Brazilian Chicken Salad ~ Salpicão de Frango
This Brazilian Chicken Salad, or Salpicão de Frango, as it's called in Portuguese, is an easy make-ahead, delicious lunch or dinner. This recipe of course starts with chicken, but then lots of delicious veggies and herbs are added. Then the dressing brings so much creaminess to the mix and brings everything together. Then there are the crispy potato sticks on top are the perfect crunchy, salty finish. Every bite is filled with so much goodness!
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound Chicken Breasts cooked and shredded
- 1 cup Carrots shredded or finely diced
- ½ cup Green Peas frozen
- ¼ cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves
- ¼ cup Onion finely diced
- ¾ cup Mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Honey
- 1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar Apple Cider vinegar is good too
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Optional
- ½ cup Potato sticks, or batata palha I found Batata Palha through Amazon. You can also sprinkle crushed potato chips on top.
Instructions
Prep-Ahead
- Cook the chicken. (Boil or Roast)Boil - Cut the chicken breasts into 3-4 pieces that will cook faster. Bring salted water up to a boil and then add the raw chicken. Cook for 5-8 minutes until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool.Roast - Preheat the oven to 400 F degrees. Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place the chicken on a sheet pan and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Let the chicken cool.
- While the chicken cooks, you can shred or dice the carrots, thaw the peas, finely dice the onions, and rough chop the cilantro.
- To make the dressing ahead, in a small mixing bowl add the mayonnaise, honey, vinegar, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Whisk together. set aside or store in fridge until ready to mix into the salad.
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it using your fingers or forks.
Make the Chicken Salad (this can also be done ahead!)
- To a large mixing bowl, add the shredded chicken, carrots, onions, and the dressing. (NOTE: If you are making this ahead, reserve ¼ of the dressing to mix in when you are ready to serve to add some creaminess.) Mix gently folding the dressing in to coat and combine all ingredients. Last, fold in the green peas.
- If the salad is a bit dry when you are ready to serve, simply add the reserved dressing and mix to add back some creaminess. Optional: Right before serving, top with the potato sticks or crushed potato chips.
Notes
-
How long can I store this Brazilian Chicken Salad?
This chicken salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will last for up to 5 days if the chicken is freshly cooked for this recipe. Note, the 5 days count must start from the day that the chicken is first cooked. So, if you cooked the chicken 2 days ago, then made the salad today, it will last for 3 more days in the fridge. -
Can I replace the mayonnaise with anything else?
You can replace the mayonnaise in this Brazilian Chicken Salad with plain greek yogurt, sour cream, or a combination of very soft cream cheese blended with a bit of milk or cream to thin it out.