Your Best Chicken Salad
 

Mine never turns out the way I think it will. What is your magic solution?

chicken salad is the one time i prefer to use chicken breasts.
poached in a seasoned broth.

cut into small chunks, or shred.
celery - your preferred size dice
purple grapes, whole or halved depending on size
pecans or walnuts, medium to large chunks
apple (delicious, fuji, honey crisp); small to medium dice
regular mayo to taste. i use just enough to coat everything.
diced onions ... not tiny, but smaller than medium dice (optional)
ground pepper to taste.
taste-test first, and salt only if needed.

I roast whole chicken breasts with salt & pepper at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. When mostly cooled, I dice, add diced celery, mayo, sour cream, 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Grapes, and nuts can be added but I prefer just chicken and celery.

Diced chicken 1 cup per person, apple not peeled 1/2 per person, avocado about 1/2 per person, pecans 1/3 cup per person, enough light or low fat mayo to moisten, and sometimes I throw in a few dried cranberries. Serve on a lettuce leaf. Decorate with cherry tomatoes, grapes, or whatever I have on hand.

Chicken, chopped celery and onion. Add mayo to taste. One of the local bagel shops adds lemon pepper to the mix.
Another deli had the best home made chx salad and I would sprinkle lemon pepper on it too. It adds a nice tang.

What don't you like about your recipe?

PS: I think there is a difference in taste between shredded or chunky chicken.

I normally don't like chicken breasts except for chicken salad, as Patrice J said. Grapes are nice, salt and pepper, celery, mayo (we use Vegannaise nowadays instead of Hellman's) . Boston, how do you make it?

I pouch chicken breasts. Cool. Shred them. Was told long time ago that shredded chicken tastes better. Don't really know except I like shredded chicken.

Wow, this is making me hungry. I usually just boil some chicken or even get a whole chicken that is already cooked. I dice some celery and throw some salt, pepper, a tiny bit of garlic salt and Miracle Whip. Maybe I need to write down my amounts. I have a tendency to throw them together.

I've never thought of apples, grapes or walnuts. I will have to look into that. Mmmmmmm!

We made chicken salad for a bridal shower using a recipe that included mayo and whipped topping. It was good and I’m not sure if I ever had the recipe.

I make mine pretty much like PatriceJ except I add pineapple tidbits instead of apples and if I want to make it a main course I add some cooked orzo. I also add a little pineapple juice and a tablespoon of sugar to the mayo mixture, Just a little sweeter

I use baked chicken breasts cut into small chunks, minced onion, diced celery, salt and pepper, mayo and about a teaspoon of curry powder. Yummy.

I make mine with deboned, chopped or ground (run through the food processor) cooked rotisserie chicken. Then I add diced boiled eggs, sweet pickle relish, mayo and yellow mustard. Sometimes, I cut seedless grapes in half and add them at the end, and/or add pecans or walnuts. Sometimes, I add cold slaw dressing instead of Pickles, mayo & mustard and add apples or grapes. I still use the eggs in both recipes. I like the sound of some of the other recipes here. Got to write them down and try them.

Edited to add: Another recipe is the chopped chicken and sandwich spread. Boiled eggs if you want to.

Make sure to keep the bones on while poaching the chicken breasts - the taste is more rich that way. I cut up the cooled meat and add halved grapes, chopped celery, and some walnuts (sometimes) like everyone else. But I add just a bit of curry powder to the mayo and sometimes raisins. Yum. Reminds me of summer!

We recently sold our Specialty Food/Market after 10 years. We made a popular chicken salad which our customers loved.

Baked chicken breasts (seasoned with s&p and olive oil)
toasted walnuts
Dried cranberries
celery
shallots
fresh tarragon
and then we made a tarragon aioli (mayo, vinegar, more fresh tarragon s&p)
We served it on a croissant. I’ve also made these for my kids on the day of their wedding while everyone was getting dressed up.

If anyone wants the measurements PM and I’ll pull get it out of my cookbook.

We use cashews in ours instead of pecans. Otherwise it's the same basic recipe....white meat chicken, grapes, celery and mayo. Salt and pepper to taste .Easy peasy!

These all sound wonderful. I am going to try them all

Lots of wonderful ideas, the only thing I insist on is real Hellman's mayonnaise. The low fat, ,olive oil, or diet mayonnaise's just don't have the flavor. Of course, if your a Blue Plate fan, only that will do.

This is my recipe but without the apple and onions, and I usually use red or green grapes (halved), and always include diced hard boiled eggs. If I don't have grapes, I use diced crisp Bread and Butter pickles (for sweetness) with all the other ingredients: eggs, celery, pecans or walnuts. Also, my family prefers Miracle Whip to mayo, but that's just a personal preference. I do add salt unless the chicken was cooked in a very salty broth.

I've never heard of pork loin salad, but this is a great idea!

Here is the recipe from our long gone, local dept. store Younkers and the well loved Tea Room.

Tea Room Chicken Salad
3 cups diced, cooked chicken thighs
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds
1 cup Ranch dressing
1 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic
Salt and Pepper (opt)

In large bowl combine chicken, celery, onion and celery seed.
For dressing, in small bowl stir together salad dressing, celery salt and garlic. if desired season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour dressing over chicken mixture; toss to mix well. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
Makes 6 servings
Enjoy!

diced chicken, Miracle Whip, salt, pepper, chopped hard boiled eggs, sweet pickle relish, diced onions. Also will change out the chicken with tuna. Good either way.

I always add a little sugar to mine to add just a touch of sweetness.

the way I like it --- Chicken pouch in chicken broth ,cool chop or shred , add mayo ,salt & pepper , celery ,relish
and 1 or 2 hard boiled eggs. enjoy

We make Turkey salad too with the Chicken/tuna salad concoction.

My recipe is very simple But Hubby,loves it on a nice croissant and so do I,
Cooked Chicken Breast OR Buy the Cans of Chicken Breast at Sam's and drain
Chop it up fine Add to the Chicken
Chopped up Celery
Seedless Grapes
Onion
Kraft Mayo
Salt and Black Pepper Stir all together and serve
I like it served cold

Boston, try mayonnaise instead of Miracle Whip.
I use Vegannaise but used to always use Hellman's. I can't tell the difference.
Miracle Whip, on the other hand, is sweet.

I use either poached chicken breast or canned chicken works if drained well.
A container of lemon yogurt and an equal amount of Hellman's mayo.
A couple stalks of celery chopped, Craisins chopped coarsely, salt and pepper to taste.
Chopped Walnuts . A couple Green onion optional

One of the "cardinal" rules of chicken salad is one we learned at church years ago: the total amount of other ingredients should never be larger than the amount of finely chopped/shredded chicken. Of course, using only chicken breasts in chicken salad is supposed a Southern thing, but we like it. I always use sweet pickle relish, some sweet onion, celery (including the leaves), boiled egg, and a few halved grapes and a handful of pecans or walnuts. I blend with Miracle Whip -- the regular, not the "lite" -- and mix well. It's good on bread, toast, crackers, or sitting daintily inside a hollowed out tomato. I, too, am getting hungry just thinking about all this, and I think I have some chicken breasts in the freezer!

Thanks so much for the link to the recipe. I am going to have to try this recipe.

Who knew there were this many ways to make chicken salad? Marcia, I hope you are getting some good ideas, because I sure am.

That sounds fantastic!!!!!!! I'm messaging you on this - thanks!

I drain a couple of big cans of chicken. Mix in sweet pickle relish and Kraft Mayonnaise with olive oil, stir and make a sandwich. Plenty of salt in the chicken.

I think I have only made chicken salad once in all my life. But my DH used to like it from a particular deli that used pineapple in it. I think I'm going to have to give it a try or two again. Some great sounding recipes here!

By the way, if you are really wanting Miracle Whip and only have plain mayo, you can dress it up with a little sugar, lemon juice and paprika.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite snacks was Miracle Whip on white bread. Or on saltines. Yum..?

In Petoskey, Michigan I learned to love chicken salad with dried cherries in it rather than grapes or cranberries. Still make it this way today. No onion in mine (fresh onion with mayonnaise often makes me sick, weird), but occasionally pecans or cashews. A squeeze of lemon juice with the mayo, celery, etc.

All sound great. I am a huge fan of chicken salad. I make mine a bit differently from the others here.

Chicken (shredded, cubed, cut up, canned...whatever I have on hand)
Mayo (only mayo)
Celery (one good sized rib chopped)
Dried fruit (raisins - especially the golden ones, craisins, cherries, apricots...whatever I have on hand) cut up [or]
Fresh fruit (grapes, apples, pineapple...again whatever I have in the fridge bin) cut up
Salt (to taste)
Curry powder (to taste) [can be hot and spicy so I don't add additional pepper, but you can]

Mix all ingredients together until well coated with mayo. Chill for an hour or more, then enjoy! (Chilling helps the curry flavor to develop and mellow). Salad turns a pretty yellow-orange from the curry.

Hope you enjoy my version.

Anita, that sounds wonderful!

We make a pasta chicken salad -

Ring macaroni - cooked to desired tenderness
Cooked chicken breasts - cut up into pieces as small as you want
Diced celery - cut up small
Minced onion - also cut up fine
Craisins
Hellman's "regular/original" mayonnaise
Salt
Pepper

Possible additional seasonings - Lawry' s seasoned salt
My cousin used allspice in her salad - I liked it.

I like salted, roasted cashews with it, too.

I like red grapes served with it.

If I fry the chicken in butter, I add the drippings to the salad.

The last time I made the salad, i " enhanced" the chicken flavor by dissolving some chicken flavored "Better then Bouillon" in water and pouring it over the cut-up cooked chicken before adding it to the pasta.

Chicken breast, poached with onion, celery, garlic powder, salt, pepper
Pineapple tidbits
Green grapes
Walnuts
Celery
Mayo with some Beau Monde seasoning. I have used salad dressing, but prefer mayo or a mix of the two.
Yummy in a baked pie shell, mini tarts, croissant, soft roll or on a lettuce leaf.
A 1977 Pillsbury Bake Off recipe, except for the Beau Monde seasoning. Sometimes I add dried cherries, but that's an addition, too.

I rarely make chicken salad, but when I do it must be fast and easy. So my recipe is:

Chopped leftover chicken, white and dark - usually less than 2 real servings leftover.
2 tablespoons Miracle Whip light
1 teaspoon of sweet pickle relish
1/2 teaspoon of mustard - out of the mustard jar, not dried mustard
1 teaspoon of ketchup

Sometimes I toss in a few raisins or cranberry raisins.

If I have some celery, I chop it up finely and add to the mix.

I never use onions as raw onion taste stays with me for about 24 hours after I eat them.

If I don't have miracle whip, I substitute honey mustard creamy salad dressing, and leave out the mustard. I do not like mayo, so don't even have it in the house.

My husband likes it. But he doesn't like to cook so he almost has to say he likes it! I use the same combination for making salmon salad. It works for tuna, too, but I don't care for tuna.