Best-Ever Chicken Salad is really the perfect go-to chicken salad for sandwiches or on top of a green salad.
You could easily add crumbled bacon, or raisins, or cashews, or even mix in a little curry powder to the mayo. Of course, homemade mayo puts this salad over the top. But again, a good quality store-bought mayonnaise works perfectly well, too. After cooking the chicken, the salad comes together in only about 15 minutes!
BEST-EVER CHICKEN SALAD IS EASY TO PREPARE
EXPERT TIP: Cook the chicken up to 3 days before assembling and serving. You can also make the homemade mayonnaise several days in advance, too!
Although chilling the salad after it’s mixed is recommended, we think to let the salad return to room temperature is great for taste when serving.
Watch us show you how easy it is to make this truly incredible recipe!
OTHER “BEST-EVER” SALADS TO TRY
WHAT MAKES THIS RECIPE SO GOOD?
Roasting the chicken ensures flavorful, juicy chicken for the salad. In a pinch, you could certainly use a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.
The addition of seedless grapes, almonds, and fresh dill are part of what makes this chicken salad so wonderful.
A mix of mayonnaise, Dijon and lemon juice adds a freshness that is just so very delicious. It all adds up to the best chicken salad you can imagine!
HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE RECIPE ISN’T HARD TO MAKE
If you really are in the mood to make this truly the BEST-EVER chicken salad…make your mayonnaise from scratch
There’s nothing better than homemade classic mayonnaise (click for recipe).
Of course, good-quality store-bought mayonnaise will work just fine, but we absolutely LOVE making it from scratch! One thing to keep in mind, though, homemade mayo has raw egg in it, which could be an issue with the very young, the elderly, or anyone with a compromised immune system.
It’s all about using fresh ingredients.
Fresh dill and parsley add a layer of flavor that we think puts this salad over the top.
If you can’t get fresh, dried will work, just use half the amount that you would be using if fresh.
And it’s even better after it sits in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight!
I mean, just look how delicious this looks!
Wait until you taste it!! You and those around you will love it!
How about a close up of all this deliciousness?
You can almost taste how good this is just by looking at it.
There is a reason this is hands down the most popular recipe on How To Feed a Loon!
Best-Ever Chicken Salad FAQs
- How far advance can it be made? We recommend serving soon after the salad is assembled. However, you can prepare the chicken and the dressing up to several days in advance. We will say the salad is even tastier after it sits in the refrigerator for a few hours. We just suggest bringing the salad back to room temp before serving. But that’s just a suggestion!
- Is a rotisserie chicken okay to use? Absolutely! We feel pretty strongly that the roasted chicken pieces yield an even tastier salad, but a good-quality rotisserie chicken will work, too. Just please don’t use canned chicken. Please.
- What other ingredients could I include? The sky is practically the limit: We love dried cranberries, sliced apples, cashews or peanuts, even capers! Fresh oregano, rosemary and/or thyme is great, too!
- Can the salad be frozen? Yes! Freeze for up to 1 month in an air-tight container. Let thaw completely and return to room temperature. You may need to make a small batch of the dressing just to stir in before serving after it’s been frozen, but that’s not 100% necessary.
Now, ready to impress? Go and make this Best-Ever Chicken Salad!
And when you make it, take a picture and post to Instagram and tag @howtofeedaloon and #howtofeedaloon
Best-Ever Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken parts (bone-in, skin-on thighs and breasts work well) (You'll need about 4 cups)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup seedless grapes, halved (red and green varieties are great)
- 1 cup almonds, thinly sliced
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Kosher salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon, then add more, to taste)
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F
- Rub the olive oil all over the chicken pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 165°F using an instant-read thermometer.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and let cool. Remove the skin then pull the meat from the bones and roughly chop.
- In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, grapes, almonds, celery, scallions, dll, & parsley.
- In a small-medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, lemon, mustard, salt and pepper.
- Add the mayo/mustard mixture to the chicken mixture and gently stir until well mixed.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Serve on a bed of greens with sliced tomatoes and avocado. Or, serve on bread with green leaf lettuce. Add more toppings to your taste!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Mandarin oranges gives this salad an awesome taste.
I don’t usually rate things online but this was the best chicken salad ever and even my husband loves it and he doesn’t like chicken salad. The dill makes it!
Julia!! That makes us so so so happy to hear!! So glad you had success with the chicken salad and THANK YOU SO MUCH for letting us know!! We appreciate that so very much! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Made this delicious chicken salad!!
Grated my apples skin on washed, celery plenty favorite ingredient ( chopped petite )red grapes seedless ( cut into 4 pieces )but check them had small seeds That may need to be removed. I added two boiled eggs as my mom said eggs make the salad. Just enough Dukes mayo ( favorite mayo) if u like it sweeter Hellman’s if you are like me too lazy to make
Dressing or actually in a hurry. Hope you enjoy my
Similar version —hats off to original recipe !!
Wonderful recipe as is, however I added some julienned apples, dried cranberries, and chopped walnuts instead of the almonds and grapes. You could spread a little whole cranberry sauce to the bread for an amazing sweet-tart-savory sandwich!
I added some Cosmic Crisp apple, diced (not peeled). That was a very nice additional flavor. Thanks for this recipe.
Hi Gloria! Apple is a wonderful addition! Thanks so much for letting us know and thanks for the great review!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Amazing. Best tasting chicken salad I’ve made. Such a great recipe and easy to throw together !
Hey Kelly! Awesome! So glad you liked the chicken salad and thank you so much for letting us know! All the best, Kris & Wesley
I loved the fresh taste of this recipe. It was exactly what I was looking for. I made a quarter of this recipe since there is only two of us. I used dried dill because that’s what we had. I used 1/2 tsp but it was a tad too much for my taste, so I’ll just add 1/4 tsp next time. I used walnuts because I love them and I’m not crazy about almonds. I doubled the red grapes because they are delicious. It was a great recipe that I’ll definitely make again.
Hi Layla! All sounds wonderful!! So glad you enjoyed the chicken salad and your modifications sound great! And thanks for the great review. We appreciate that so much! Stay in touch! Kris & Wesley
I substituted some toasted pecans for the almonds and added a chopped honey crisp apple! Thanks for this delicious recipe!!
Awesome! Sounds great! Thanks for letting us know!