Of all the summer salads, a classic chicken salad recipe is always a favorite at a picnic, a barbecue, or an office potluck! Just a few ingredients can be transformed into a cold, creamy salad or filling for a homemade chicken salad sandwich or wrap!
Keep this easy recipe on hand for last-minute sandwich prep when last-minute invitations come up! Serve this summer with a side of Italian pasta salad and crunchy grilled corn on the cob!
Ingredients in Chicken Salad
Chicken:
- Use leftovers from last night’s dinner or leftover rotisserie chicken or grilled chicken.
- To Make Chicken for chicken salad I like to use either poached chicken or baked chicken breasts or thighs.
- You can use canned chicken in a pinch but of course fresh is best when possible.
- Ensure the chicken is cooled and shred or chop the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Add-ins:
- As this is a classic chicken salad recipe, I’ve kept the additions to a minimum. Celery for crunch, green onions for flavor.
- This recipe can be made with a variety of nuts, veggies, and fruit for added flavor and texture.
- Chicken salad with grapes, avocado or dried cranberries is a favorite. Pecans or almonds pair well with this recipe.
Dressing:
- Mayonnaise is the base of this recipe and it’s simply seasoned.
- You can get creative and substitute some of the mayo for ranch dressing or your favorite salad dressing recipe.
- Create an Avocado Chicken Salad by replacing some of the mayonnaise with mashed avocado.
How to Make Chicken Salad?
Prepare a classic chicken salad in 15 minutes with only a few simple ingredients.
- Chop cooked and cooled chicken and place into a large bowl with celery and onions.
- Mix dressing ingredients (per recipe below) in a bowl. Toss with chicken.
- Serve on rolls, bread or over a bead of lettuce.
For this chicken salad sandwich recipe, any bread will do, thick slices of a baguette or buns/rolls hold up well. This is naturally low carb and it’s great over a tossed salad as well.
Got Leftovers?
REFRIGERATOR: In an airtight container, the chicken salad will last about a week in the refrigerator. Give it a stir and refresh the flavor with a little salt and pepper (or an extra dollop of Dijon mustard) and serve!
FREEZER: Chicken salad doesn’t freeze well. To prep ahead, simply dice the chicken and freeze. When ready to make, combine it with the ingredients below for a quick lunch!
Must-Try Sandwiches
- Pineapple Chicken Salad with Grapes – fresh summer favorite
- Best Egg Salad Recipe – All-American classic!
- Avocado Ranch Chicken Salad Wrap – loaded with flavor
- Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad – deliciously fresh & tasty!
- Classic Tuna Salad – ready in 10 minutes!
- Shrimp Salad – fabulous light entreé
Classic Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken chopped
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 green onion diced (or chives or red onion)
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill optional
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve as a sandwich or over salad.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Salad
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How do you think rotisserie chicken would work with this?
That will work perfectly in this recipe LaChelle!
Simple to make and Delicious to eat. I added 3/4 cup quartered grapes to add some sweetness. Perfect!
I will be serving this in Fillo Shells. They are always a crowd favorite! A green or black olive…or chunk of cheese goes well!
I love this recipe. I have doubled the celery and green onion to 2 for added crunch factor. I added a tablespoon of Ranch dressing for flavor. Overall it is a definite go to recipe! My chicken was chicken breasts that I cooked in my insta-pot.
I love this! I used 2 cans of chicken (always in the pantry) and substituted Beau Monde (another pantry staple!) for the seasoned salt. Added walnuts and red grapes. Thanks, Holly!
I made this today & the only variation I made was to add the juice from 1/2 a lemon. I served on French bread with green lettuce & tomato. It was delicious.
Instead of salt, I use Greek Seasoning and instead of dill, I use capers. Also make my shrimp salad this way and I get rave reviews from friends and family. Love to make this salad, it’s so easy.
Your version sounds delicious Jan!
Im going to try this with capers today!
I was wondering what kind of seasoned salt you used in this recipe since there are several different brands. Sounds delicious and am looking forward to making this soon .
Any brand will work just fine, I most often make my own seasoned salt with this recipe.
Great recipe for good proportions of chicken, mayo, mustard and seasonings. Add on list for green onion, celery, and grapes was great. Doubled up on some of that based solely on personal preferences. Added some walnuts and raisins as well just because they sounded good to us as part of the flavor mix.
Love this recipe and will be using it from here on! Doubled it and wanted to add a little sweetness to it so I added sweet relish. It was just the tweak it needed for our personal taste
very helpful, love each Recipes.
Hi, did you used dijon mustard or wholegrain? the recipe says dijon but the photos have wholegrain. I just want to make sure I get it right. : )
Either will work in this recipe, I use a grainy dijon.
This turned out great. I cut the recipe in half and used a little yellow onion as I didn’t have any green onion. Delicious chicken salad, thanks so much for sharing!
Love this chicken salad exactly as written, and I use green onion. It’s truly addictive! I think that maybe the seasoned salt recipe may make it so delicious! I had some leftover yellow gold potatoes and thought I’d whip up a little bit of potato salad. I literally used this recipe minus the chicken, of course, and added hard boiled eggs. It was fabulous! Thank you for sharing your awesome recipes!
Made for a quick lunch today(tweaked it a bit for personal taste) great classic base recipe. Have made many times and will make many more!
I made this Chicken Salad for lunch today, with your Ranch Dressing recipe, it was delicious! It’s a keeper, thank you!
You’re very welcome!
Note: I would not recommend using as much mayonnaise as this recipe calls for. I used one cup for 4 cups of chicken, and it was too much. Add the mayo to the chicken gradually so that you end up with the consistency you want.
Do I have to use dijion mustard? I don’t like any kind of mustard and neither does anybody in my family.
The whole jar of mustard would go to waste.
You can leave it out if you’d like.
I’m doing Whole30 and would love to make this recipe with Whole30 compliant Mayo for my lunches this week.
If I double up the batch do you know how long it stays good for? Thank you in advance!
Hi Jaemi, in an airtight container, the chicken salad will last about a week in the refrigerator. Give it a stir and refresh the flavor with a little salt and pepper (or an extra dollop of Dijon mustard) and serve! Enjoy!
This was a delicious recipe. I added fresh lemon zest and lemon juice and used two cans of Costco chicken breasts and fresh dill. I didn’t add any additional salt and pepper. It’s a great basic recipe that can be doctored up if you wish.