If you’re a fan of the flavors of a Savory Chicken Salad, this one is right up your alley! It’s packed with protein and deliciousness!
Google “chicken salad” and you’ll get hundreds of recipe variations. Amidst them, you’ll see my Southern Chicken Salad that we served at our restaurant. It’s had millions of views and I love reading the positive reviews and seeing those delicious bowls served at get-togethers!
One of the contentious debates about chicken salad is whether or not it should be sweet. Since there isn’t a wrong side to be on, I wanted to share my savory version. You can easily adjust the ingredient amounts to your personal preference. It’s excellent served on a bed of lettuce, with crackers, on a croissant or on light bread.
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Table of Contents
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Recipe Card Below
- Cooked Chicken
- Celery
- Pecans
- Red Onion
- Dijon Mustard
- Dill or Sweet Relish
- Sugar
- Mayonnaise
Tools You’ll Need
- Hand Mixer
- Large Bowl
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Why You’ll like this Recipe
- It’s quick to mix up!
- It’s perfect for a light meal, and it’s beautiful for entertaining!
- It’s easily adaptable to personal chicken salad preference!
- It’s a perfect high protein, low carbohydrate meal and is super delicious!
How to Make this Recipe
- To a large bowl, combine chicken, celery, pecans, red onion, dijon mustard, sweet relish, sugar and mayonnaise. Mix with a hand mixer until well combined. If your chicken is not preseasoned (like the rotisserie chicken we used), add salt, pepper and seasoning options noted under Tips & Substitutions.
- Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container until ready to serve.
Tips and Substitutions
- Nearly any cooked chicken works in this recipe. We use freshly boiled in salt water or rotisserie chicken in ours.
- Walnuts or almonds can substitute pecans. Nuts can also be omitted.
- Green onions can substitute red onion.
- Get creative with the flavors by adding different fresh or dried herbs such as parsley, fresh basil, dill, dried curry, cinnamon, or garlic.
- Sugar or sugar substitute can be used if desired.
- Regular or light mayonnaise works in this dish.
Storage
- Store chicken salad in the refrigerator in an air tight container up to 5 days.
- It is not recommended to freeze and thaw chicken salad.
- If the chicken salad is left out at room temperature for more than two hours, discard it.
- If your chicken is on the drier side, add a little more mayonnaise and stir.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s best if the chicken salad is serve in a pre-chilled dish. The FDA guidelines state that chicken salad should not sit at room temperature for longer than two hours. If the temperature is above 90°F, the chicken salad should be refrigerated after only one hour.
You can substitute celery with 1-2 teaspoons celery seed or simply omit it.
No, you can either substitute the pecans with a different nut or omit them completely.
Yes, my recipe does not contain any gluten containing ingredients?
Absolutely! As with any recipe, you can easily adjust the type and/or amount of a few of the ingredients to make it carbohydrate friendly.
More Recipes Like This
Savory Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb cooked chicken
- ½ cup finely diced celery
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoon finely diced red onion
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoon dill or sweet relish
- 1 ¼ cups mayonnaise
- Optional: sugar or sugar substitute
Instructions
- To a large bowl, combine chicken, celery, pecans, red onion, dijon mustard, relish, and mayonnaise. Mix with a hand mixer until well combined. If your chicken isn’t pre-seasoned (like the rotisserie chicken used in the video), add salt, pepper, and whatever seasonings you’d like. (See Note)
- Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- Nearly any cooked chicken works in this recipe. We use freshly boiled in salt water or rotisserie chicken in ours.
- Walnuts or almonds can substitute pecans. Nuts can also be omitted.
- Green onions can substitute red onion.
- Get creative with the flavors by adding different fresh or dried herbs such as parsley, fresh basil, dill, dried curry, cinnamon, or garlic.
- Sugar or sugar substitute can be used if desired.
- Regular or light mayonnaise works in this dish.
Olive Solomon
Easy and so delicious!! Ty🥰
Laura Ashley
You’re very welcome, and THANK YOU so much too!
Janice
I haven't made this yet, but intend to soon. I used to like the local chicken salad store, but it seems their quality has suffered recently. I heard you mention your restaurant. Where and what name is it? All your recipes are so delicious and I'd love to visit your place of business some day. Thanks.
Laura Ashley
Thank you so much, Janice! I hope you loved it! Our recipe closed many years ago, or we would’ve loved to have you!
kesha
This chicken salad is so good! I love the pecans for an added crunch!
Laura Ashley
Thank you SO much!! 🙂 I'm so happy it was a hit!