Coronation Chicken Gives Your Lunch The Royal Treatment

Although it originated in the United Kingdom during Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, coronation chicken is much like the chicken salad we all know and love here across the pond. It has all the makings of a classic dish—juicy pieces of chicken, a well-seasoned mayonnaise-based sauce, celery, scallions, and lemon juice for bright, fresh flavor. This dish would be delicious served with crackers for scooping or piled onto a buttered and toasted brioche bun, but we like to serve it on fresh and crisp Bibb lettuce leaves. Toasted sliced almonds sprinkled over the top add some extra crunch.

Many of the first versions of coronation chicken added some sweetness with sultanas, which are smaller and have a more condensed sweetness than your average raisin. We use plump golden raisins for this recipe, but you can substitute with purple raisins, currants, or even chopped dried apricots, depending on what you have in your pantry. Each is sweet enough to complement the savory flavor that curry powder imparts into the mayonnaise base that coats the chicken salad. 

Poached boneless, skinless chicken thighs are our protein of choice for this chicken salad. They cook very quickly, so you can put this salad together in a snap. If you prefer chicken breasts or have an already cooked rotisserie chicken handy, both will work beautifully here (chicken breasts will take a few more minutes to cook when using this poaching technique). 

If you have any chicken left over, it makes a great lunch the next day. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Made this? Let us know how it went in the comments below!