Chicken Rice Waldorf

Looking for a light and refreshing summer dish that you can make ahead of time in big batches and enjoy throughout the week in different ways? Look no further than this recipe for Chicken Rice Waldorf!

My mom used to make this recipe a bunch during the summer, when no one wanted to eat anything hot and heavy when it was a million degrees out! This recipe is also special to me because when I moved out to go to college, I struggled in the beginning with knowing how to keep myself fed without canned soup and frozen meals! I remember talking to mom on the phone, basically asking how to adult. She was so patient and wonderful and she sent me this recipe because it was great to make ahead of time in batches and because it's a great one-dish meal. Perfect for the busy college student!

I actually have a really lovely memory of packing a tupperware full of this Chicken Rice Waldorf to take to class with me, then sitting out of the beautiful Quad in the middle of campus to enjoy it in the sunshine and feeling like it was a little piece of home. I'm still absolutely in love with food's ability to do that.

Also, other than the mayonnaise, this dish is pretty healthy! To that end, this time when I made this recipe, I subbed out the mayo for fat-free greek yogurt and it worked perfectly. Either way you choose to make this yummy dish, you can't go wrong. With the mayo, it's rich and velvety. With the greek yogurt, it's bright and tangy. Win-win!

So let's get into it!

Start by cooking up one and a half cups of rice, in whichever method you prefer. As you can see from the pic above, I use boil in a bag rice...because it's easy and a time saver. Don't judge me! My rice cooker is in storage! But yeah, anyway...make sure to let your rice chill completely after you cook it.

You also need to cook your chicken completely before you start and let that cool as well. In the past, when I *really* needed to save some time, I would buy a rotisserie chicken at the store and just use that. But this time, I cooked up my own chicken. The method is up to you! I usually use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Just make sure you get 2 cups worth of meat and chill completely before you continue.

Next, dice one large red apple, one cup of celery and one cup of grapes. Immediately mix 1 tablespoons of lemon juice in with your apple to prevent browning.

Take your chilled rice and mix in one cup of mayo (or nonfat greek yogurt, if you're going the healthy route!) Mom doesn't specify this in the recipe, but I like to get all my spices into the rice-and-mayo mixture before adding the rest of the ingredients. For the spices, you're going to need to channel your inner chef – who has strong opinions about seasonings – to get it how you like it. Just pretend you're Tom Colicchio on Top Chef as you sprinkle your paprika and your curry powder. Do whatever is in your heart! I love a ton of curry in my Chicken Rice Waldorf, so I usually go pretty heavy on that. But you do you, baby! Taste as you go to get it how you like it.

Mom recommends adding walnuts and raisins to the mixture, although she doesn't say how much. (You're killing me, Mom! How much walnuts? How much raisins???) But I actually don't care for either of those ingredients in my Waldorf Salad, so I leave them out. But if you have walnuts and raisins in your heart, add 'em!

Then stir the remaining ingredients into the rice mixture. And that's it! That's your Chicken Rice Waldorf!

So easy, right? That's why I love this recipe. It's basically chop, stir, and serve! Speaking of which, now comes the fun part: deciding how you want to serve it! It's really good just by itself in a bowl, like a typical salad. Extra chef points to you for serving it on lettuce leaves and garnishing with parsley. You can also serve it up in a wrap or on a sandwich with toasted bread. Do you have any other methods for serving this delicious chicken salad? I'd love to hear them! Let me know in the comments below!

This salad keeps super well in the fridge for an entire week and you'll never get bored with it, as you can serve it up in all these different ways. I hope this yummy meals fills you up with light, refreshing summeriness and that you love it as much as I do! XOXO

Chicken Rice Waldorf Salad

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of (cooked) rice

• 1 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise (or nonfat Greek yogurt)

• 1 large red apple, diced

• 1 Tbs. lemon juice

• 2 cups (12 oz.) cooked chicken, diced

• 1 cup celery, diced

• 1 cup seedless red grapes

• Curry, to taste

• Paprika, to taste

• Walnuts (optional)

• Raisins (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare rice as on package

2. Add lemon juice to diced apple

3. Stir mayo (or greek yogurt) into rice

4. Add all ingredients to rice mixture; stir to combine

5. Season with curry and paprika to taste

6. Chill well

7. Serve in bowl, in a wrap, or on a sandwich. Enjoy!