As a kid, a staple family dinner in my house consisted of chicken salad — baked chicken smothered in a mixture of mayo, celery, and slivered almonds, served inside of a puff pastry shell. Gotta love Midwest “salad.” (By any other standard, this might qualify as a fancy dessert.)
Now don’t get me wrong, this was one of my all-time favorite meals. The crunchy texture of the chicken salad, the slightly sweet taste of the crispy, delicate puff — it nearly melted in my mouth. It’s been years since I have indulged in (or thought about, for that matter) this dish.
Since transitioning to a paleo lifestyle, most mayo-based salads such as chicken salad have been off limits when dining out. I don’t particularly care for traditional mayo and as it’s typically laden with canola oil and other less-than-lovely ingredients, it makes it easy for me to steer clear of it. Out of complete randomness, I had an intense craving for the old family dish tonight and with some leftover chicken in the fridge, figured I’d give a try at inventing my own version, and ended up with Paleo Chicken Salad Sliders. I really don’t like celery so I decided to replace it with walnuts and diced pear for the extra crunch I craved, in addition to the amazing — and guilt-free! — avocado oil-based mayo from Primal Kitchen (available online at Thrive Market), and served on top of sweet potato slider “buns” in place of bread. Full disclosure: I’m on day one of a coffee- and chocolate-free stint right now so this recipe may be a bit on the sweeter side (as I’m leaning more toward fruits and nuts to stave off cravings) than I’d typically create. In any case, I hope you enjoy these Paleo Chicken Salad Sliders!


- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp avocado oil (or cooking oil of choice)
- 1 pear, peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup walnuts, crushed
- 1/4 cup Primal Kitchen paleo mayo
- 2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp dill
- Sea salt to taste
- 1 sweet potato, washed and dried
- 1 tbsp avocado oil (or cooking oil of choice)
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Sprinkle the avocado oil on the chicken breasts and place on one cookie sheet. Cook for 30-35 minutes, until thoroughly cooked.
- Simultaneously, slice the sweet potato into 1 1/2 inch discs (for the sliders). Brush with avocado oil on both sides and place on the second cookie sheet. Cook for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- While the chicken breast and sweet potato sliders are in the oven. begin to prepare the rest of the salad. In a bowl, mix the remaining chicken salad ingredients. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Once the chicken is cooked and cooled, cut it into small cubes. Stir in with the chicken salad mixture.
- Serve chicken salad on top of sweet potato sliders for an extra sweet and crunchy taste.
- Replace the sweet potato sliders with your "bun" of choice, including on top of a bed of greens, wrapped in lettuce, or as a cashew bread sandwich. Or, ditch any extras and eat it straight out of the bowl!
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