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
Video
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken parts (bone-in, skin-on thighs and breasts work well) (You'll need about 4 cups)
- 2 tablespoon 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 tablespoon dill fresh, chopped
- 1 tablespoon parsley fresh, chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt (start with ½ 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!
Notes
Nutrition
Claudia Bucuri says
Amazing. Love you both. I think you guys are not only great Chefs, are great entertainers. Love love love. P.s. made the chicken salad and is “the best chicken salad”ever.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Claudia! You have no idea how much your comment makes us so happy!! THANK YOU!!! We send lots and lots of love back to you, too! And we are so thrilled you liked the chicken salad and thank you SO SO MUCH for the wonderful comment and for the great review!! xoxoxo Kris & Wesley
Becky says
My neighbor made this last night and brought it over. Absolutely AMAZING.I have never had anything so fresh and tempting to the tastebuds. Thanks Kris. Added it to my grandkids cookbook I’m making with family recipes.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Becky! Sorry for the delayed response! That is so AWESOME to hear!! We are thrilled your neighbor made this and brought it to you. That’s a GREAT neighbor!! We are honored to have made it into your book of family recipes. That truly fills our hearts with joy. Thank you so much for letting us know and for the wonderful review. That means the world to us! Please stay in touch!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Mary Ewing says
How many people does this feed? I saw it says 10 but the amount of grapes doesn’t seem like enough compared to the amount of chicken
Kris Longwell says
Hi Mary, sorry for the delayed response. It makes a pretty big batch. If you’d like to increase the grapes, go for it!! We think the ratio of ingredients is good, but that is what is so wonderful about this recipe, it’s very adaptable to preference and taste. Let us know if you make it and what you think!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
susan owens says
This is one of the best chicken salads I’ve made an everyone wanted a second wrap. I dishes it out on a large leaf lettuce an put the chicken salad on top of that then wrapped it up in a tortilla wrap. Everyone wanted seconds. So thanks for the recipe it was a hit.
Kris Longwell says
Thank you SO MUCH, Susan!!! We are so so so thrilled you had such success with our chicken salad and your presentation sounds absolutely amazing. Congrats on hitting it out of the park. And thank you so much for letting us know and for the GREAT review!! Stay in touch, and all the best…Kris & Wesley
Christine says
Wow. This chicken salad is even better than my favorite from a local restaurant. Was hesitant w the grapes but they work well. Seasonings are perfect. Thx for the great recipe!
Kris Longwell says
Hi Christine!! Yes!!! We are so thrilled you loved the chicken salad!!! Thank you so much for letting us know and for the GREAT review!!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Lissa Galusha says
You were right it’s the best Chicken Salad Ever! I will be making this a lot….the homemade mayo didn’t turn out so well for me. I couldn’t get it thick and it never turned white. What’s in the recipe that is going to make it thicker and what will make it turn white when you have 2 egg yokes and hot sauce? My mayo looked like rust.
Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Lissa! WE are so thrilled you had such great success with the chicken salad and sorry to hear about the mayo! It does take a little practice to get it just right. We find that safflower oil and just under a cup works well. The hot sauce adds a little flavor but does run the risk of coloring the mayo in the end. Thank you so much for the great review for the chicken salad and for letting us know! We truly appreciate that so so much! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Lissa Galusha says
Thank you for the pointers on making the mayo. I’m not giving up.
Kris Longwell says
You’ll get it just right, soon, Lissa! Keep up posted!!
Lissa Galusha says
Update success!
I don’t know if it was the Safflower oil you suggested or that I went out and got an immersion blender but the mayo recipe came together quickly and so tasty.
Thank you.
Kris Longwell says
YES!!!!! I think both the safflower oil and the immersion blender would make all the difference…that, and you having a few practice rounds under youe belt! Congrats!! And as always, thanks for letting us (and everyone) know! We appreciate that so much!! Kris & Wesley
Susannah says
Love it! (And I’ve never been a big chicken salad fan.). Will definitely be making this again.
Kris Longwell says
Thank you, Susannah! We made a chicken salad lover out of you!! LOL!! So glad you liked it and thank you so much for letting us know and for the awesome review! Means everything to us!! Stay in touch! Best, Kris & Wesley
jane pickhardt says
I am not a huge chicken salad fan. But I had some chicken on hand and I thought I would try this recipe. OMG!!! This is really the BEST chicken salad recipe ever. Better than I expected. The flavor is complex and wonderful! THANK YOU!!!
Kris Longwell says
Hey Jane!! Woo hoo!! We made a chicken salad believer out of you! LOL! We’re so glad you loved the recipe, and, of course, thank you so very much for letting us know and for the wonderful review! We appreciate that more than you could know! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
Jean says
This is by far the best chicken salad I have made and I’m not a real chicken fan so that says a lot. The only thing I trades out was toasted pine nuts for the sliced almonds as I didn’t have any almonds. It was a hit with the other two in the family and have had requests to make it for lunch again. Thank you for this easy and very tasty recipe.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Jean!! That is just absolutely fantastic to hear! Toasted pine nuts are great!! So glad you had success with the recipe and thank you SO MUCH for letting us know and for the GREAT review!! That means the world to us! Stay in touch! Best, Kris & Wesley
Kathie says
The recipe says heat the oven to 350, but in the video you said 450.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Kathie! You can go really with either temp. The time will vary slightly. Go with 350°F and let cook for 50 minutes to an hour. Internal temp of 165°F.
Cathy says
This sounds great and I will definitely try it. I have a southern recipe that does not use the mustard but does use a quarter cup if Major Grey’s Chutney. I never use that much and I add a few shakes of allspice. A local restaurant mixes the salad with brown rice and it’s very good.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Cathy! That sounds awesome!! Love it!
Caren Hersey says
You’re right Kris & Wesley – This is the best ever chicken salad. I made it for lunch today for hubby and me, and so look forward to trying the others. Thank you for sharing.
Kris Longwell says
That is so awesome to hear, Caren!! We are so happy you enjoyed our chicken salad recipe and thank you so much for letting us know!! Stay in touch!! Best, Kris & Wesley
JKS says
Loved it. Picky kid won’t touch dill, mustard or celery, so we left them out. Husband won’t touch mayo either, so I substituted with greek yogurt. Was a winner!
Kris Longwell says
Awesome! Sounds like you made it work perfectly!! Thank you so much for letting us know!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Amy says
This chicken salad is what dreams are made of. Used the meat from a whole chicken I made in the pressure cooker. Made the salad exactly as written yesterday afternoon, had it on wheat toast for lunch today. It is out of this world DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Kris Longwell says
Amy!!! Woo hoo!!! That is so fantastic to hear!! Great trick to cook the whole chicken in your pressure cooker!! So so so glad you enjoyed the chicken salad and thank you SO MUCH for letting us know and for the GREAT review!!!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Dana says
I have made this numerous times —— and left a review or two as well — but I just have to leave another one to tell you THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! This is the most amazing chicken salad! I absolutely love it —and the people I have served it to absolutely love it. I don’t know what it is that makes this salad so special — and I really wish I did —- I guess it’s just the right combination of flavors and textures and colors. Yum
Kris Longwell says
Dana!! You can’t imagine how happy that makes us to hear!!!! We are thrilled that you love our chicken salad recipe so much and thank you SO MUCH for letting us know and the great review!! You are AWESOME!!!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
Keith says
Have been making chicken salad for years…but not this good. The addition of grapes, almonds and mustard just made a world of difference. Cheers.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Keith!! That is really awesome!!! So glad you enjoyed our recipe for chicken salad and thank you so much for letting us know and the fantastic review. We appreciate that so so much!!! Stay in touch!! Cheers! Kris & Wesley