How To Make Chicken Salad Recipe

Keep The Dressing Simple

Fancy Chicken Salad Recipe – How To Make Chicken Salad

There are plenty of different ways to make the dressing for chicken salad use Greek yogurt or Miracle Whip, add vinegar or mustard, try it with herbs and spicesbut Im keeping this recipe super simple.

For this dressing, mix a good quality mayonnaise with fresh lemon juice and kosher salt with freshly ground black pepper. Thats it.

If you are a fan of Miracle Whip, add 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar to the mayo to sweeten things up.

To Make Egg Salad Sandwiches

Mash the yolks with mayonnaise until completely smooth and then fold in the whites. This makes for the best egg salad, it comes out so creamy!

I use an egg slicer to chop the whites placing the white in the slicer, cut and then turn the egg and placing it through again. Make the chopping really quick! I use my egg slicer for other things too like strawberries, kiwi and its especially great for cutting mushrooms to make chicken marsala.

Delicious Chicken Salad Recipe:

Chicken Salad is always a hit during the summertime BBQ, sitting by the pool or at a picnic. With very minimal ingredients you can transfer form cooked chicken in a filling salad.

Thankfully, we have done all the work for you and have the best chicken salad recipe. It has the perfect combinations of everything for an amazing chicken salad!

Our entire family loves this and it is so easy to make.

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How To Make Quick And Easy Chicken Salad

Letting this sit in the fridge for a bit, helps meld the flavors together. Shoot for at least an hour. In a medium sized bowl combine the chicken, grapes, pecans, green onions, celery, mayonnaise, lemon, and mustard. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with croissants, romaine, or with crackers. This chicken salad is always so fun for everyone to make their own sandwich or add it on top of green lettuce.

What Makes This Chicken Salad Special

3 Step Summer Chicken Salad How to Make Chicken Salad

The secret sauce, so to speak, of this chicken salad, is the tablespoon of plum preserves my mom adds to the mayo-based dressing. You could use any berry jelly or jam, but as we always have a lot of plum jam on hand , thats what mom reaches for first.

Mom balances out the sweetness from the dab of jam with a bit of lemon juice.

The result? Wonderful!

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How To Cook Chicken For Chicken Salad

If you are going to cook chicken specifically for chicken salad, the easiest thing to do is to poach it.

What I like to do is put a pot of 2 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon salt on to boil. As the water is heating, I cut skinless boneless chicken breasts into large chunks. When the water boils, I add the chicken, and return the pot to a simmer. Then I turn off the heat, and cover the pot and let the meat sit for 15 minutes in the hot water while I prepare everything else. Poaching chicken this way allows the chicken to cook gently, so the chicken retains more moisture.

After the chicken is finished cooking you can save the poaching liquid as light chicken broth.

Poaching aside, you can easily use any cooked chicken for this chicken saladrotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, or roasted chicken. My parents will often use leftovers from their favorite baked chicken, and even include some of the crispy skin in the salad.

What Makes It The Best

The Chicken: The chicken is boiled gently in salted water . Cooking the chicken gently ensures that it doesnt become tough. Let it rest after being cooked to ensure the juices stay locked in, then dice it up.
The Dressing: You can use all mayo in this, or a combination of mayo and plain Greek yogurt. Wait for the chicken to fully cool before combining it with mayo to ensure the oil doesnt separate. Also included in the mix is celery, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt/pepper, garlic salt, dried dill, and paprika.
The Add-Ons: A hint of sweetness is obtained from grapes and dried cranberries, which also add a pop of color. Sliced toasted almonds add a nice crunch, and green onions add a great finish.

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How To Make Rotisserie Chicken Salad

Like most chicken salad recipes, chicken salad made with rotisserie chicken is very easy to whip up!

For full, printable instructions, reference the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Prep the ingredients. Gather all of the ingredients and start by shredding the chicken and dicing and chopping the veggies.

Stir salad ingredients. Add all ingredients along with the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt and salt & pepper to a large bowl, and stir to combine.

Serve and enjoy! Now, youve got yourself a nutritious, delicious lunch! I told you this chicken salad recipe was easy! And its full of flavor, quick to make and super filling with all that protein!

Combine The Salad And Dressing

BEST CHICKEN SALAD RECIPE | easy & healthy

It’s time to assemble the salad. Just pour the mayonnaise mixture over the bowl the chicken and mix thoroughly so that everything is well combined. The chicken, veggies, and fruit pairing is a match made in heaven.

“The taste is light and refreshing, with the creaminess of the mayonnaise being complemented by the crispness of the celery and the sweet apple,” Bryant raves. “The lemon adds a lovely tang, and the dill provides herbal notes. For a dish with relatively few ingredients, it has a lot going on flavor-wise!”

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What You Need For Ultimate Chicken Salad Recipe

Simple and fresh, this chicken salad will come together quickly. Cook your chicken ahead of time or purchase an already cooked chicken to save on time. This chicken salad will become a favorite to make! The total amounts of ingredients is located in the recipe card.

Cooked Chicken: chopped or shredded chicken is best.
Grapes: I used red grapes, they are a bit sweeter than green. Slice in half or cut into cubes.
Pecans: You can purchase chopped pecans for this salad.
Green onions: I like to finely chop the green onions for a bit of a kick in each bite.
Celery: Finely diced using a knife or a shredder.
Mayonnaise: Do not use salad dressing, it will alter the taste.
Juice from ½ lemon: Yes, you can use bottled.
Dijon Mustard: Adds the perfect amount of zippy flavor to this chicken salad.
Salt and pepper: Add to taste!

How To Serve Chicken Salad

Theres plenty of ways to serve chicken salad to delight every eater:

Serve in croissants or on toasted thick cuts of whole wheat bread
Mound chicken salad on top of fresh greens or cooked rotini pasta for an easy ladies-who-lunch salad
Nestle a scoop of chicken salad in avocado halves
Scoop out the center of a large tomato or cooked artichoke and stuff with chicken salad

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Chicken Salad With Grapes Recipe

Dinner 5 mins

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This Chicken Salad with Grapes Recipe makes a quick, delicious meal! It also has roasted nuts for the best chicken salad recipe and makes a great chicken salad sandwich too!

Chicken salad has to be one of the most perfect dishes for an easy meal at home or to take to a picnic or potluck. This recipe is absolutely full of amazing flavor, is simple to make and is positively the best chicken salad Ive ever eaten!

I think this chicken salad recipe is such a delicious one because the generous amount of chicken is combined with fruit and toasted pecans for a savory crunch and flavor thats a hit every time! Its a recipe that I turn to time and time again for family meals, picnics, and parties. And you just have to try this for the best chicken salad sandwich ever!

Crunchy Middle Eastern Chicken Salad

Easy Chicken Salad {CLASSIC Recipe} Ready in 10 Minutes!

The Spruce Eats / Anita Schecter

Give your chicken salad a Middle Eastern spin with this impressive recipe. Greek yogurt tahini serves as the dressing, and its easy to make with just a few ingredients. Thats mixed with shredded chicken, carrots, almonds, cilantro, and zaatar seasoning, which you can whip up, too. Try this salad on naan bread with baby spinach.

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Poached Chicken For Salads:

Put the parsley, thyme, onion, carrot, celery, and chicken breasts in a medium saucepan. Cover with the broth, and bring just to a boil. Lower the heat to very low and cover. Poach the chicken until firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, uncover and cool the chicken in the liquid for 30 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and reserve the liquid. Bone and skin the chicken and roughly chop the meat into about 1-inch pieces. Discard the bones and skin.

Strain the broth and store, covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days or freeze for later use. Remove any fat from the surface of the broth before using.

Grandmas Easy Chicken Salad

This chicken salad recipe is nostalgic for me! It came from my sweet Grandma.

She always used to make a big batch of Chicken Salad for us when we came to her house. Wed eat it for lunches with fresh fruit and salad. It was also common for families parties and showers.

Every ingredient compliments each other and the mayo dressing has lots of flavor. The chicken is tender and well seasoned, and the celery and sliced almonds give it the BEST crunch.

This recipe is really easy to whip up. Just like Grandma, I love mixing up a big batch and eating it on croissants for weekday lunches or serving at get togethers.

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Chicken Salad Recipe Made With Poached Chicken Breasts Mayo Shallot Honey Mustard And Lemon

Buy some fresh and healthy chicken breasts. I have the tendency to get preachy when I talk about what meat you should buy. But all I ask is that you find out where your meat comes from and buy the stuff that you are comfortable with eating and serving to others. I grew up on a hobby farm, and we raised delicious chickens. And that is what I am used to. So I buy the expensive chicken. And its worth it to me.

Poach the chicken breasts for the chicken salad recipe. Poaching is done traditionally in a liquid called court bouillon, which is a quick broth made from mirepoix, herbs, and an acid-like wine or lemon. You may also use a mixture of chicken stock and wine for poaching liquid. Even a simple mixture of water and lemon juice will suffice. For more information on poaching, read Poached Chicken Breasts.

Chop the poached chicken breasts. Cool the poached chicken breasts and chop them into a small dice. Put the chopped chicken meat into a bowl and add the minced shallots, celery, and parsley. Then add the mayo, mustard, honey, and lemon to the bowl and mix everything together. Add salt to taste.

Refrigerate the chicken salad. You can eat the chicken salad right away. But it will be even better the next day. I like to put roasted cashews and dried cherries on top of my chicken salad. It gives it a very nice contrast. You may also try grapes, apricots, raisins, or almonds. There are many options. The chicken salad should be good for a week, but I doubt it will last that long.

How To Make Chicken Salad

How to Make a Basic Chicken Salad | Salad Recipe | Allrecipes.com

Prepare a classic chicken salad in 15 minutes with only a few simple ingredients.

Chop cooked and cooled chicken and place into a large bowl with celery and onions.

Mix dressing ingredients in a bowl. Toss with chicken.

Serve on rolls, bread or over a bead of lettuce.

For this chicken salad sandwich recipe, any bread will do, thick slices of a baguette or buns/rolls hold up well. This is naturally low carb and its great over a tossed salad as well.

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Behind The Recipe: The Best Homemade Chicken Salad

When ordering a chicken salad for lunch, you really never know what will end up on the plate. Every chef seems to prepare chicken salad differently.

You may get a finely shredded version or large cubes of chicken. Your plate could include all sorts of ingredients like red onions, seeds, dried cranberries, nuts, and even fruit, like seedless grapes.

Likewise, many families have a time-honored classic chicken salad recipe that has been handed down for generations.

Digging in, I found any quality chicken salad recipe starts with creamy and bright ingredients. From there, you can make it your own with any variation of ingredients you like best. That being said, I think youll enjoy mine!

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Tips For This Recipe:

Either chill the chicken before you make the salad or chill the chicken salad mixture before serving.
Try adding different mix-ins to your chicken salad: different kinds of nuts, grapes, apples, dried cranberries, dried cherries, avocado, chopped green onion or red onion.
Cook your chicken ahead of time so that you can make this recipe quickly. Try my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken or Crockpot Shredded Chicken. Cooked chicken will stay fresh for up to 4 days in the refrigerator, so go by the date when your chicken was cooked to figure out how long you can store your chicken salad in the fridge.
For a low carb lunch, serve chicken salad in lettuce wraps or on top of a spinach salad.

Vegetarian Curried Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is so popular that even vegetarians get a craving for it at times. This curried “chicken” salad sandwich is great for meatless Mondays, too. The mock chicken salad is made with cauliflower, cashews, cranberries, onion, and carrot. With the combination of curry powder, ginger, mint, Sriracha, and turmeric, it definitely doesn’t lack flavor, and it’s fantastic on pumpkin bread.

Lemon Roasted Chicken Salad Wrap

ETI Healthy Choice Meals: Strawberry Chicken Salad

If youre the kind of person who loves a jam-packed chicken salad, this should be your go-to recipe. Not only is each layer of the dish full of flavor , but each layer is emphasized by the others. The incorporation of sweet cranberries heightens the acidic lemon in the chicken. The crisp celery and water chestnuts parallel the richness of walnuts. Each element creates balance, solidifying each ingredients role in the recipe.

Get the Recipe: Lemon Roasted Chicken Salad Wrap

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Tips And Variations For The Best Chicken Salad

Crunchy, savory, sweet, and a bit creamy chicken salad is the perfect dish.

Chicken: Use any type of chicken you have on hand. You can use rotisserie, leftover BBQ, roasted, or even broiled chicken. Whatever you use, chop it up or shred it so it is easy to spread, spoon, and eat.
Grapes: You can use red or green grapes or a combination of both. Green grapes can be a bit tart sometimes and the red grapes add color.
Nuts: Pecans are a classic but you can substitute them for walnuts, almonds, or cashews. Roast them for a bit of extra flavor.
Mayonnaise: If you are not a fan of mayo, you can use sour cream or non-fat Greek yogurt.
Different Fruit: Try chopped apples or dried cranberries.

Chicken Salad With Spicy Mayo Dressing

Super flavourful Chicken Salad With Mayo! On this post, youll learn how to make chicken salad with lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onions, baked chicken breast, boiled egg, plus a delicious spicy mayo dressing that brings this salad to a whole new level!

I know we all love chicken salad sandwich and classic chicken salad, but this Chicken Salad With Mayo recipe will make you love this new variation of chicken salad even more. Its delicious even without the bread, because who needs the bad carbs when you have a bowl full of goodies like this one, right?

This homemade chicken salad is a very simple and easy go-to lunch for your week busy days, but its awesome for potlucks and picnics on the weekend! And you can use leftover chicken to make your life even easier.

I love making chicken salad since its such a filling but light meal like my Easy Chopped Chicken Salad.

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How To Make One Pot Chicken And Rice:

The instructions for this recipe break down to a few basic steps. 1) Spice and sear the chicken, 2) Cook the vegetables, 3) Simmer the rice and 4) Cook the chicken. Lets talk details

MAKE THE SPICE MIXTURE: Grab a prep bowl and stir together the rosemary, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

SEASON THE CHICKEN: Place the trimmed chicken thighs in a bowl and toss with the spice mixture. I like to sprinkle half of the spice mixture over the chicken, toss it together, then repeat with the remaining spice mixture. This makes it easier to distribute the spices evenly.

SEAR THE CHICKEN: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. If you have an enameled cast-iron skillet, thats a great option for a nice sear on the chicken. Otherwise, try a nonstick skillet. If you prefer to use a stainless steel skillet, youll need to use more oil to stop the chicken from sticking. Sear the chicken thighs about 2 minutes per side. Set the chicken aside on a plate.

SAUTÉ THE VEGGIES: Turn the heat to medium and add a little more olive oil. Add the onion, carrot and celery. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally.

SIMMER THE RICE: Stir in the rice and broth, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

ADD THE HERBS: Stir in the fresh parsley and basil. Serve it up!