatever you have in the pantry.
- Dressing of mayonnaise, salt, pepper and I add a little mustard and grated garlic (not pictured here).
How To Make This Chicken Mushroom Salad
Find the full recipe, ingredients and nutritional breakdown in the recipe card below. Here are some step-by-step photos to guide you along. Store the salad in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
More Healthy Chicken Recipes
- For a healthy, classic chicken salad, I love this version from iFoodReal
- Chicken Sausage Patties With Pear & Sage (Whole30, Gluten-Free)
- Grilled Chicken Piccata (Keto, Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)
- Low-Carb Greek Chicken Bowls (Keto, Gluten-Free)
- Rainbow Chicken Dinner (Paleo, Whole30, Gluten-Free)
Full Recipe
Find the full list of ingredients, instructions, and a nutritional breakdown below. If you have questions or cook this recipe, please let me know in the comments, and make sure to rate this recipe so it’s easy for others to find.
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Creamy Chicken Mushroom Salad 'Sherlock' (Keto, Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
- 3 hard-boiled eggs diced
- 1.5-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 110 g walnuts chopped (4 oz.)
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 250 g cooked chicken shredded or diced into cubes (8-9 oz.)
- 160-200 g marinated mushrooms sliced - see notes (6-7 oz.)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dijon or yellow mustard
- 1 garlic clove crushed or minced (optional)
- 1 spring onion chopped for final garnish (optional)
- Cos or gem lettuce leaves to serve with
Instructions
- Cook the eggs to hard-boiled if you don't have them ready ahead of time. Simply add 3 eggs to a pot of cold water, bring to a boil and cook for 8-9 minutes. Drain and leave in cold water for a few minutes before peeling.
- Heat olive oil in a medium frying pan and add the onions. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until soft and golden.
- In the meantime, shred or dice the chicken and eggs and slice the mushrooms. Crush or chop the walnuts.
- Combine everything with the fried onions, salt, pepper, mayonnaise and mustard. I really like adding one clove of grated or minced garlic for a little sharpness but this is optional. Mix everything until well combined with mayo. Serve in a bowl with a few extra walnuts on top and some chopped spring onion or chives.
- Enjoy with lettuce wraps/cups, in a tortilla wrap, with a side of garden salad. You can also use this chicken salad to stuff baked potatoes or sweet potatoes or use it as a filling in a sandwich.
Notes
Nutrition
We marinated the mushrooms in a balsamic reduction and a little bit of olive oil.
Then we followed your instructions and MY GOODNESS!
What a treat! It’s got elements of Waldorf, delicious creaminess, 5/5 would make again!
Thanks so much 🙂 What a clever idea to marinate the mushrooms first, great for someone who can’t get those out of a jar. Thanks for the tip 😉