Ina Garten Just Shared the Chicken Salad Recipe She Made ‘So Much’ of In the ’80s

Food trends, just like fashion and home decor, are cyclical. And Ina Garten is bringing back a hit from the 1980s. According to Garten, curried chicken salad was all the rage back in the ’80s and it’s time to bring it back for another round. And after watching this recipe come together, you’ll definitely want to add it to your summer sandwich rotation.

“In the ’80s, we made so much curried chicken salad, I just couldn’t look at it anymore,” Garten says in a clip from Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa. “But I thought, I’m going to revisit a classic, and it turns out there was a reason why we liked it. It’s delicious.”

Now, this is no ordinary chicken salad. Sure, it starts with a base of mayonnaise, but then Garten adds a splash of white wine to add a “bite” to it. A splash of vinegar would work here, too. Then comes the chutney, “because all curry has chutney in it.” Garten uses a mango chutney, but you can switch this up based on your preferences. And, of course, a curried chicken salad needs curry powder.

“Curry powder is actually a mix of spices,” Garten explains. “It’s not just one thing.” It usually contains turmeric, cumin, black pepper, and ginger, so you can easily make your own curry powder at home.

Finally, add a helping of salt, and puree the mixture together in a food processor. “Now that’s an easy sauce,” Garten says.

The chicken Garten uses for this recipe is roasted chicken breast. She removes the skin and gives the breasts a rough dice into bite-sized pieces. She prefers larger pieces so that they stand out in the salad among the chopped celery, scallions, and raisins, which she adds afterward. Pour enough of the sauce over the ingredients so that everything gets moistened.

“I always hold a little sauce back because after it sits, it needs a little extra sauce,” Garten says.

Give the entire thing a toss to make sure everything is coated before adding cashews as the final touch. This chicken salad recipe is great on its own, or throw it on some bread to make a quick sandwich to take to the beach. “It’s really crunchy, it’s salty, it’s sweet, it’s spicy,” Garten says, and it’s something that deserves to be brought into the new millennia.

Check out the full recipe on the Food Network website and get ready to have your taste buds tickled. This chicken salad is beyond delicious.

Before you go, check out Garten’s best dinner recipes below: