What Ingredients Go In Chicken Salad

What Herbs & Spices Go With Chicken

Chicken is pretty versatile in the kitchen. You can do so many things with it! While many spices go well with chicken, these are some of the more common seasonings, and the ones that pair with chicken the best.

Be sure to check out these posts for free printable lists of seasonings that pair well with other meats.

• Whats the Best Seasoning for Pork?

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.

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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What Ingredients Will You Need

For step-by-step instructions, check out the printable recipe card below. But here is what youll need to get started.

• CHICKEN We suggest a rotisserie chicken. If you cook the chicken breasts, make sure you either shred it or chop if finely.
• RED ONION Youll want a nice fresh onion, This gives the chicken sandwich a nice crunch!
• DICED CELERY Same thing as the onion. Nice, fresh and crunchy!
• DILL RELISH This relish really balances the taste well.
• MAYONNAISE Please. Pretty please, use the real stuff here. If you really want to shave some calories, you can use low fat Mayo.
• EGG Hard Boiled. We love to hard boil or eggs in an Instant Pot. So easy! The egg gives this recipe such a nice flavor and texture!
• SALT AND PEPPER Stir in Salt and Black Pepper to taste.

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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Chop The Salad Ingredients

Dice up the chicken breasts, celery, scallions, and the apple into small chunks. That last ingredient is what Bryant says takes this dish over the edge. An apple, she says, is “something that most people will have around the house in a fruit bowl. It’s nothing fancy, but it really elevates the chicken salad by adding sweet notes.”

Once you finish chopping, add everything into a large bowl and give it a toss.

Ranch Chicken Salad Cups

This Ranch-inspired chicken salad makes the most of bright, tangy flavors like sour cream, buttermilk, scallion and dill to create a chicken salad that compliments the vibrant summer produce at your local farmers market . Mixed with tomatoes, avocado, bacon and lots of shredded chicken, this homemade Ranch dressing will highlight the sweet tomatoes, creamy avocado and salty bacon. If you want to add more veggies to your meal, serve the salad in lettuce cups and top with additional tomatoes.

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Homemade Chicken Salad Ingredients

Go to the fridge right now, and you likely have everything you need to make a batch:

• Chicken I normally use canned chicken breast, but you can also use shredded, poached chicken rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken
• Mayonnaise our preference is Dukes mayonnaise. You can use the full-fat variety or a low-fat version.
• Pickle Relish make sure to use sweet pickle relish, which usually contains finely diced pieces of sweet pickles and red peppers in a sweet brine

All About Poaching Chicken

As always, for any of my recipes that call for poached chicken, you can use a cooked rotisserie chicken, you can use canned chicken, or you can roast your own chicken. Whatever is easiest for you, or whichever method you prefer!

Ive included step-by-step instructions on the recipe card below for how to poach chicken. If youve never done it before, I recommend you trying it. Its very easy to do, and its also more economical than buying a fully-cooked rotisserie chicken .

I have been poaching my chicken for chicken salads for a while now. Not only is it SUPER easy, but the chicken comes out super moist.

When youre poaching chicken, you can add any flavor you want to your pot. For example, when I make my Thai Chicken Salad, I use ground ginger and lime in the water. For this recipe, I keep it simple with my basic poaching method. This includes some dried bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt. This is the basic recipe I use for most of my chicken salads, since it can work with most flavor profiles.

To poach the chicken, simply place the raw chicken breast in a large pot. Next, add the salt, peppercorns, crushed garlic cloves, and bay leaves.

When the chicken has reached the internal temperature of 165, remove it from the pan and place it on a cutting board to cool. Then, shred it using two forks. This method will yield 6 cups of cooked chicken breast.

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More About This Recipe

• Perfect for picnics, ideal at celebrations and just-right for any quick-fix meal, this chicken salad sandwich recipe is a balanced combination of hearty meat, crunchy celery and onion and creamy mayonnaise. If you have leftover cooked chicken from another meal, turn it into easy chicken salad. And if Thanksgiving dinner has given you more turkey than you can handle, swap it in this recipe for chicken salad to make an easy day-after meal. One commenter remarked that she omits the celery and adds in chopped apple instead. Another swaps the celery out for a tablespoon minced jalapeño peppers to add a spicy twist. Avoiding bread? This would be just as tasty served in lettuce wraps instead. Easy chicken salad is just the beginning. Dont miss out on Betty Crocker’s best sandwich and wrap recipes for more ideas.

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!

Please share!

Your shares are how this site grows and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe? Id love it if you would share it on or on your favorite board!

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Best Spices For Chicken Soup

Those who enjoy chicken will have at least once if not more times made some type of chicken soup.

For your next chicken soup, apart from black pepper add one or a combination of two or three of the spices and herbs listed below to jazz up your chicken soup recipe.

1. Bay Leaves

When frying the chicken pieces for making soup or boiling the broth add a few bay leaves. This will give a subtle woody fragrance to your soup broth.

2. Cayenne Pepper

If you want to add a bit of a spicy kick to your bland chicken soup then cayenne pepper will do the job without overpowering.

Adding cayenne also helps with cold and flu symptoms.

Pepper is not only good for making spice rubs. Try adding it to your soup for a soothing smokiness! You wont regret it.

3. Rosemary

Rosemary is not only great for fish but also for chicken especially when added to soups.

You can use either fresh or dried rosemary to give any soup a soothing aromatic touch.

It is considered to be a medicinal herb used to improve digestion.

COOKING TIP Be careful when adding rosemary to any dish. It is a strong herb so overdoing can ruin the taste of your dish.

4.Thyme

Just like rosemary, thyme is another fragrant herb that can be used both fresh or dried.

Thyme adds a herby aroma to the soup broth. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice to give is a zesty garden-fresh taste.

COOKING TIP Add thyme with other herbs such as oregano for added flavour. Also, remember to use it sparingly.

5. Coriander leaves

How Long Will This Chicken Salad Keep

You can make this salad a day or two ahead of time if you wait to add the lettuce until right before serving. The salad will keep for several days in the fridge, but the lettuce will lose its crunch and get all wilty, so you may want to leave the lettuce out if you expect to have leftovers.

Do you have a favorite chicken salad recipe? Please let us know about it in the comments.

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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 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.

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How Do You Make Plain Chicken Salad

I am not opposed to gourmet chicken salad with nuts, fruit, fancy spices and dried fruit. But for a sandwich, nothing beats this basic chicken salad recipe. Just those three simple ingredients, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and no more.

If youre looking for a good, easy chicken salad recipe without celery, like my dad, this is it.

If you like your chicken salad without eggs , like I do, this will make your belly happy. Ive never really understood why people put boiled eggs in chicken salad. No thanks!

You dont really need a recipe, but Im including one at the end of this post so you can get the proportions right.

Now, Im pretty sure chicken salad is eaten everywhere from east to west, north to south and everywhere in between. But in my mind, its a quintessentially southern food, the kind of thing youll find at summer picnics or church potlucks or baby showers, served out of a big Tupperware bowl alongside the sweet tea, baked beans, potato salad, pimento cheese and mandarin orange JELL-O salad.

But no matter where yall are from, I know you can appreciate a good meal, especially a simple one that can be fancied up depending on the occasion.

Chicken Thigh Cooking Times

Boneless Chicken Thighs.

• Cook on LOW for 3-4 hours or HIGH for 2-3 hours
• Chicken thighs are less likely to dry out than chicken breasts, so you have flexibility to cook the chicken on high.
• Based on medium boneless chicken thigh with a weight of 4.5 ounces.
• Be sure to add or subtract time if your piece of chicken is smaller or larger.

Bone-in Chicken Thighs.

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Why We Love This Recipe

This salad is fresh and loaded with flavor. It is quick and simple to prepare, and is so versatile!

Asian chicken salad is a great way to use up leftover chicken! The chicken in this dish can be served cold as a chilled salad for warm summer months or add chicken hot off the grill!

Using cabbage instead of lettuce in this salad means it keeps well, so go ahead and make it ahead of time. Keep the dressing separate and keep it in the fridge until ready to serve.

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 Store Shredded Chicken

Shredded chicken is perfect to keep on hand in the refrigerator during the week to cut down on meal-prep time too.

• TO REFRIGERATE SHREDDED CHICKEN: Let the cooked chicken cool completely. Place in a shallow, airtight container and press a sheet of plastic against the top. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
• TO FREEZE SHREDDED CHICKEN: Follow the steps above, but instead of refrigerating, store the chicken in the freezer for up to 2 months. You can also store it in heavy duty freezer bags. Be sure to squish out as much extra air as you can.

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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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What Is The Best Chicken To Use For Chicken Salad

For this recipe, I would either use a Roasted Chicken or a Poached Chicken. In fact, you best bet is to probably just go out and grab a rotisserie chicken. Then it will already be cooked and ready to go! But, if you want to stick with white meat chicken breast, then Roasting it or Poaching it is the best way to go!

We often cook our chicken in an Instant Pot, which always works out great. It is quick, easy and the chicken turns out perfectly every time!

How To Make The Best Chicken Salad Recipe

If youre starting with rotisserie chicken, this recipe comes together in about 10 minutes no cooking required!

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