This is our favorite chicken salad recipe. It combines perfectly tender chicken, crunch from vegetables and nuts, a little sweetness, and the lightest creamy sauce. This simple chicken salad tastes great when you make it, but gets even better with time, making it perfect for a meal prep! Jump to the recipe for an easy chicken salad
How to make the best chicken salad
Our favorite chicken salad has three critical ingredients: tender cooked chicken, something crunchy and something sweet. Bonus if it’s easy to assemble. This chicken salad recipe has it all, and it’s even easy to adjust to what you like.
Let’s go over the ingredients you need for the chicken salad. Then, read on for some variations to make it even more special.
Chopped or shredded chicken – Use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, or use one of these easy methods to cook the perfect chicken for this chicken salad: poached chicken, shredded chicken, cooked whole chicken (also makes great chicken soup), or leftover roasted whole chicken.
vegetables for crunch – Just like when we make tuna salad or egg salad, we keep the list of ingredients short and only call for celery. For more veggies, try carrots, fennel, bell peppers, shallots, or onions (though, be careful your onions aren’t too strong).
Nuts or seeds – Texture is a big deal for chicken salad; We add a lot of it with celery and nuts or seeds. In the pictures we added sliced almonds, but most nuts and seeds will work. Consider using pistachios, walnuts, pine nuts, pecans, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and sunflower seeds.
something sweet – Here you can have a lot of fun! We love dried fruit in our chicken salad and especially enjoy golden raisins. Dried cranberries, apricots, dates or other dried fruit work as well. You can also add fresh fruit like halved grapes or chopped apples.
Our simple dressing – Our chicken salad dressing is based on mayonnaise. All you have to do is mix a few tablespoons of fresh lemon juice into the mayonnaise and season with salt, and you’re ready to throw. Add a few little beams of toasted sesame oil to make the sauce even more special. A little goes a long way but it adds a nice umami flavor. Or, for something sweet, you can mix in a teaspoon or so of your favorite jam.
By the way, for a healthier chicken salad, try replacing some or all of the mayonnaise called for in the recipe with regular or Greek yogurt. The sauce will be slightly spicy but will still taste great.
More: Try our crushed chickpea salad
How to store chicken salad
When stored properly, chicken salad stays inside Refrigerate for 3 to 4 days, which is great news because as I mentioned above, the salad tastes great once you make it, but give it a day in the fridge, and it tastes even better. We keep the salad well covered in a glass container.
Our favorite chicken salad
The best chicken salad has a few critical ingredients: tender chicken, crunch, and something sweet. This easy recipe checks all the boxes. We’ve shared our basic chicken salad recipe and some suggestions for making it extra special. We highly recommend the toasted sesame oil – it adds a lovely umami flavor to the sauce. A little goes a long way, so add just a few dashes (no more than 1/4 teaspoon).
When we have time, we throw a chicken breast into this salad. Here’s our detailed recipe for how we toss chicken.
Makes about 8 (1/2) cup servings
you will need
For the salad
3 cups (480 grams) chopped or shredded cooked chicken, See our recipe for perfect poached chicken
1 cup (120 grams) chopped celery
4 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs such as chives, parsley and basil
1/4 cup (40 grams) lightly toasted nuts such as sliced almonds, walnuts, pecans or pine nuts
1/4 cup (40 grams) of dried fruit such as golden raisins, cranberries, dates or blueberries
for the dressing
1/2 cup (110 grams) mayonnaise, See our homemade mayo recipe
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, And more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 to 4 small beams of toasted sesame oil (a scant 1/4 teaspoon), Optional
1 to 2 teaspoons jam, Optional
Arrival instructions
Combine the chicken, celery, herbs, nuts, dried fruit and fresh fruit (if using) in a medium mixing bowl.
In another small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and black pepper. Taste and then add the optional ingredients. Toasted sesame oil adds umami (a little goes a long way), and the jam sweetens the sauce.
Toss the dressing with the salad. Taste and then adjust with more salt and pepper. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
Adam and Joan’s tips
- In addition to or as a substitute for the dried fruit, add a handful of fresh fruit such as halved grapes or chopped apples.
- For a lighter chicken salad, replace the mayonnaise with light mayo or use plain or Greek yogurt.
- Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts listed below are estimates. We used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag it #inspiredtaste — we love seeing your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutrition per serving: portion size 1/2 cup / calories 197 / total fat 13.4 grams / Saturated fat 2.1 grams / Cholesterol 47.1 mg / sodium 269.9 mg / Total carbs 5.2 grams / Dietary fiber 0.9 grams / Total sugars 3.2 grams / protein 13.9 grams
More light salads
