Apple Chicken Salad with Bacon

Make a batch of chicken salad for the weekend. This one is made with homemade mayonnaise. Don’t let that scare you off from trying the recipe! The mayonnaise is fairly simple to make.

4 cooked chicken breasts, diced

1 apple, diced or ½ cup of chopped fresh pineapple

1 cup of chopped celery

¼  cup of sliced or chopped almonds, toasted

8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

½ - ¾ cup of homemade paleo mayonnaise (Recipe follows)

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Sea salt

Mixed greens

To toast almonds:

Heat a dry pan on medium on the stove. Toss in the almonds and toast until they are fragrant and lightly browned.

To make salad:

Toss all ingredients together. Adjust amount of mayonnaise as needed. Season to taste with sea salt. Chill for at least one hour before serving. Serve over a bed of mixed greens.

Easy Homemade Mayonnaise

I haven’t had any luck finding paleo-friendly mayonnaise in the stores. Most of them are made with canola oil and have added ingredients like sugar. I came across several recipes for making your own mayonnaise and gave it a try. I used the olive oil/coconut oil combination and it turned out great. It is a slightly different texture than the store-bought variety that you are used to, but whips up fine to mix in with salads. It will keep in the refrigerator for several days.


Note: I amended this recipe on 3/08/11. I found that using 2 egg yolks and more lemon juice makes a creamier and smoother mayonnaise. I also tried it with the walnut and olive oil combination, and preferred that to the coconut oil and olive oil.

Equipment: Blender

Prep time: 10 minutes

Makes about 1 cup

2 egg yolks

½ teaspoon of dry mustard 

2- 3 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice

*½ cup of olive oil

*½ cup of walnut oil or coconut oil (melt and cool the coconut oil)

*(Using all olive oil will give the mayo a bitter taste.)

All ingredients should be at room temperature. If using coconut oil, melt it in the microwave and cool. Mix the two oils together.

Beat the egg, mustard, and lemon juice until slightly thickened and creamy. With the processor or mixer still on, add a few drops of the oil. Continue to beat while adding a slow steady stream of oil, until it is all blended into the egg and the mixture is thick and light. Add salt and pepper to taste. Store the mayonnaise in the refrigerator until ready to use. It will thicken as it sets.