Give Chicken Salad A Spicy Twist With This Addition

If you eat too much of your favorite chicken salad recipe, it's inevitable that you'll develop flavor fatigue. When that time comes, you should be ready to turn up the heat — literally. Add sriracha to your chicken salad and witness how this classic comfort dish transforms into a bowl of bold flavors. The combination of tender chicken, crisp vegetables, and signature creamy dressing will get a tasty upgrade from the sauce's garlicky, tangy spice.

Before you get the impression pulling off this hack simply means pouring sriracha over a chicken salad, you need to know that, to really unlock the full potential of this spicy twist, you have to mix it in while making the dressing. Whisk the spicy sauce with a little Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, and sweet chili for a dressing that's sweet, spicy, and addictively smooth. What's good about this is you now have a dish that can be served as a light lunch, an appetizer, or even a sandwich filling. The sriracha will provide an extra punch that will make each bite satisfying and memorable.

There's a good reason why sriracha has become a pantry staple over the years. The hot sauce, which is named after a real place in Thailand, has suffered a number of shortages since 2020 due to the increasing demand for its signature flavor. Typically made from chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt, sriracha delivers a balanced blend of spice, tang, and sweetness that can enhance any dish. Mixing it into your chicken salad is a good idea since it will complement the creamy base by cutting through the richness of mayonnaise and yogurt with its zesty flavor.

Apart from dressings, sriracha is so versatile that you can mix it into marinades and other sauces. The fact is, this sauce is not just spicy for the sake of being spicy. It has this flavorful heat so that it can pair well with a variety of dishes. If you can't find sriracha at your local grocery stores for various reasons, however, you can try using alternatives to achieve a similar effect for your chicken salad. Gochujang offers a deeper, savory kick with a hint of sweetness. There's also sambal oelek for a chunkier and more pepper-forward spice. You can usually find these at an Asian grocery store. If you don't have access to these two options, then you can simply add a dash of cayenne or some chile flakes to your salad for a milder spice.