This cottage cheese chicken salad without mayo is a creamy, high-protein twist on the classic - made with shredded chicken, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, celery, red onion, and Dijon mustard. It has 24 grams of protein per serving, comes together in 10 minutes, and tastes even better than the mayo version.
Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad At A Glance
- ✅ Recipe Name: Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad (No Mayo, High-Protein)
- 🕒 Ready In: 10 minutes (no cooking required with rotisserie chicken)
- 👪 Serves: 4
- 🍽 Calories: ~160 per serving
- 💪 Protein: 24 grams per serving
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: Shredded chicken, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, celery, red onion, Dijon mustard, lemon
- 📖 Dietary Info: High-protein, gluten-free, nut-free, low-carb (easily made dairy-free - see variations)
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: You can't taste the cottage cheese - just a creamy, tangy chicken salad with 24g of protein, half the calories of the mayo version, and enough staying power to replace a post-workout meal.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
Cottage cheese is hands down the best mayo swap I've found, especially when you add a little Greek yogurt to the mix. My ratio is ¾ cup cottage cheese to ¼ cup Greek yogurt for every 2 cups of shredded chicken. The cottage cheese makes it creamy and packs in protein, while the yogurt adds a little tang you'd miss otherwise.
I cook with cottage cheese constantly - it's how I get my protein in without chugging shakes, whether it's my cottage cheese mac and cheese or this chicken salad.
So when I set out to make this recipe, I tried it three ways. Yogurt on its own went watery by day two. Cottage cheese on its own was chunky and kind of boring. The blend was the one my family kept coming back to.
And if you're over mayo in general, I've also got this Summer corn and avocado salad and these healthy buffalo Caesar wrap.
Jump to:
- Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad At A Glance
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Cottage Cheese vs. Greek Yogurt vs. Mayo
- Ingredients You'll Need
- Easy Substitutions
- How to Make Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad (Step-by-Step)
- Video Tutorial (Step-by-Step)
- Tips + Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Healthy Chicken Salad Variations
- What to Serve With Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad
- How to Store, Meal Prep & Freeze
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Healthy Lunch Recipes to Try
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Skip the mayo without missing it. Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt give you the same creamy texture - nothing watery, nothing weird.
- 24 grams of protein per serving. That's more than four eggs, with about half the calories of a classic mayo-based chicken salad.
- Done in 10 minutes. One bowl, no cooking, no blender - just shred, stir, and eat.
- The best meal prep. Holds up in the fridge for 4 days, and the flavors actually get tangier and more interesting over time.
- Works in anything. Pile it on toast, stuff it in a pita, scoop it with cucumbers, or eat it cold out of the container. I've done all four.
Cottage Cheese vs. Greek Yogurt vs. Mayo
All three can make chicken salad creamy, but they deliver very different results:
- Cottage cheese - 7g protein, 55 calories, 2.5g fat per ¼ cup. The highest-protein option by a wide margin. Gives the salad body and creaminess without the heaviness of mayo.
- Greek yogurt - 6g protein, 35 calories per ¼ cup. Brings the tang, but thins out on its own - which is why it works best blended with cottage cheese.
- Mayo - 0g protein, 180 calories per ¼ cup. The smoothest texture, but 3x the calories of cottage cheese with no nutritional payoff.
The takeaway: Blending cottage cheese and Greek yogurt in a ¾-to-¼ ratio gives you a creamy chicken salad with half the calories and a quarter of the fat of the traditional mayo version - plus more protein.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Cooked shredded chicken - Rotisserie is my go-to for speed, but any cooked chicken works. Baked, grilled, or poached breasts all do the job.
- Cottage cheese - The creamy base that replaces mayo. I use full-fat (4%) for the richest texture, but 2% works too. Low-fat tends to get watery, so I'd skip it.
- Plain Greek yogurt - Adds tang and thickens the dressing. Full-fat or 2% both work. Fage is my favorite brand because it's thick enough that the salad never turns runny. I also use it in my tuna salad without mayo for the same reason.
- Celery - Thinly sliced for crunch. Don't skip it - it's what keeps the salad from feeling one-note.
- Red onion - Diced small and soaked in cold water for 10 minutes. This one step mellows the sharpness and kills that raw-onion aftertaste.
- Dijon mustard - One tablespoon does the job. It adds tang and pulls all the flavors together - it's the same mustard I rely on in my protein chicken Caesar pasta salad.
- Salt and pepper - To taste. Start small and add more after mixing.
See recipe card for quantities.
Easy Substitutions
- No Greek yogurt? Use 1 full cup of cottage cheese instead and add an extra squeeze of lemon.
- No cottage cheese? Use ½ cup Greek yogurt plus 2 tablespoons of mashed avocado.
- Make it dairy-free: Use a thick, unsweetened dairy-free yogurt. Don't grab a vanilla one by mistake - it'll taste weird.
- No red onion? Two thinly sliced green onions or one small shallot. You can skip the soaking step.
- No Dijon? Whole-grain mustard is the best swap. Yellow mustard works, but it'll taste flatter.
- No celery? Diced cucumber (seeds removed) or thinly sliced radish.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad (Step-by-Step)
- Step 1: Add the cooked chicken, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, celery, and drained red onion to a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 2: Stir until everything is creamy and combined. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if needed.
Video Tutorial (Step-by-Step)
Tips + Common Mistakes to Avoid
A few things I learned after making this dozens of times:
- Don't skip the red onion soak. Ten minutes in cold water takes the sharp bite out of raw red onion - without it, the flavor lingers for hours and overpowers everything else.
- Use rotisserie chicken to save time. Any cooked chicken works, but rotisserie is what I reach for on busy weeks. Pull the meat while it's still slightly warm - it shreds easier.
- Shred the chicken, don't chop it. Shredded chicken grabs onto the cottage cheese and yogurt, so every bite is creamy. Chopped chicken tends to slide around and leave dry spots.
Healthy Chicken Salad Variations
This recipe is a blank canvas - once you have the cottage cheese and Greek yogurt base down, you can take it in a dozen directions. Here are the flavor twists I make most often:
- Curry chicken salad. Stir in 1 teaspoon of curry powder and a handful of raisins or chopped apples. The warmth of the curry plays perfectly against the cool, creamy base.
- Grape and walnut. Add ½ cup halved red grapes and ¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts. Sweet, crunchy, and the most classic variation for a reason.
- Apple and pecan. Add ½ cup diced Honeycrisp apple and ¼ cup toasted pecans. Perfect for fall lunches and packed lunchboxes.
- Buffalo chicken salad. Stir in 2 tablespoons of buffalo sauce and a sprinkle of blue cheese crumbles. Game-day worthy, still no mayo.
- Avocado chicken salad. Mash ½ a ripe avocado into the cottage cheese base for extra creaminess and healthy fats. Makes it extra rich.
What to Serve With Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad
This chicken salad is as versatile as it gets - here are the ways I actually eat it week to week:
- On toasted sourdough or whole-grain bread. The classic chicken salad sandwich, upgraded. I add a layer of butter lettuce and thinly sliced red onion for extra crunch.
- In a wrap or pita. Spoon it into a whole-wheat wrap with spinach, or stuff it into a warm pita half with cucumber slices - this is the same move I use for my buffalo chicken Caesar wrap.
- Over greens. A big scoop on top of arugula or butter lettuce with a squeeze of lemon makes a full lunch in under a minute. Pair it with a side of Mediterranean dense bean salad for a complete meal.
- With crackers or veggie sticks. Perfect for a snack plate - I serve it with cucumber rounds, bell pepper strips, and a handful of seeded crackers.
- In lettuce cups. Scoop it into butter lettuce or romaine leaves for a low-carb lunch that still feels satisfying.
- Straight out of the bowl. With a spoon, standing at the fridge. I'm not above it, and neither should you be.
How to Store, Meal Prep & Freeze
- In the fridge: Cottage cheese chicken salad keeps in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Stir before serving - a little liquid on top is normal.
- For meal prep: Double the batch on Sunday and portion it into containers for grab-and-go lunches all week. It's honestly better on day two.
- Can you freeze it? I don't recommend it. Cottage cheese and yogurt turn watery once thawed, so a fresh batch is worth the 10 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The best no-mayo chicken salad uses a blend of cottage cheese and Greek yogurt - cottage cheese gives you the creamy body that mayo usually provides, and Greek yogurt adds tang. This version has 24 grams of protein per serving and half the calories of a traditional mayo-based chicken salad.
Yes - by a significant margin. A traditional mayo-based chicken salad has about 320 calories, 22g of fat, and 22g of protein per serving. This cottage cheese version has 160 calories, 5g of fat, and 24g of protein. That's half the calories, a quarter of the fat, and more protein.
No, you cannot taste the cottage cheese in this chicken salad. Once it's mixed with the chicken, Greek yogurt, Dijon, and celery, the cottage cheese flavor disappears. What's left is a creamy, tangy chicken salad that tastes like the classic version. If you prefer an even smoother texture, blend the cottage cheese for 30 seconds before mixing.
Cottage cheese chicken salad keeps in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The flavor actually deepens by day two. If it releases a little liquid, just stir it before serving - that's normal with any yogurt- or cottage cheese-based salad.
I don't recommend freezing any dairy-based chicken salad. Cottage cheese and yogurt separate and turn watery once thawed, which ruins the texture. Since this recipe takes only 10 minutes to make, a new batch is always worth it.
Cottage cheese is the best single substitute - it delivers the most protein, the fewest calories, and the closest texture to mayo. For the best results, blend it with a small amount of Greek yogurt (about a ¾-to-¼ ratio) to add tang and prevent it from tasting flat.
More Healthy Lunch Recipes to Try
If you loved this cottage cheese chicken salad, here are a few more of my favorite recipes I make on repeat:
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📖 Recipe
Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken, rotisserie or leftover baked chicken
- ¾ cup cottage cheese, low-fat or full-fat
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, low-fat or full-fat
- 2 large celery ribs, sliced thin
- 2 tablespoon red onion, diced and soaked in cold water for 10 minutes
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prep the red onion. Dice the red onion and soak it in cold water for 10 minutes to mellow the flavor. Drain well.
- Mix everything together. In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, celery, and drained red onion. Stir until creamy.
- Season to taste. Add salt and pepper a little at a time - cottage cheese is already salty, so start small and adjust.
- Serve or chill. Enjoy right away, or chill in the fridge for 15 minutes for the best flavor. Serve on its own, in a sandwich, wrapped in lettuce, or over greens.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe tested and developed by Tati Chermayeff, creator of Healthful Blondie - where classic comfort foods get a wholesome, everyday twist. A former collegiate athlete and recipe developer, Tati is known for turning classic recipes into balanced, feel-good favorites, especially in the air fryer.
Will W says
Got to try this for lunch when Tati made it and it was SO good! I eat mayo and I couldn't tell the difference.