Jalapeño Popper Chicken Salad (High Protein!)

With over 30 grams of protein per serving, this jalapeño popper chicken salad is a meal prep friendly lunch recipe that is full of cozy flavor. Best served warm, you can pair this high protein chicken salad recipe with toasted bread or salted plantain chips for a tasty lunch you'll love having in the refrigerator.

High Protein Jalapeño Popper Chicken Salad

One thing I have learned about myself is that I absolutely, positively cannot skip a protein rich lunch. I have found that if I do have a day where I gloss over lunch, I tend to fall into a vicious snacking cycle all afternoon until it’s time for dinner.

To stay ahead of the lunchtime rush and ensure that it’s easy AND convenient to build up a protein rich meal, I have started meal prep high protein lunch recipes like this healthy jalapeño popper chicken salad. With over 30 grams of protein per serving, this is the ideal lunch recipe to have in your refrigerator!

Chopped chicken breast is coated in low fat greek yogurt and cottage cheese for that creamy chicken salad texture and high protein base. Then, fill your chicken salad with bacon bits, diced jalapeños, and shredded sharp cheddar cheese for all of those jalapeño popper flavors!

While most chicken salad recipes are served cold, I recommend making this a warm chicken salad recipe and heating it up before you eat it to allow the cheese to melt and the flavors to fully come together. Serve it on toasted sourdough or with salted plantain chips for a delicious, high protein lunch.

Let’s get to the recipe:

Why you’ll love this jalapeño popper chicken salad:

You’ll love this chicken salad with bacon and jalapeños because it is:

• Packed with protein:. This high protein chicken salad recipe makes approximately 6 servings and each serving has 30 grams of high quality protein.

• Made with no mayo: A combination of greek yogurt and cottage cheese not only boosts the protein content of this recipe but also gives it that classic creamy texture for a delicious chicken salad recipe with no mayo.

• Served warm: A warm chicken salad is my favorite chicken salad and I highly recommend you warm this one up prior to eating it. This allows all the flavors to come together and melts the cheese that’s been stirred in for an even more delicious bite.

• Easy to make: One of the reasons why chicken salad recipes are so popular for lunch meal prep is because they are incredibly easy to make and store well in the refrigerator. All you will need to do is a little bit of chopping and stirring!

• Full of jalepeno popper flavors: I personally don’t love the taste of chicken as it sits in the refrigerator and that’s why flavorful additions like those in this recipe are essential! Crispy bacon, fresh jalapeños, sharp cheddar cheese, and lots of seasonings are key to this recipe.

You’re going to love this jalapeño popper chicken salad recipe! Now let’s get into the flavorful ingredients you will need to make it:

Ingredients you’ll need:

This high protein chicken salad recipe only calls for a few ingredients:

1. Cooked and chopped chicken: You can cook chicken breast, use canned chicken, or chop a rotisserie chicken for this recipe. .

2. Low fat greek yogurt: Greek yogurt replaces the mayo found in most chicken salad recipes while also boosting the protein content. I recommend using low fat because it is not only lower in calorie but also has a thinner consistency so it is easier to mix.

3. Cottage cheese: Cottage cheese is also added to this recipe to replace the cream cheese found in jalapeño poppers. This will also enhance the creaminess of your chicken salad and boost the protein as well! Feel free to use blended cottage cheese or not blended cottage cheese.

4. Bacon bits: I oven baked some bacon and chopped it into crispy bacon bits but you could save time by using store bought, fresh bacon bits if preferred. Add these to taste!

5. Fresh jalapeños: De-seeded and finely diced. Add these to taste as well.

6. Sharp cheddar cheese: I love the flavor of sharp cheddar cheese in this creamy recipe and also recommend serving this as a warm chicken salad so that the shredded cheddar cheese can melt and add flavor to every bite!

7. Seasonings: The seasonings are truly one of the most important part of this recipe and really enhance the flavor! I gave recommendations but feel free to add the seasonings to taste.

That’s all you’ll need!

High Protein Lunch Ideas

Get the recipe

Step by Step Instructions:

Now let’s walk through how to make this high protein lunch recipe:

Step 1:

Prep all of your ingredients by chopping your chicken, jalapeños, bacon bits, and shredding your cheese. Add them all to a medium mixing bowl.

If preferred, you can first mix the greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and seasonings together with a whisk THEN fold in your chicken, cheese, jalapeños, and bacon bits to ensure the seasonings get onto every bite.

Step 2:

Use a spatula to stir until everything is well combined.

Step 3:

When you are ready to enjoy, warm up single servings of this jalapeño popper chicken salad and serve it with toasted baguettes, chips, or salted plantain chips (my favorite!).

What to serve with chicken salad:

This jalapeño popper chicken salad recipe pairs well with:

• Toasted baguette slices

• Salted plantain chips (this is my FAVORITE way to eat this chicken salad.. trust me, try it.)

• Chips

• Veggies like cucumber slices, bell pepper boats, carrot sticks if you want to keep the pairings low carb.

• Fresh fruit

• Panini’s- you can bake this chicken salad recipe between two slices of bread.

And more! Make this recipe your own and tag me on instagram with any fun ideas you come up with!

Recipe FAQ:

1. How long can I store this high protein chicken salad recipe?

   1. When made with freshly cooked chicken breast this chicken salad recipe can be stored in an air higher container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

2. How many grams of protein are in this chicken salad recipe?

   1. This chicken salad recipe makes approximately 6 servings and each serving has 30 grams of protein.

Other high protein meal prep lunch recipes you will love:

Looking for other high protein meal prep lunch recipes? I have a few on my blog that I think you will love:

Dill Pickle Egg Salad

Get the recipe

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad

Get the recipe

Southwest Chicken Salad Recipe

Get the recipe

High Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

Get the recipe

Yield: 6

Author: Lauren Twigge

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Jalepeño Popper Chicken Salad

With over 30 grams of protein per serving, this jalapeño popper chicken salad is a meal prep friendly lunch recipe that is full of cozy flavor. Best served warm, you can pair this high protein chicken salad recipe with toasted bread or salted plantain chips for a tasty lunch you'll love having in the refrigerator.

Prep time: 5 MinTotal time: 5 Min

Ingredients

• 2 cooked chicken breast, chopped (about 4 cups of cooked chicken)
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup low fat greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup blended, low fat cottage cheese
• 2 finely diced jalapeños, deseeded (add to taste)
• 1/2 cup crispy bacon bits (add to taste)
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper.

Instructions

1. Add your greek yogurt, blended cottage cheese, and seasonings to a mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
2. Fold in your chopped chicken, bacon bits, cheddar cheese, and jalapeños. Mix until well combined.
3. Store your jalapeño popper chicken salad in the refrigerator in a sealed container. When you are ready to enjoy, warm your chicken salad and serve with chips, slices of bread, or salted plantain chips.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

277

Fat

11 g

Carbs

10 g

Sugar

2 g

Protein

33 g

Fiber

2 g

All nutrition information has been approximated and may vary depending on personal portion size, ingredient swaps, brand of product used, and other factors.

---

*These blogs may contain affiliate links. Any purchase made through my links gives me a small commission and supports Lauren Twigge Nutrition

Hey! I’m Lauren

I’m a Registered Dietitian and busy toddler mom committed to bringing you delicious, nutritious, and easy-to-make recipes!