This really is the perfect go-to 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!
How To Make Chicken Salad
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 It So Delicious?
So many folks have made this salad and asked us in complete sincerity: “What makes this chicken salad recipe so darn delicious?”
Well, there are several reasons, we believe: Here are some of the main ones:
- 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 dish 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 sandwich you can imagine!
Homemade Mayonnaise Adds More Freshness
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! This chicken salad sandwich recipe is really about as good as they come!
I mean, just look how delicious this looks!
Wait until you taste it!! You and those around you will love it!
If you are looking for an easy chicken salad recipe that tastes like something you’d get at an amazing restaurant, you need to look no further!
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.
Ready to make the best lunch dish in town? Go for it!
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 grapes seedless, halved (red and green varieties are great)
- 1 cup almonds thinly sliced
- 2 stalks celery finely diced
- 3 scallions thinly sliced (white and green parts)
- 2 tbsp dill fresh, chopped
- 1 tbsp parsley fresh, 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
- Preheat 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, dill, & 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
I am dying to try this, however, my husband hates mayo. Do you think I could sub plain yogurt or 1/2 mayo and 1/2 yogurt (not greek)?
Hi Joyce!! Absolutely! You could do 1/2 yogurt and 1/2 mayo, or you could even go with all yogurt. We recommend Greek whole milk yogurt. You’ll still have a wonderful tasting chicken salad with great texture. Let us know if you make it and what you (and your hubby) think of it!! Best, Kris & Wesley
Gentlemen,
Absolutely incredible chicken salad! Love the dill addition and ingredients marry well after a few hours in the fridge. Couldn’t be better for my tastes. Reminds me of the chicken salad at a deli in the Chicago Tribune building when I lived there nearly 40 years ago. Finally found a comparable chicken salad. Great job!
Mike! You have no idea how happy that makes us to hear! We are THRILLED you love the chicken salad recipe! And thank you so much for letting us know and for the fantastic review! That means the world to us!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
FYI the nutrition information provided is wildly inaccurate. You listed the protein as 1 gram. How does a chicken salad recipe produce a macro of only 1 gram of protein? That’s disturbing if it’s true, but I suspect it’s just wrong. Anyone using this recipe should calculate the nutrition values on your own, if that is important to you. Otherwise, this will throw everything off.
I am cooking this recipe later today, that’s why I haven’t rated it yet BUT I am sure it’s going to be 5 stars on looks alone! Can’t wait to give it a try.
Awesome! Let us know how it turns out and what you think! And we’ll definitely look into the nutritional info. We have a service that calculates it automatically, but sometimes the numbers get skewed. Thanks for the heads up!!
I am serving this with my appetizers prior to dinner for my beach wedding. It is amazing guys. Quick question. I have 2 daughters who refuse to eat any condiments since they were little. They are now 25 and 21 lol. I would like them to try this but what can I use for them to replace the mayo?
Hi Teri!! Congratulations on your wedding!! Sounds fabulous!! You could substitute whole milk plain yogurt and still have a delicious salad. Do you think they’d be okay with that?
Would they eat ranch dressing? Yogurt?
The way I make my chicken salad is quite similar. I use pecans instead of almonds, tarragon instead of dill and no mustard. I also like to throw in some chopped tart apple if I have it. I find it works really well as a party appetizer when spooned into endive spears or raddichio leaves.
I just found your channel, and I love it! Kris and Wesley, I am looking forward to more!
Hi Tamara! Your version sounds wonderful, too! We are so glad you found us and please stay in touch!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
Hi there, guys!
I wanted to ask a favor of you. I am the president of UMW (United Methodist Women) in downtown Fort Worth. We start our monthly luncheons the first Tuesday of the month starting in September and ending in May. The luncheons are typically catered. However since we are in the middle of a pandemic, we won’t be able to meet in person. I wondered if when we promote the meeting if we could include a link to this recipe as a suggested dish.
This is all in an effort to TRY to make things feel as normal as possible without it being normal at all, if you understand.
Please let me know. And if you have any other recipes that you think would be good for a “little lady luncheon,” please send them my way! I hope to hear from you soon!
Hi Sarah, it’s so nice to meet you! I grew up a Methodist and I think my mother might have been a member of UMW at some point in her life – I’ll have to ask her. You can certainly link to the chicken salad recipe and what a great idea. We have lots of recipes perfect far a “little lady luncheon”- perhaps we should start a recipe category call Little Lady Luncheon recipes. LOL! I’ve included a few links below that you might like:
Hopefully, this helps!
I’m making this for myself. One chicken breast. How do I readjust the ingredients?
Hi Callie, I’d say cut the other ingredients in half. This is really easy to adjust to your own liking. I’d recommend prepping the ingredients and put together everything for the dressing, and then add that to the cut, cooked chicken. Add as much as however much dressing you prefer in your chicken salad. If you have some left over, it freezes perfectly for the next time you want to whip up a batch! Hope this helps and let us know if you make it and what you think! All the best, Kris & Wesley
This is great chicken salad. It’s simple, but with lots of flavor. I make it all the time when it’s too hot to cook. I just bake the chicken or boil it in broth, then dice it up. I’ve made it with a variety of different nuts – pecans, walnuts – and low-fat mayonnaise. It always tastes wonderful! I highly suggest including the lemon juice, it adds a great subtle flavor.
Hi Reena! We are so happy you enjoyed the chicken salad recipe! And your tweaks sound fantastic! Thank you so much for letting us know and please stay in touch! All the best, Kris & Wesley
This was the best chicken salad I’ve ever made. Definitely a keeper. I put green onions, red grapes and apples. I omitted the celery because I don’t like it. I also used a store-bought rotisserie chicken which was super easy to pick and not have to dirty more dishes cooking the chicken. I have 5 kids and I easily doubled the recipe to bring another family a meal at the same time. To me, the secret punch was the dill. Thank you!
Hi Angela! That is so awesome to hear!! Sounds like you made it perfectly!! We are thrilled you had such success with the chicken salad and thank you so much for letting us know and for the awesome review! Please know that means the world to us!! Stay in touch!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
I just made my first chicken salad with a skinless boneless breast after roasting. I added deli mustard instead and everything turned out great. I had tarragon but chose dill instead.Following your directions I will no longer be afrais of making my own chicken salad. Thank you
Made this for dinner tonight, but I won’t be able to eat it because I’ve already consumed half of it! Very good recipe. Made white bread today, so it should make nice sandwiches.
Hi Kris,
I decided to try this recipe for a very special lunch that I was making for my sisters who I haven’t seen for many months due to the pandemic and I have to tell you that it was beyond fantastic!
I slow boiled my chicken in chicken broth for about 90 minutes and it was full of flavor and fall apart tender.
Followed the rest of the recipe and it all came together beautifully. I served on croissant rolls with my homemade potato salad and a colorful pasta salad as side dishes.
We had such a great time together and an absolutely wonderful lunch thanks to you and your recipe, of which I added to my favorites and passed on to my sisters 🙂
Thank you much!
Can you use skinless, boneless chicken breast? Thinking of making this but we don’t buy bone in skin on chicken breast.
Hi Many! Sure! You can go with skinless/boneless. You’ll need to adjust the baking time. We’d recommend brushing a little olive oil all over the breasts, season them with salt and pepper, and then bake in a preheated oven at 400°F for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 165°F. Hope this helps and let us know if you make the chicken salad and what you think!! Best, Kris & Wesley
Awesome thanks. I will definitely be making this soon 🙂
I made a balsamic marinade for my chicken and cooked in my instant pot and then followed the recipe from there. Only thing I left out was the almonds, only because I forgot to get them!
Hands down, the best chicken salad I have ever made. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Samantha! YUM!! Balsamic marinade for the chicken sounds heavenly!! We are soooo glad you had such great success with the chicken salad and we appreciate so very much you letting us know and for the GREAT review! Means the world to us! Please stay in touch!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Second recipe in and loving every bite! Fresh dill is an amazing addition! Plating my chicken salad inside of a beautiful tomato! You two are the best! Tomorrow onto General Tso’s chicken. I am hooked. Thank you so much for sharing your talent and home!
Patience
Hi Patience! So sorry for the delayed response here! Thank you so much and we are so thrilled you loved the chicken salad. And plating in a fresh tomato sounds so GREAT!! We are so glad you found us and we found YOU!! Let us know how General T turns out!! And please stay in touch!!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Can you use the canned chicken from Costco?
Sorry for the delayed response, Marjo? Sure you can? We have to say that roasted chicken, or even chicken from a rotisserie chicken will produce a fresher, taste. But the flavors here are so good, that in a pinch, you could go with canned chicken. But we recommend roasted chicken or rotisserie :)!! Let us know how it turns out and what you think! Best, Kris & Wesley
I served this on Hawaiian rolls for a party big hit
Hi Kathy!!! Love them on Hawaiian rolls! So glad you had such success with the chicken salad. Thank you SO MUCH for letting us know and for the great review! We truly appreciate that very, very much!! Stay in touch!! All the best, Kris & Wesley