What Are The Ingredients For Chicken Salad

Tips For Perfect Chicken Salad:

• Be sure to let chicken chill first before adding to the dressing otherwise it will warm the dressing and it just wont be the same.
• Add in a fruit if desired. Its good with diced grapes or apples . Sweeten the dressing with a hint of honey to pair with it.
• Add in a nuts for more crunch. Pecans, walnuts or sliced almonds are good choices.
• Use fresh herbs for added flavor. I like to use parsley but this is also delicious with 2 tsp chopped fresh dill.
• For the creamiest chicken salad use full fat mayonnaise.
• If using a rotisserie chicken buy a large chicken or 2 small to have enough chicken breast meat.

Can You Freeze Chicken Salad

Sadly, mayonnaise doesnt freeze well and thats the base for the dressing in this recipe. If youd like ready to go chicken salad, Id suggest finely chopping the chicken and seasonings .

Freeze the diced chicken in single serving portions. When youd like a salad, just combine the chicken and seasonings with mayonnaise and any extra add ins.

Everything Youll Need To Make This Recipe

Since this recipe is simple and somewhat customizable, the ingredients are pantry staples. But each ingredient is handpicked for a specific reason. Here are the ingredients youll need:

• Dijon mustard is added as an emulsification agent. One warning on this: you will not achieve perfect emulsification with this dressing, but thats the point. A small amount of mustard will help bind the ingredients for a short time before everythings mixed with the pasta.
• Shallot is the traditional allium of choice for a dressing. It has a lighter, sweeter flavor than other onions and mixes well into the dressing without being too strong.
• Garlic is essential in an Italian-style dressing. By pressing or smashing the garlic, you release the most pungent flavor. The acidity from the other components in the dressing will temper the strong flavor of the garlic so it marries easily into the dressing.
• White wine vinegar, as opposed to distilled white vinegar, is sweeter and adds something more than just acidity to the dressing.
• Honey is the element of sweetness thats used to balance out the sharpness of the other flavors in the dressing. But know that a little bit goes a long way. If you dont have honey on hand, a small amount of sugar will do the same thing.
• Olive oil provides the base for the entire dressing. Since theres a large amount in the dressing, its the dominant flavor. Thus, its important to choose a good olive oil.

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How Much To Serve Per Person:

If you are making for serving a large group, at a party or event, youll want to increase the amount that you make. Here is the rule of thumb that I use for how much to prepare per person.

• Sandwiches and wraps = 4 6 ounces per person
• Lettuce cups = 4 6 ounces per person
• Main dish = 8 ounces per person

How To Make It:

Pro tip: Having a party? Make it ahead to save time the day of the party! Use that extra time to socialize and be with your friends and family.

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Heart Soul & Chicken Salad

Welcome to Chicken Salad Chick, where we offer delicious, scratch-made, Southern-style, craveable favorites served from the heart. We dont believe in strangers, just friends we havent met yetso come in and enjoy! Youll find fresh, healthy fare and gracious hospitality at our chicken salad restaurant. We know everyone has a different idea of what makes the perfect chicken salad recipe, so weve created several options. If youre a chicken salad lover, youll discover something here to satisfy your tastes. From simple to savory to fruity and nutty or even a little spicy, you can pick the chick that suits your mood. We have over a dozen varieties of chicken salads along with pimento cheese or egg salad, served by the scoop, sandwich, or bowl. Youll also find delicious sides, soups, and desserts in addition to the scoops of chicken salad that started it all. Bringing along your little chicks? We have a great kidsmenu. For quick, amazing meals we even offer convenient carryout.

Stop in today or order online for chicken salad made fresh and served from the heart.

Customize It Your Way

Like all of my recipes, this healthy chicken salad recipe is completely customizable. Heres the general template to follow:

• Add creaminess You can use either plain greek yogurt or light mayo. Greek yogurt will be much higher in protein but light mayo is still a good, lower fat option.
• Add nuts You can use any nuts of your choice but ones that typically go best with chicken salad are walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, or pine nuts.
• Add fruit Fruit adds a touch of sweetness and extra crunch to the chicken salad. You can use halved grapes, chopped apples, dried cranberries, orange slices, blueberries, or really any other fruit you like.
• Add herbs Dont skip out on the fresh herbs! They add loads of flavor. You can use any fresh herbs youd like, but I have a few suggestions below.

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What Is Chicken Salad Sandwich Made Of

The chicken, apple, onion, and celery should be combined in a large bowl. Season mayonnaise with salt and pepper in a medium bowl as well as Dijon, and vinegar with mayonnaise. Sprinkle dressing on top of chicken mixture and toss in the salad. You should garnish your baguette with chopped dill and, if your cheese needs to go, with ice cubes.

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What Goes In Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is very versatile, a lot of times using what you have on hand. I always used to make mine with chicken, mayo, celery, and some seasonings. But I realized I had been missing out. Try it with the following ingredients, youll be glad you did!

• Chicken: Seasoned baked chicken breast or rotisserie chicken thats completely cooled and chopped.
• Dressing: Mayonnaise, plain Greek yogurt, and mustard.
• Seasonings: Onion powder, kosher salt, and pepper.
• Mix-ins: Dried cranberries, chopped pecans, and diced apple.
• Chicken Salad Sandwich: Simply put the mixture on a croissant or soft dinner rolls with some fresh baby spinach or lettuce, if serving as a sandwich.

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Is Chicken Salad Healthy

Depending on the ingredients , chicken salad can definitely be healthyand a great choice for lunch or dinner. The biggest culprit of making it unhealthy is the mayonnaise and how much you use, since it is high in fats and calories.

How many calories in chicken salad? This particular recipe uses a combination of mayo and plain Greek yogurt and is 411 calories per serving.How many carbs in chicken salad? This recipe weighs in at only 9 carbs per serving.

Crunchy Middle Eastern Chicken Salad

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 itâs easy to make with just a few ingredients. Thatâs mixed with shredded chicken, carrots, almonds, cilantro, and zaâatar seasoning, which you can whip up, too. Try this salad on naan bread with baby spinach.

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Does Chicken Salad Have Pickles

Savory chicken salad recipes may contain dill pickles, sweet pickles, pickle relish, or pickle juice. All have their place in the recipe.

Sweet chicken salad recipes seldom mix fruit with pickles. If your salad has grapes, apples, or cranberries, you probably wont see pickles on the ingredients list.

Find out what else you can skip in chicken salad, even if it is on the ingredient list.

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.

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Make Ahead And Storage:

• Dressing: This honey mustard dressing cane made ahead and leftovers in the refrigerator, covered, for 10 to 14 days.
• Chicken: chicken can be grilled or seared cooled and stored in an airtight container for up 2-3 days.
• Salad: Chopped undressed salad ingredients can last in the fridge for 1-2 days in a sealed container. I dont recommend adding the avocado to the mix as it will oxidize and brown. +

If youd like to meal prep this salad, I suggest either storing each component of the salad separately and then combine the ingredients the morning of packing your lunch. Alternatively, you can pack the ingredients together in meal prep containers but pack the salad dressing on the side. Also, if you are meal prepping this, add the avocado on the day of eating as your avocado can turn brown from oxidation.

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An Easy Sandwich With Fruit & Nuts

• Chicken: Like a classic chicken salad recipe, you can use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken or Crockpot Shredded Chicken for this recipe.
• Pineapple/Grapes: Fruit adds a bit of sweetness and a juicy tang to this recipe. Like in a Waldorf Salad, fruit lightens up a mayonnaise-based dressing.
• Nuts: Pecans add a bit of crunch . They can be replaced with walnuts or almonds if you prefer.
• Dressing: A mayonnaise-based dressing is flavored with a hint of curry powder. The addition of curry is amazing in a chicken salad with grapes!
• Other Delicious Additions: chopped red or green onions, sliced and quartered zucchini, shredded carrots, sliced water chestnuts, sesame seeds

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Tips From The Betty Crocker Kitchens

• tip 1 This salad can also be made with a two-color slaw mix. It won’t be as colorful, but will still taste great.You can use chow mein noodles in place of the ramen noodles.
• tip 2 Crush the ramen noodles and slice the green onion ahead of time. Place them in separate sealed containers. Just before serving, mix with the remaining salad ingredients. This salad does not hold well once the salad dressing has been added.

About This Pasta Salad

Part healthy salad, part comforting pasta, this bright and tasty pasta salad recipe has everything you love in one dish.

Its perfect for customizing with your favorite veggies, and can easily be made with several convenient swaps. Want olives? Add olives! Dont have fresh herbs? Add dried herbs! Whatever youve got on hand is great for making a simple yet satisfying pasta salad.

Serve either fresh or make ahead for an easy meal, and enjoy either hot or cold. I love to have it alongside some of my other favorite Italian recipes, like Eggplant Parmesan or with a comforting Minestrone soup.

Or eat it right out of the bowl for a snack! There really is no wrong way to enjoy pasta salad with vegetables and herbs.

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How To Shred Cooked Chicken Breast And Thighs

While you can certainly enjoy your slow cooker chicken sliced or diced, shredding it is fast, simple, and versatile. Here are a few of the best ways to shred chicken breasts and thighs:

• Hand Mixer. This is my preferred method! Remove your chicken to a bowl or place your hand mixer directly into the slow cooker and use it on low speed to shred the chicken. You also can transfer the cooked chicken breasts or thighs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and shred it on low.

• Two Forks. Grab two forks, using one to steady the big pieces of chicken. Use the other fork to tear the big piece into shreds.
• Fingers. If your chicken is cool enough, you can shred it with your fingers.

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Why You’ll Love It

This homemade chicken salad recipe is great for easy lunches or fun occasions like picnics. Bring it as a work lunch for a healthier and less expensive meal than getting fast food. There are plenty of fresh ingredients that make this taste way less one-dimensional than your average grocery store chicken salad! It’s definitely worth making at home.

I kept this chicken salad from scratch really simple so that it will appeal to a wide variety of tastes and also so you can change it up if you feel like it. Apple is the not-so-secret ingredient in my version of this popular recipe. It adds a sweet and tart flavor as well as a delicious fresh crunch! These chicken salad sandwiches are perfectly balanced.

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What Kind Of Chicken To Use For Chicken Salad

• I love the flavor and ease of using a store bought rotisserie chicken. I used a mix of dark and light meat.
• You could also try buying pre-cooked roasted chicken breast from your deli, or cook up your own chicken. Try my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken.
• If you have some leftover cooked turkey, you can definitely use that in this recipe!

Chicken Salad With Curry

Curry chicken salad is wonderful in pita pockets with a simple salad on the side. It also makes a great meal when mixed with cooked cubed potatoes. The curry powder gives it a powerful character while the sweet raisins and mayo tone it down, making a flavorful salad. Stick with the toasted almonds or add cubed peeled apples or pecans for extra crunch.

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How To Make Chicken Salad

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

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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• Three Bean Salad

Tips for Making Chicken Salad

• This recipe calls for almonds but you can use other types of nuts like pecans, walnuts, or cashews.
• Replace the mayo with pureed avocado and sour cream for an avocado chicken salad.
• Cut the calories in this recipe by using Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.
• This recipe takes a total time of 5 minutes to throw together, but youll want to refrigerate it for at least an hour to give the flavors a chance to come together.
• Make BBQ chicken salad by adding 2-3 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ sauce in place of some of the mayonnaise.

How to Store Chicken Salad

• Serve: Dont leave it out at room temperature for more than two hours for food safety.
• Store: Chicken salad will last refrigerated for 3-4 days, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap.
• Freeze: It is not recommended that you freeze chicken salad because the mayonnaise will separate when defrosting. You can freeze the cooked chicken, then just defrost it in the refrigerator the day before you want to make the salad, and add the other fresh ingredients the day of.

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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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Can I Use Something Besides Pickle Relish

The pickle relish in this recipe provides a lot of flavor, thanks to the sweetness and tartness of the pickle brine.

I do recommend you use sweet relish, not dill pickle relish. You can also dice up some sweet pickles if you dont have any relish on hand.

And I bet some sweet and spicy pepper jelly used in place of the relish would be pretty tasty.

Allrecipes Community Tips And Praise

“My favorite chicken salad recipe,” says Allrecipes community member ggknitter. “Made as is except substituted sour cream for half of the mayonnaise. Can also use Greek yogurt for half of the mayonnaise. Have also added a little chopped onion at times.”

“Great, simple recipe! I added curry powder and diced grapes, and it was delicious!” r2d2therc

Kathy Bezemes Walstrom says, “I have used this recipe for years. You can do so many variations. I have added bacon bits, various herbs , grapes, and different types of nuts. The lemon juice is a must! It’s so nice to have it at my finger tips on my favorite site now!”

Editorial contributions by Vanessa Greaves

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