Can you believe we’re more than halfway through the year? I sure can’t. When it hit me that we were 6 months into 2018, I did a bit of a mental check-in on how things have been going so far this year—it’s definitely had its ups and downs. My challenges this year have been mainly with my health, but when our health is off-balance, it tends to drip over into every area of life.
There is always a silver lining, though: my health setbacks have been a huge wake-up call. For the past 5 years, my body has been either pregnant, nursing, or both, and that has without a doubt taken a huge toll on me. There have been times when I’ve neglected my physical, mental, and emotional health. There have been times when I got lazy with vitamins and just stopped caring. There have been times when my anxiety felt out of control. I’ve had a lot of inflammation and allergic reactions. A lot of illness. Things seemed to get worse after I had to take antibiotics for an infection this past winter.
About a month ago, I finally said enough is enough! I needed to stop and listen. Since then, I have committed to taking time for myself to heal. To go to those doctors appointments I’ve been putting off. It’s easy to let things slide when life is busy. Having kids can be all-consuming…they are so needy (for good reason), but wow parenthood can really make you lose yourself if you let it.
If you’re going through one of those life phases where you feel like you just can’t “get it together,” you aren’t alone. This too shall pass. And when it does, you will be stronger and wiser. And don’t lose gratitude for everything that’s going well along the way. Gratitude is definitely an anchor through the challenging times.
Meet jackfruit. Have you tried it before? I’ll admit I was a bit scared when I first saw the funky-looking fruit (and cans of jackfruit mystified me!). But after playing around with it for a few weeks, I’ve come to really love it. And I have so many fun jackfruit recipes ideas! It looks like a lot of you have been loving my Chickpea Salad recipe for summer, so I put my thinking cap on and thought about how I could use jackfruit to create another delicious salad dish that can also be enjoyed on bread, wraps, rice cakes, or crackers. And this one is also picnic-friendly! Jackfruit does lack the robust amount of protein you’d find in legumes and nuts, but I find adding hemp hearts (either by mixing them into the salad or adding on top) works great for boosting protein.
I really like the Native Forest brand of canned jackfruit. You don’t need to cook it to soften before use (unlike Cha’s Organics brand). After rinsing and draining it, I slice the spongy, firm core off each piece. If using jackfruit straight from the can, the core is a bit too firm for this recipe. You’ll only want to use the soft, stringy jackfruit that resembles pulled pork/chicken (in the photo below, that’s the stuff on the left!). With a bit of slicing and dicing, you’re ready to roll!
Smoky Jackfruit "Chicken" Salad
Yield
4 servings
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
I recently started experimenting with jackfruit recipes, and I discovered that jackfruit makes a fantastic sub for chicken in a traditional chicken salad. My goodness, it’s delicious (and not only is jackfruit delicious, it’s rich in Vitamin C too)! Because jackfruit has such a mild flavour, it takes on all the wonderful flavours in this dish—tangy lemon and dill, creamy eggless mayo, savoury garlic, and smoky paprika. I’ve added fresh vegetables like celery, green onion, and bell peppers to give it a great crunch and loads of fibre. Serve this salad in pieces of Boston or Bibb lettuce, in a wrap or sandwich, or on crackers. To boost the protein, I like adding hemp hearts. You can find canned jackfruit online or in health food stores, Asian grocery stores, and the international section of some chain grocers. Recipe is adapted from my favourite Chickpea Salad.
Ingredients
- 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can young jackfruit (in brine)*
- 2 medium (140 g) celery stalks, finely chopped
- 3 medium (45 g) green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup (67 g) finely chopped red bell pepper
- 3 tablespoons (45 mL) store-bought vegan mayo or 5-Minute Mayo**
- 1 small (5 g) garlic clove, minced
- 2 to 3 teaspoons (3 g) minced fresh dill
- 2 to 3 teaspoons (10 to 15 mL) fresh lemon juice, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Place the drained jackfruit segments onto a large cutting board. Using a knife, slice off the fibrous core of each jackfruit segment. You’ll only want to use the “stringy” parts that resemble pulled pork. Discard the core and chop the remaining pieces into small 1/2-inch chunks. It should look like shredded chicken and you should have about 1 1/2 cups chopped.
- Add the chopped pieces to a bowl and stir in the celery, green onions, bell peppers, mayonnaise, and garlic until combined.
- Now stir in the dill and season with the lemon juice, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper, adjusting quantities to taste after mixing.
- Serve in a sandwich or wrap, on top of a big salad, or with crackers. I love enjoying it with rice cakes and mashed avocado too. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Stir before serving.
Tip:
* I use Native Forest Organic Young Jackfruit which comes in a 14-ounce (398 mL) can. Make sure to purchase canned jackfruit that says “in brine” as opposed to “in syrup” (or simply ensure that it’s unsweetened). Some brands (like Cha’s) recommend cooking it before serving to soften the jackfruit. To do this, gently boil it for 15 minutes and then drain and rinse with cold water. Native Forest brand can be used straight from the can without cooking.
** If you’d like a soy-free version of this salad, be sure to use soy-free vegan mayonnaise (Vegenaise makes a tasty soy-free version). Or you can make my homemade soy-free mayo.
Feel free to add finely chopped dill pickle to the mix, too! I like adding about 1/4 cup of chopped dill pickle for a tangy crunch.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
In case anyone is wondering, I served the salad on rice cakes with mashed avocado, hemp hearts, and a sprinkle of pink salt. So good!
This is soooo good! We cut up the core into small cubes and added it to the “chicken” salad. We added half hot smoked and half sweet smoked paprika, and some cut up spinach leaves to salad. All the flavors are really delicious. Thanks again!
Hey Marina, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I love that little kick of heat you added too!
Jackfruit is so sweet when its ripen and I can’t believe you can add it to the salad. Such a great idea. You just bring jackfruit to the next level. I actually have a sweet and smoky Jackfruit from Doorstep Organics and the raw one in front of me so I need to boil it for 15 minutes or more than that for it to completely cooked. Gotto try this salad recipe of yours. thanks for sharing.
It sound delicious and looks healthy recipe. But I can’t find jackfruit, can I replace with other fruits.
Angela, I have not really thought of using Jackfruit as a salad ingredient. We did try this and it was delicious! I was curious on how it would go with pasta so we made another batch. We are so happy with this recipe that we would be bringing this to our get-together with family members this week. I know this is supposedly a healthy chicken alternative; but I just want to know if using real chicken or adding real chicken to the recipe for those meat lovers would be a nice idea. Your thoughts, please? Thank you!
Hey Elizabeth, I’m so glad the salad was such a hit! Enjoy your get together this week :)
Well done. Jackfruit is like tofu for me, it took a bit of getting used to the different taste and texture … but now I love it. I was in a little town a few weeks ago and they had a BBQ jackfruit sandwich on the menu. Vegan options have come a long way for sure.
This is a great recipe. I did up the protein content a tad by subbing riced cauliflower for celery. It gave it a nice crunch also. Also using hummus rather than mayonnaise. The hemp hearts work great and a few chickpeas on top doesn’t hurt either. And love it on a wheat rice cake. Thanks
I love the idea of adding riced cauliflower and chickpeas on top…thanks for sharing Kate!
Thanks for sharing this awesome chicken salad.
Hi Angela. Sorry to hear that you are struggling with health stuff. You and I seem to have the same things going on…inflammation after birth and I am nursing currently. For me, it has shown up in joint pain a lot and eczema on my hands. I have cut all my sugar intake and figured out that I break out when I eat Agave, Honey and Maple Syrup. (I did my own allergy test on the inside of my arm.) :( Hoping that you figure out what is causing yours quickly and get back to health even quicker! :)
Hey Gina, I’m sorry you have been going through this but I’m so glad I’m not alone in this! I recently heard that hormonal imbalances after childbirth are super common and can cause allergic reactions and other symptoms. I’m going to get my hormones tested soon, I hope. I’ve also had a lot of joint pain too. I hope you get some answers soon! I’ll try to do an update when I have more answers (hopefully someday?! haha).
The recipe is very amazing! I always wanted to make such a dish. Thanks
wow this was the best and most satisfying “chick” salad I have ever made. You really out did yourself. I saw it on your app last night and made it. Thank you so much!!!
Aw I’m so glad you loved it so much Phyllis! It’s a hit around here too. Thanks so much for your support for my app too :)
It’s always important to check-in with yourself and reflect on what’s been working and not working, especially with your health. And it’s not how you start, but how your finish! So make the last 6 months awesome :)
Also, I haven’t tried jackfruit before but this looks like a delicious way to give it a try.
I love that Ray…and it’s so true! Thanks for the encouragement. :)
Very excited to come across this recipe as I’ve not yet cooked using jackfruit, and this looks perfect…. but also appreciating the ‘can’t get it together’ life phase motivation too. Thanks!
Hey Dani, I’d love to hear about the Smoky Jackfruit “Chicken” Salad if you try it. This recipe helped conquer my jackfruit fears for sure. Thanks for your kind words!
I’ll be honest, at first I only skimmed thru to see the recipe because I was so excited to find a jackfruit recipe. But then when I read a following post I saw you’ve been struggling with stress and health issues. I totally understand. I had an emotional break down years ago then followed with a viral infection that left me with fatigue & myalgia, Costochdritis, anxiety & depression. I sought medical advice but they only put me on meds and suggested I loose weight. I was that over weight but it showed me their fixes were just bandaides and quick solutions. Counseling helped me see the bigger picture though. I started thinking with an open mind. That’s when when was introduced to a line of health supplements that would eventually change my quality of life. 7 months after taking them and I’m still free of my fatigue, myalgia, costo and depression/anxiety. I still “pinch” myself daily because it’s so amazing. These supplements are not like any other I had tried. And believe me I’ve tried tons due to my topical and ingested allergies and sensitivities. I just can’t help but bring it up here cause they have helped me so much. I’d love to give you the info if you are interested!
Thanks so much for sharing Kimberly! I’m on some supplements now too and it’s been going great so far with some positive changes. I used to be so against taking anything, but I’m seeing that sometimes our body needs a bit of extra support during certain phases of life. :) So glad you are feeling better!
Best chicken salad recipe ever! Thank you :)
Hey Anna, thank you! I can’t believe what a fantastic sub the jackfruit is here. Such a great go-to summer recipe!
Hi Angela, thank you so much for posting this recipe. I’ve been cutting out meat recently and this turned out to be a great alternative. I love the flavors and the flavors were great together. I ended up having three of them. I will admit the jackfruit does take some time getting used to cutting but it was well worth it. I’ll be having this recipe again soon. Thank you so much for always sharing your wonderful recipes they have helped me maintain a healthy lifestyle and as a college student are quick and easy to make.
Hi Rebecca, I’m so happy to hear that you loved it so much! Alternatives are always fun to discover. :)
I love the colors in this an This looks so delicious! I must try them out!
This was so good. We actually ate it in buns and added tomato, avocado, baby spinach and…….. a HASHBROWN (I know random) oh my god it was the best breakfast creation EVERRRRR. My boyfriend said it is now his all time favourite “sandwich” and he’s not even a veggie. (Slowly turning into one though) and I don’t even have to try, veggie food is just the best! Thank you for this delicious recipe :)
That sounds amazing! I love that it’s your boyfriend’s favourite sandwich now, haha. Thanks for sharing :)
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I made it a couple of weeks ago and it was the perfect morning snack, especially as I was so exhausted and didn’t have it in me to prepare something every night. Definitely making this recipe again and again!
Hi Angela,
I am just getting around to trying this recipe and noticed your personal write up. I was just diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. My endocrinologist recommended I read The Microbiome Diet. The first couple of chapters describe what you’ve shared above. Perhaps it would be interesting or helpful to you. And, if it is, perhaps you might find ways to make fermented foods, which are healthful for your microbiome, actually taste good with other plant based foods.
Blessings on your road to recovery,
Danielle
P.S. Please don’t post this on your website unless you feel it will help others.
Hi Danielle, Thank you so much! I appreciate your comment and will definitely look into the book. :)
Hey, thank so much for sharing this amazing recipe for chicken salad. This looks so delicious and mouthwatering. I will definitely be going to try this soon at my home.