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Cooked cold chicken in a creamy, spicy sauce with sultanas and apricots, this Coronation chicken is a British classic! It makes a fantastic sandwich filler, jacket potato topper or serve with a lovely crisp salad. This is my super-quick version, using rotisserie or leftover cooked chicken – ready in less than 10 minutes.
“Excellent, I made it with some homemade mango chutney.”
What is Coronation Chicken
If you’ve never heard of Coronation chicken, it’s a cold dish of cooked chicken (shredded or chopped) in a curry spiced mayo-based sauce with mango chutney, sultanas and apricots for sweetness.
Sounds like a bit of an unusual combination, but it really works.
It was invented back in 1953 as part of a celebration banquet for the coronation of queen Elizabeth II.
The recipe was widely published so that it could be enjoyed at homes and in street parties for the celebration.
This is my take on that classic dish.
Table of Contents
📋 What do we need?
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
You can use leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken. Alternatively, poach chicken breasts in stock until cooked. Then cool them and chop them up.
Ingredients swaps/changes
- Swap out the Greek yogurt for regular, natural yogurt.
- Add in seeds – such as pumpkin or sunflower seeds, or pine nuts.
- Use low fat mayo (and low fat yogurt) if you’re looking for a lighter option.
- Use spicy curry powder if you want the Coronation chicken to be hotter.
Pro Tip
- If you want to loosen the sauce a little, simply stir in a tablespoon or two of cold water.
I love to serve it on a nice crisp salad with red onion, cucumber and radishes, alongside a few flatbreads or slices of homemade bread – so people can make sandwiches out of it if they like.
Now that’s what I call a loaded flatbread ⬇️⬇️
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Watch how to make Coronation Chicken
Coronation Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp (105ml) mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp Greek yogurt or crème fraiche for a creamier taste
- 1 ½ tsp madras curry powder
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp white pepper
- 3 tbsp mango chutney
- 2 tbsp sultanas
- 3 dried apricots finely chopped
- 500 g (1.1 lbs) cooked chicken breast roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp toasted almond flakes
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, curry powder, cinnamon, salt, pepper, mango chutney, sultanas, and apricots until combined.7 tbsp (105ml) mayonnaise, 3 tbsp Greek yogurt, 1 ½ tsp madras curry powder, 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp white pepper, 3 tbsp mango chutney, 2 tbsp sultanas, 3 dried apricots
- Add in the chopped chicken and stir to coat the chicken.500 g (1.1 lbs) cooked chicken breast
- Place in a serving bowl and top with flaked almonds, then serve as part of a salad or in a sandwich.1 tbsp toasted almond flakes
Video
Notes
Can I make it ahead?
Yes, so long as your cooked chicken still has a good use-by date, this should keep well, covered in the refrigerator for 2 days.Can I freeze it?
No I don’t recommend freezing it. It’s likely that the sauce will release water upon defrosting and may split.Ingredient swaps
- Swap out the Greek yogurt for regular, natural yogurt.
- Add in seeds – such as pumpkin or sunflower seeds, or pine nuts.
- Use low fat mayo (and low fat yogurt) if you’re looking for a lighter option.
- Use spicy curry powder if you want the Coronation chicken to be hotter.
How to scale up and scale down this recipe
Scale the recipe up or down, sticking to the same ingredient rations. Nutritional information is per serving (serves 6).Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This Coronation Chicken recipe was first posted in May 2021. Updated since with recipe improvements and for housekeeping reasons.
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Excellent, I made it with some homemade mango chutney.
Not a great fan of Mayo, can I use salad cream instead? thanks