The BEST Chicken Salad Recipe - Mom On Timeout (2024)

This easy Chicken Salad recipe is always a favorite no matter how it’s served! Delicious on its own, this easy recipe can also be enjoyed on a croissant, in a wrap, or served in a lettuce cup. You seriously can’t go wrong! Chicken, apples, grapes, pecans and celery are tossed in a flavorful, creamy dressing that takes just minutes to prepare!

Love salads? Make sure to try these favorites: The BEST Pea Salad,Creamy Cucumber Salad, andWatergate Salad!

Chicken Salad Sandwich Recipe

One of the most classic salad recipes and truly delicious, this easy chicken salad recipe is creamy, sweet, and perfect on it’s own, sandwiched between two slices of bread or nestled into a buttery croissant. This delicious recipe can also be enjoyed as a wrap, in a pita pocket, or in lettuce cups.

What Makes This the Best Chicken Salad

I’ve tasted a lot of delicious chicken salads in my time but this ones tops them all.

Lots of fresh ingredients in this recipe make it stand out from the crowd. Not only do they add natural sweetness and delicious flavor, but a lovely crunch as well.

I love that it can be prepared in advance which makes it ideal for entertaining. In fact, it’s one of my favorite recipes for tea sandwiches. To prepare this chicken salad for tea sandwiches, do a nice fine dice on the chicken, apples, grapes and celery.

Kiss the Carbs Buh-Bye

Watching your carbs? Chicken salad is also great on it’s own!

Feel free to kiss those carbs good bye and enjoy this salad with a fork or served in a lettuce cup. It’s just as delicious served this way as it is as a sandwich.

Chicken Salad Ingredients

This traditional chicken salad recipe features lots of fresh ingredients that make this the best chicken salad you’ve ever tried. This is what you’ll need:

• cooked chicken – any cooked chicken will work in this recipe but you want chicken that isn’t seasoned or overly seasoned. Rotisserie chicken will work, grilled chicken will work, poached chicken and baked chicken will also work
• seedless red grapes – chicken salad with grapes is SO good! If you’ve never had chicken salad this way before, you’re in for a treat. Green grapes can also be used in a pinch but they are more tart than sweet and you will notice the difference in you salad
• red apple – Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp – any sweet, firm apple will work here
• celery – the celery in this recipe adds a delicious crunch factor as well as fresh flavor
• nuts – I always choose pecans because they’re my favorite but walnuts or almonds will also work in this recipe
• mayonnaise – for delicious creaminess of course! Miracle Whip can be substituted as well as Greek yogurt. I do recommend going half and half if you use Greek yogurt because of it’s tartness.
• lemon – just the juice is needed.
• fresh parsley – fresh herbs are always a great idea in salad recipes like this one. I used flat leaf parsley here but curly leaf would also work.
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

How To Make Chicken Salad

This salad recipe is so easy to make! It consists of prepping the ingredients (chopping the chicken, apples, grapes, celery, and pecans) and mixing together the dressing.

1. Prepare the dressing: In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth and creamy.
   
2. In a separate bowl, combine chicken, grapes, apple, celery, and pecans.
3. Drizzle dressing over the top and stir together making sure the dressing is evenly distributed
   
4. Cover and chill for at least one hour before serving.
5. Serve as sandwiches on bread or croissants or as chicken salad lettuce cups.
6. Store leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

FAQs

• Can you freeze chicken salad? It’s not a great idea to freeze this salad. The ingredients will get all mushy and lose flavor.
• How many calories in chicken salad? This recipe serves 6 and has 400 calories per serving. This does not include the bread you may end up using.
• How long is chicken salad good for? Once the dressing is mixed in with the other ingredients, this salad is good for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Variations To Try

1. I like to use mayonnaise in this recipe but you can absolutely use Miracle Whip instead. Another option is Greek yogurt. If using Greek yogurt, I recommend using half yogurt and half mayonnaise.
2. Not a fan of grapes or can’t find them? Try using raisins, like I do in my Rotisserie Chicken Salad Sandwich, or even craisins!
3. Try using celery seeds instead of fresh celery.
4. Different kinds of apples will give this easy salad recipe a yummy makeover.

More Chicken Recipes To Try

1. The BEST Chicken Marinade
2. Chicken and Rice Casserole
3. Chicken Stir Fry
4. Cashew Chicken
5. Glazed Honey Balsamic Chicken

How To Make Chicken Salad