Chicken Salad Recipe
This cold Chicken Salad Recipe is made with cooked chicken, a creamy dressing, and flavorful ingredients such as pecans, grapes, celery, and onion. Serve by itself or on your favorite sandwich bread.
Chicken salad is a dish that usually consists of chicken, mayonnaise, or another type of creamy dressing, and various seasonings and vegetables. It’s normally served cold, making it perfect for potlucks and picnics.
There are so many ways you can customize the flavor of a cold chicken salad. We love using grapes, pecans, and celery in our chicken salad recipe as it adds crunch, nuttiness, and a hint of natural sweetness that pulls everything together.
This chicken salad recipe is easy to make and can be tailored to your liking. So, whether you’re looking for a potluck dish or a quick and easy meal, this chicken salad recipe is sure to please!
Serve it with a Green Smoothie for a full meal!
How To Make Our Creamy Chicken Salad Recipe
- Assemble the creamy dressing: In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Add the salad ingredients: Add the rotisserie chicken, celery, grapes, pecans, onion, and parsley if using. Stir to combine, ensuring the ingredients are well mixed and fully coated in the dressing.
- Chill and serve: Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour for flavors to blend. Serve with toast, croissants, brioche buns, crackers, or lettuce. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Keep the salad refrigerated until ready to serve to prevent the mayonnaise from going bad.
- For best flavor, consume within 3 days as the vegetables, fruit, and nuts will start to get soggy and the chicken will start to dry out.
- To fix a dry chicken salad, stir in a little extra dressing or simply add a tablespoon or two of mayo or sour cream to make it fresher again.
- Shredded or medium-diced freshly cooked chicken breasts are perfect for this recipe. It is best to use plain, without any extra seasoning chicken BUT this salad will also taste great with any leftover chicken breast or thighs from last night’s dinner or meat from a rotisserie chicken.
Variations
- Instead of chicken breasts, use chicken thighs for rich chicken flavor.
- Swap in almonds, walnuts, or any other favorite nuts in place of pecans.
- Add diced avocado for creaminess and healthy fats.
- Try using a different type of vinegar such as white balsamic or champagne vinegar for a change in flavor.
- Swap out the grapes for your favorite fruit such as diced apples, pears, or berries.
- Use finely chopped romaine lettuce in place of some or all of the chicken for a lighter chicken salad option that is still packed with flavor.
- For a more savory chicken salad, add crumbled bacon or diced ham.
- Add a teaspoon of dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary, or tarragon to the dressing for extra flavor.
Storing and Freezing
Storing: This chicken salad recipe will last for 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Freezing: Freezing is not recommended as chicken salad with mayonnaise can separate and become watery when thawed.
Ingredients
Dressing:
- ⅔ cup(s) mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon(s) yogurt, Greek or plain (may also use sour cream)
- 1 teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon(s) apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Chicken Salad
- 3 ½ cup(s) rotisserie chicken, leftover
- 3 celery ribs, thinly sliced
- ⅔ cup(s) red grapes, halved
- ½ cup(s) pecans, chopped
- ½ red onion, medium in size, finely diced
- 2 tablespoon(s) parsley, freshly chopped (optional)
- Croissants, burger buns, rolls, or romaine lettuce leaves , for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper.⅔ cup(s) mayonnaise2 tablespoon(s) yogurt1 teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard½ teaspoon(s) apple cider vinegarSalt and pepper
- Add the rotisserie chicken, celery, grapes, pecans, onion, and parsley if using. Stir to combine, ensuring the ingredients are well mixed.3 ½ cup(s) rotisserie chicken3 celery ribs⅔ cup(s) red grapes½ cup(s) pecans½ red onion2 tablespoon(s) parsley
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour for flavors to blend.
- Serve with toast, croissants, brioche buns, crackers, or lettuce.
- See post for storage options.
