My Chicken Salad is a recipe that I have used for years. At the risk of showing my age, I’ve used this recipe outline for a couple of decades now and it is always a huge hit. I’ve made it for potlucks and had it requested for showers and parties several times.

It’s a part of our monthly meal rotation too. 

This chicken salad is versatile. It really is great served on a sandwich with lettuce and a tomato slice, or on crackers, or on a lettuce wrap, or wrapped in a tortilla (with lettuce and/or tomato), or on a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and country (red-eye) ham. Croissants are also amazing with the salad on them (for a great gluten free one, you can check out Gluten Free On a ShoeString’s Croissant Recipe).

It is something easy to throw together for a party if you are trying to practice hospitality.

A bonus is that because we’re making it at home we can skip the unhealthy additives that are often found in store bought chicken salad. 

Some Notes on My Chicken Salad

I cut the chicken into strips (against the grain) and put them in my kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment for a minute until it’s the desired consistency, but you can do this by hand or with a fork or with a handheld mixer or a meat shredder. 

I’ve found that I can get a finer consistency with the mixer, so if you like bigger chunks, I’d recommend the fork or meat shredder method. I vary it up sometimes.

Shredding the chicken with any method definitely works best when the chicken is still warm.

This recipe scales up very well. I usually make 3-5 pounds of chicken salad for potluck easily.

As always, please read through the recipe completely before beginning so that there are no surprises! 

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients really do make or break recipes. Focusing on quality ingredients like making your own mayonnaise or buying one that is purely avocado oil (and not avocado with soy, corn, canola, or vegetable oil) is a small step that elevates both the taste AND nutrition of this and any other dish.

Making mayonnaise at home isn’t always an option, though it is really quite easy, you can use your favorite (I love Chosen Foods or Sir Kensington’s Avocado Oil Mayonnaise because they just use avocado oil and don’t sneak in other oils). 

In a pinch sweet relish would work, but I like the crunchy texture of the bigger salad cubes. Mount Olive has finally removed dyes from their pickles so I can once again use the sweet salad cubes.

Add-Ins for Chicken Salad

Add ins can completely change how your chicken salad tastes. 

You can go heavy on the sweet side with dried cranberries, grapes, and salad cubes. If you like it crunchier you can focus on the celery, seeds, and nuts. 

I have found that we like ours on the more savory side , with a bit of sweet thrown in (my go to is celery, dried cranberries)

Play around with the different combinations and amounts until you find one that is perfect for your family. 

Chicken Salad Basic Recipe

• 3 cups chicken breast (about 1-2 large chicken breasts or 3 smaller chicken breasts)-boiled, shredded and cooled
• 1 – 1 1/2  cups homemade mayonnaise or your favorite purely avocado oil mayonnaise
• 3/4 cup cube sweet salad cubes, with about 70-90% of the juice squeezed out (I use my hands, though you could use a tea towel or a fine mesh strainer)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste-I like it peppery so I usually use closer to1 teaspoon)

Other optional add ins:

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/4-1/2 cup green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup grapes, quartered
• 1/4-1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4-1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
• ½-¾ cup of finely diced celery

Bring a large pot of water and the chicken to a boil and cook until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees f.  Drain and cool the chicken breasts until you can handle them..

While the chicken is cooking, mix the rest of the ingredients and chill in the fridge until the chicken is cooled (this lets the flavors develop, so don’t skip this step). 

While chicken is still warm but cool enough to handle, cut into large chunks before using your preferred method to shred it. 

Once the chicken is shredded, mix everything together and chill completely. Enjoy.

Chicken Salad Storage

I definitely prefer to cook this the night before I need it because I can get it done and out of the way. Plus the flavors have time to mingle a bit more. Then it’s easy to grab it on the way out of the door or for a quick lunch.

You can store it in an air-tight container in the fridge for three or four days.

I have had a friend freeze some left overs, and that time I didn’t use grapes or celery and she said it defrosted well.

 If you do use grapes, celery or green onions, they may change texture significantly in the defrost process due to the damage done in their cells during freezing.