BEST Chicken Salad
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For a chicken salad recipe that’s guaranteed to be a total winner, look no further! This homemade chicken salad is wonderfully creamy without being overly wet, it isn’t too sweet or too tangy, and incorporates the PERFECT balance of flavors and textures! This recipe consistently gets rave reviews and has been a reader favorite for years!
I’m a sentimental romantic. So you’ll have to indulge me for a moment. One of my favorite movies of all time is the Megan Follows version of Anne of Green Gables and its sequel. Would it be too dramatic to say that growing up, those movies helped shape who I am? Yes, that’s pretty dramatic. But in some small but meaningful ways I believe they did.
As I was making this chicken salad a line from the movie came to mind. (That’s what happens when you have the entire dialogue of the movie memorized.) Diana and Anne are standing on the cliffside of scenic Prince Edward Island overlooking the ocean, the wind blowing in their hair, staring off into the sunset.
Diana says to Anne, “I wish I were rich and I could spend the whole summer at a hotel, eating ice cream and chicken salad.” Anne responds thoughtfully, “You know something, Diana? We are rich. We have sixteen years to our credit, and we both have wonderful imaginations. We should be as happy as queens.” Nodding at the setting sun over the ocean, Anne observes, “Look at that. You couldn’t enjoy its loveliness more if you had ropes of diamonds….I am happy Diana, and nothing is going to hold me back.”
Without a doubt, one of life’s simple but greatest pleasures is good food – food that’s thoughtfully prepared and shared with those you love. So in celebration of Diana’s desire for good food, and in appreciation of Anne’s understanding that happiness is how you interpret it, here’s a delicious chicken salad you can enjoy with your family and friends!
The Ultimate Chicken Salad
This salad is wonderfully creamy without being overly wet, it isn’t too sweet or too tangy, and it incorporates the perfect balance of flavors. The sour cream adds a touch of freshness to offset the heaviness of the mayonnaise. Bite into it and I’m confident you’ll be very happy indeed.
Use this chicken salad recipe for sandwiches, croissants or in wraps. Or, for a low-carb option, serve it on top of a bed of salad leaves with some sliced tomatoes and avocado.
BEST Chicken Salad Recipe
Let’s get started!
Place the diced chicken, celery, green onions and grapes in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine all remaining ingredients to make the sauce and stir to combine.
Scoop the mayo sauce over the chicken salad and stir to combine, making sure the chicken salad is thoroughly coated with the sauce.
Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.
Serve as a salad on a bed of lettuce or as a sandwich filling. We love it on croissants.
Enjoy!
A few other recipes I think you’ll love!
- Creamy Coleslaw
- Macaroni Salad
- Crunchy Broccoli Salad
- Potato Salad
- Freezer Slaw
- Waldorf Salad
- Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad
- Broccoli Pasta Salad
- Thai Quinoa Salad
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BEST Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless ,skinless chicken breasts cooked in lightly salted water then chilled in the fridge and diced, about 4 cups (for the best texture, avoid canned chicken)
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 1/2 cups halved seedless red grapes
- 2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds or toasted chopped pecans , optional for some crunch
- 3 green onions , chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise (for a healthier choice use Avocado Oil Mayonnaise)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the diced chicken, celery, green onions and grapes in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.In a medium-sized bowl, add the remaining ingredients to make the sauce and stir to combine. Pour the mayo sauce over the chicken salad and stir to combine and thoroughly coat the salad.Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.
- Serve on sandwiches, croissants or in wraps with some lettuce. For a low-carb option, serve on a bed of lettuce with sliced tomato and avocado.
Nutrition
Originally published on the The Daring Gourmet on Jul 13, 2017
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I have never left a review for recipe before and I always use online recipes to cook. THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST CHICKEN SALAD RECIPE EVER!!!!!!! I have now made this maybe 5 or 6 times and each time for a group event. Every time I’ve made it, I have had to provide the recipe to numerous people. It is just absolutely perfect exactly as written. There is no reason to try to get fancy. The dressing is perfect as is. Just make and enjoy and watch those around you ask why you chicken salad is so much better than theirs!
That’s fantastic, Jennifer, I’m thrilled to hear that and really appreciate your taking time to leave a review – thank you!
This really is the best chicken salad we have ever had. I used green grapes because, well, that’s what I had. I added a small amount of sunflower seeds and since I didn’t have celery, I just used celery salt. I think I could eat this every day. Ten minutes prep time is a bit of a stretch though. It takes at least 15-20 minutes to boil the chicken, then shredding/chopping the chicken takes 5 minutes. I would say from start to finish it takes at least 30-35 minutes. Not complaining since that isn’t even that long.
Thanks for the feedback, Jeanene, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, the prep time assumes that the chicken was already made and chilled in advance and all you have to do is dice it, but you’re right, there is the cooking time of the chicken to take into account as well.
My husband and I have been married for almost 23 years. I have tried many chicken salad recipes out on him over the years, and none have gotten the response that this recipe has gotten. He LOVES it and so do I! I tweaked only a few things. I didn’t have any green onions on hand, so I just left those out. I used dried parsley instead of fresh, and I didn’t add the dill weed (I was out). I also added a handful of dried cranberries. YUMMMMMMM! This stuff if amazing. I can’t wait to try it with all of your listed ingredients. I do believe I will stop looking for that perfect recipe – I’ve found it! Thanks for sharing!!!
Fantastic, Jen, I’m so thrilled to hear that, thank you!
Kimberly, Sorry, yes the nutritional info for chicken salad is incorrect. It says 7 grams protein in one serving. The chicken alone has 31 grams protein in 1/2 cup.
I made this Chicken Salad today and it is aptly named. It is the best chicken salad I have ever eaten. Thank you.
I am absolutely thrilled to hear that Mary, thanks so much!
Has anyone ever mixed pasta with this chicken salad? I’d like to make a pasta salad to go with burgers, so I am wondering if I can use this recipe. Thanks for any help!
Kimberly, there are 31 grams of protein in 1/2 cup of cooked cubed chicken. The recipe is dee-lish!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Beverly, thank you! I’m not sure I understand what you mean by the protein comment, did I include some wrong info somewhere?
Diana and Anne are standing on the cliffside of scenic Prince Edward Island overlooking the ocean, the wind blowing in their hair, staring off into the sunset. Diana says to Anne, “I wish I were rich and I could spend the whole summer at a hotel, eating ice cream and chicken salad.”
I absolutely loved this lead-in to the chicken salad recipe. I also love a cook-off challenge. I, too, cook best with a visualization of space, time, location and the people in it. I am a chef and have been around chefs and maitre d’s my entire career. My background is in world class hotels, restaurants, cafés and cruise liners. I no longer own any restaurants, and I am retired now. I live my days as an artist on a house boat on San Francisco Bay, and I travel and revisit the world of food without ever casting off a line. My most recent “ports of call” were Cuba, Barcelona and Mombasa. Their foods and cooking methods are written about, and easily researched online if not outright remembered. We have some really great Farmers Markets nearby to get my “provisions”, and I make “landfall” on YouTube, while playing the required background sound on radio stations I find on Pandora. The view of yachts in the sunset would be pretty much the same, no matter where I tied up. And so, I also save a fortune on airfare.
Chicken Salad on Toast Points is a prerequisite menu item on afternoon menus of fine European establishments. Allow me to narrate the recipe. I use equal measures of cold roast chicken breast, poached button head mushrooms (Champignons), cold poached white asparagus and pineapple (preferring canned over fresh), and I cut these ingredients evenly to roughly thumbnail size. For each serving’s garnish I save two asparagus tips, two small pieces of chicken a small piece of pineapple and a sliver of mushrooms (it always helps to show off the ingredients), the rest goes into a mixing bowl and set aside to be chilled. In a smaller bowl I put mayonnaise and add a small glass of Sherry (or Madeira) to make a thick liquid. I mix all ingredients shortly before service, as I don’t think prolonged marination is going to help. It’s a matter of taste, and I want all flavors “as is” and the coating of sauce to bind these flavors without necessarily penetrating them.
Service (meant as the entree for an afternoon meal): Of two slices of toast I cut one diagonally and place one triangle at each side of the center slice to give it a “boat look”. I wet the center slice with a little of the sherry mayonnaise, spreading it with the back of the spoon. I place a cup shaped leaf of butter lettuce on the toast and a scoop of the chicken salad mix on that. I garnish the saved pieces of chicken, asparagus, pineapple and mushroom in a tight grouping at the top and finish it with a small sprig of parsley. Voila! Enjoy it at a table setting of silver, crystal and crisp linen, with a glass of not too dry Riesling, then close your eyes and think of Vienna, or Paris, or Berlin (and wipe that far away smile off your face).
Beautiful, Klaus. Thanks for sharing and also for the recipe. International cuisine is my passion, I love experiencing other cultures via all the senses, including taste. You mentioned Barcelona, we were just there last year. What’s amusing is I was just perusing Ali-Bab’s “Encyclopedia of Practical Gastronomy” wherein he reduces Spanish cuisine to the following: “Spain is a very lovely country but, as for its cuisine, the less said the better.” He then moves on to Portugal: “Portuguese cuisine is no better than the Spanish.” I had to laugh out loud! The flavorful Moorish as well as Roman influences were already long present by 1910 when his remarks were published, surely the food landscape wasn’t that different at the time. A case of French bias perhaps? ;) (Of course his comments about German and American cuisine were no better, ha!) Thanks again and have a lovely Summer. Kind regards, Kimberly