Coronation Chicken Salad

By Melissa Clark

Updated October 11, 2023

  • Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
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Total Time
1½ hours
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Rating
4(1,789)
Comments
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Coronation chicken salad is an easy, pantry-friendly dish, loosely based on a posh, classically French chicken recipe that was created to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. This is the recipe you’d find during its heyday in Britain in the 1980s: a curried chicken salad loaded with dried fruit, mango chutney and sliced almonds, usually served as a sandwich filling or on top of baked potatoes. Debates rage over whether to include diced apricots or golden raisins (also called sultanas), but since each works well with the other flavors, you can use whichever you like. If you want a more intensely golden color, stir in ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric with the curry. And if you’re starting with leftover cooked chicken or a rotisserie chicken (you’ll need 6 cups), just skip Step 1. For a meatless version, you can try these cauliflower salad sandwiches.

Featured in: What Is Coronation Chicken? The History Behind the Dish.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

FOR THE CHICKEN

  • 3 ½ to 4 pounds bone-in chicken parts (all breasts or a combination of parts)

  • 1 tablespoon fine sea or table salt, plus more to taste

  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 1 onion

  • 1 cinnamon stick

FOR THE SALAD

  • ½ cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade, plus more as needed

  • ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, sour cream or crème fraîche

  • 3 tablespoons mango chutney (any large mango pieces chopped smaller), plus more to taste

  • 1 tablespoon curry paste or powder (such as Madras), plus more to taste

  • ⅓ cup diced dried apricots or golden raisins

  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice, more to taste

  • ½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro, leaves and tender stems, or scallions

  • Fine sea or table salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

19 grams carbs; 289 milligrams cholesterol; 887 calories; 26 grams monosaturated fat; 20 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 67 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 905 milligrams sodium; 51 grams protein; 12 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the chicken: In a large saucepan or soup pot, combine the chicken, salt, peppercorns, bay leaf, onion and cinnamon stick. Add enough water to cover everything by 1 inch, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Let simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let chicken cool in the broth.

  2. Step 2

    Transfer cooled chicken to a cutting board, reserving the broth for another use. Pull the meat off the bones, discarding skin, and shred or dice the meat into bite-size pieces.

  3. Step 3

    Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, chutney, curry paste or powder, dried apricots or raisins, and lemon or lime juice, mixing well. Fold in the chicken, almonds, cilantro or scallion, and a little more mayonnaise if the mixture seems dry.

  4. Step 4

    Taste and add more curry paste or powder. (You may end up doubling the amount; the flavors of curry pastes and powders vary widely.) Add more chutney, lemon or lime juice, salt and pepper as needed. For the best flavor, let the mixture rest for at least 30 minutes before serving. It will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,789 user ratings
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Comments

Alex

If using curry powder, best to combine with mayonnaise at least 24 hours in advance. It can be gritty if the curry doesn’t have time to absorb oil and soften.

dimmerswitch

We prefer poached chicken breasts as the starting point. A single star anise can work too instead of cinnamon in poach. Mango chutney is staple for us but you can use apricot jam, just chop any big pieces of apricot in it. We prefer golden raisins over apricots. We like to add a little tumeric. Fine sliced celery and chopped scallions are good adds even if not part of the original recipe. This scales down or up easily. Best made ahead several hours in advance.

Madison

When I make curried chicken salad, which comes in countless varieties, I put the lemon on just before serving the portions that are going to be eaten immediately. Otherwise the lemon tends to make the chicken mushy.

Suzanne

I always have dried cranberries in the pantry, so I used those and I like the pop of tartness in with everything else. We eat a lot of chicken, and I'll buy a 6 to 10 pound bag of boneless chicken breast once a week. Take two chicken breasts, trim and poach them, then have them at the ready for this or other quick dinners and you'll thank yourself. This one is perfect for summer dinners when you don't want to heat up the house.

Jean

I couldn't find mango chutney, so I used apricot jam plus a mango-habanero jelly. Added fresh chopped mango and half of a cosmic crisp apple, chopped (because I've always made chicken curry salad with apple--love the crunch). I was also pressed for time, so I used a rotisserie chicken (got 1-1/2 lbs of white and nearly white meat off it and cut all the other ingredients in half). Guests at the party all loved it.

Cynthia T

Mae with a rotisserie chicken. Excellent

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