Cucumber boats are a favorite in our house. I make these ones often as they are fresh, delicious, and high in protein.
I like to keep canned chicken on hand to make these cucumber boats, along with other easy lunches that use canned chicken like Canned Chicken Patties and Keto Chicken Nuggets.
Using pre-cooked chicken makes this recipe a quick one to whip together. I also use pre-cooked bacon to lessen cook time. The added spices all come together to create a homemade ranch seasoning. All in all, the ingredients combine together for a lunch that is filling with a refreshing crunch.
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💛 Why you’ll love this recipe
- Minimal prep work required.
- Easy-to-follow instructions.
- High in protein and only 3 grams of net carbs per serving.
- Ready to enjoy in as little as 30 minutes.
- Great to serve as a snack or lunch.
➡️ Ingredients
⏲ How to make bacon ranch chicken salad cucumber boats
This is an overview of the recipe’s instructions. The full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prepare Chicken: In a hot oiled pan, cook canned chicken for about 1 minute. Add in spices and cook until those are fragrant.
- Prepare Chicken Salad: Transfer the warmed-up chicken to a large bowl, add sour cream, and mix until all of those ingredients are well combined. Add in some shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, and apple cider vinegar, and then mix again.
- Chill Chicken Salad: Cover the bowl of chicken salad with a lid or some foil and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
- Prepare Cucumbers: While the chicken salad chills, prepare the cucumber boats by cutting the cucumbers in half lengthwise with a knife, removing the seeds with a spoon, and blotting them dry with a paper towel.
- Prepare Cucumber Boats And Serve: Remove the chilled chicken salad from the refrigerator and then spoon some into each of the cucumber boats. Sprinkle on some flakey sea salt and crack some pepper on top of the cucumber boats, then serve.
👉 Ingredient substitution suggestions
- Canned Chicken: Rotisserie chicken works well here. You can also cook chicken breast, thighs, or drumsticks (like these flavorful and aromatic boiled chicken drumsticks) at home and then shred the cooked meat to be used for the chicken salad.
- Dried Dill: Use fresh dill; you will need to use 1 Tablespoon of fresh dill here to replace the dried dill.
- Sour Cream: Mayonnaise or Greek yogurt will work here.
- Cooked Bacon: You can also cook raw bacon, but that will add a little bit of cook time to the recipe.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: White vinegar or lemon juice will also work great in this recipe.
✨ Variations
- Add in a handful of finely chopped celery for some added crunch and texture.
- Include 1-2 Tablespoons of finely chopped green onions in the chicken salad mixture or on top of the prepared cucumber boats as a garnish. Finely chopped red onions in the chicken mixture would work well, too!
- Drizzle some olive oil on top of the cucumber boats for added flavor and a dose of healthy fats.
➜ Cooking and recipe tips
- You’re making the ranch seasoning from scratch, which is where the ranch flavor comes from. You can, however, omit all of the added seasonings and sprinkle in store-bought ranch seasoning, if you prefer!
- Use pre-cooked store-bought bacon to save some time. I buy mine at the grocery store. My favorite is from Trader Joe’s, but there are other brands that will work great here too.
- You can peel your cucumbers, or you can leave the skin on. I usually prefer to remove some or all of the skin, but you can choose to do whatever you prefer!
- Scoop the seeds out of the cucumber. Don’t skip this step, even if you like cucumber seeds. If you leave the seeds in, you won’t create a “cucumber boat,” which is needed to ensure the chicken salad doesn’t fall out of the cucumber. If you like the seeds, keep them and you can mix them into the chicken salad or save them to be used later in something like a smoothie or tzatziki.
💬 FAQs
How should these cucumber boats be stored?
You can store the prepared cucumber boats in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.
Can these be meal prepped to eat later?
Yes, store the chicken salad and cucumber boats in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator. Once you’re ready to serve them, spoon the chicken salad into the hollowed-out cucumbers. This will ensure the cucumbers remain crunchy and the chicken salad tastes fresh.
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A few staples I keep on hand to make these quick:
- → Canned chicken breastI keep a few cans in the pantry for these
- → Avocado oil
- → A small nonstick skillet
- → A mixing bowl
- → A sharp chef’s knifefor hollowing the cucumber boats
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Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad Cucumber Boats
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- 15 ounces (3 5-ounce cans) canned chicken, drained, patted dry
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- ¾ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons sour cream
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup (~7-8 slices) crumbled cooked bacon, (I use pre-cooked store-bought bacon here)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 cucumbers, peeled or unpeeled, based on your preferences (recommended that they be chilled in the refrigerator)
Garnishes:
- Flakey sea salt
- Freshly-cracked pepper
Instructions
- Prepare Chicken: In a pan over medium heat, heat oil until glistening. Add canned chicken and cook for about 1 minute. Add spices and cook until spices are fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Prepare Chicken Salad: Transfer chicken to mixing bowl and add sour cream. Mix ingredients until well-combined. Add shredded cheddar, crumbled bacon, and apple cider vinegar and mix again.
- Chill Chicken Salad: Cover bowl with lid or foil and transfer to refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
- Prepare Cucumbers: While chicken salad chills, prepare cucumber boats by cutting cucumbers in half lengthwise, removing seeds with a spoon, and blotting dry with a paper towel.
- Prepare Cucumber Boats And Serve: Remove chilled chicken salad from refrigerator and spoon into cucumber boats. Sprinkle on flakey sea salt and crack pepper atop cucumber boats then serve.
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