An easy delicious recipe for Coronation Chicken, a creamy cold chicken salad that is perfect filling for sandwiches or over rice. 

 

This brightly coloured dish is such a lovely one to know how to make. Originally created by Rosemary Hume for Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 as a dish prepared for the banquet at the Coronation. It has since gone through many variations, and mine is just the variations I like best. 

I love a good chunky sandwich and I am a huge fan of sandwiches having lots of lovely flavors and textures in every bite, so this filling fits the bill. I have always wanted to share this one here, even though it may be a bit of an acquired taste for some!

 

Coronation chicken traditionally includes cooked cold chicken, curry, herbs, mayonnaise, crème fraîche, almonds and apricots or raisins. From there it can really suit the tastes of those making it. 

I always make mine in a way that builds flavour. For example, I do not like using curry powder raw, so I will cook that off with the almonds, so they are toasted at the same time. This ensures that the flavours are perfect every time. 

 

The addition of a mango chutney happened sometime later, likely because it is a lovely combination with curry flavours, to add that sweet tangy finish to the dish and balance the creaminess. You can use apricot jam or sweet chilli sauce if you prefer. 

 

For the chicken you will want to use cold chicken, so from a left over roast, a super market rotisserie chicken or poached chicken breasts, is ideal. I like to shred it so that it still has some size & texture, too finely shredded chicken is not as enjoyable.

 

Then it is a matter of toasting the sliced almonds in some butter, then adding the curry powder to cook this off, raw curry powder can be quite bitter and unpleasant to eat. 

 

For the sauce, I use both mayonnaise and crème fraîche as was traditional, I find the crème fraîche is lovely and creamy and it gives a thicker sauce. If you do not have this or prefer not to use it, you can use greek yoghurt in its place, this will make your sauce a little thinner as a result. 

 

It can be a little tricky to blend the crème fraîche together with the mayo without lumps, the key to this is to whisk the room temperature crème fraîche well first then add the mayo a little at a time until it whisks together smoothly.

Some people also add a little cream to this to help it come together, but I find a few lumps is fine!

 

Then I add to this the chutney and stir well, then tip in the cooled curried almonds, diced apricots (or raisins) and the diced coriander and mix this together well. Then pour this over the chicken and combine until the chicken well coated. 

If you do not like to use coriander then you can use flat leaf parsley, or mint can give a nice contrasting flavour. 

 

Allow the chicken to sit in the fridge for 2-4 hours for the flavours to infuse and develop. The longer you leave this filling the more dry it may become, simply add a little mayonnaise to it if you need to moisten it on the days to follow. 

 

Coronation Chicken must not be kept out at room temperature for any length of time, due to both the chicken and the mayonnaise content, so keep any sandwiches made with this cool and refrigerated until eaten also.

It will keep for up to 3 days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge. 

 

I love to serve this on soft fresh buttered bread, or on toasted baguette, served with thinly sliced cucumber and rocket or lettuce is just lovely. This recipe makes approximately 2 cups of mixture, feel free to double this if needing a large batch. 

I hope you enjoy my version of this classic recipe for Coronation Chicken

Be sure to rate this recipe and let me know once you have made it in the comments below. Check out my Creamy Garlic Bacon Chicken Recipe if you are looking for more chicken ideas! 

 

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Happy Baking!

Anna

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