Chicken salad recipes

Grapes, cranberries...none of that belongs. I'm with OP. Classic, plain is best.

Is this a sandwich filling or an actual salad with greens?

If it's a sandwich filling, why not just keep it simple? Mayo, salt, pepper, minced celery & onion.

If you’re looking for a really unhealthy recipe…

Cucumber, tomato, lettuce, mayo, pepper, lemon juice, minced onion is my go-to for a classic chicken salad sandwich. Hot sauce if you like that too.

This is going to sound stupid, but how do I prepare the chicken? I never cook chicken-- I don't eat much meat-- so I don't really know.

I poach my chicken breasts when I make chicken salad. Google it to find the recipe you're most comfortable with, OP. There are many. Slow, gentle, wet heat is the key.

If you're feeling lazy, just buy cooked chicken breast slices.

I do buy cheap breasts to boil for my dog. He loves chicken and it's more economical than buying treats.

[quote]If it's a sandwich filling, why not just keep it simple? Mayo, salt, pepper, minced celery & onion.

This is how I make it (I use green onions) with the addition of flat-leaf parsley.

It's also good with Creole seasoning.

Poaching chicken is easy and pretty fail-proof, I think. Or you could get a rotisserie chicken at your local market (either the whole chicken, or the meat only).

Sometimes rotisserie chicken can be tragically overcooked. I've had two I got refunds on this year, from the Giant Eagle in Shadyside (Pittsburgh).

Use canned chicken. It’s fine…

[quote]canned chicken

Bleargh.

I found this recipe for poached chicken. Yes, it seems easy.

Didn't the last chicken salad recipe thread end in multiple stabbings?

I bake my chicken breasts on 325 ,covered. I add about 1/3 cup lemon juice before putting it in the oven. I make my chicken salad the evil way, grapes, celery, pecans, dried cranberries, half miracle whip, half plain greek yogurt, shredded carrots and apple. I make it pretty dry because I like a little bit of honey mustard dressing on my greens (or bread) and I crumple a slice of bacon over it.

In summer, I toss poached chicken in a vinaigrette, with garlic, Dijon mustard, and thyme, maybe basil. Maybe some red pepper, either roasted and peeled or raw. I may add slivered almonds. Then there's a cilantro version, with the cilantro held back until the last minute.

I don't use mayo until winter, and then I mix it with 1/2 sour cream. Then I chop some assortment of fresh dill, basil, parsley, and maybe tarragon. Seeded mustard works well with this version. If I am asked to add onion, I use scallions.

R16 How fat are you? Only half-joking, please don't take it seriously.

Haha, I am fat r18! but, what's terrible about that? a single slice of bacon? my chicken salad is dry so it's just a few table spoons of mw and greek yogurt for a big bowl of salad. I have a scoop on greens. I think it's more the ice cream and laziness!

[quote]I make my chicken salad the evil way, grapes, celery, pecans, dried cranberries, half miracle whip, half plain greek yogurt, shredded carrots and apple.

That sounds good, like a Waldorf salad with chicken.

I like both savory and sweet chicken salads. I guess I know what I'm making tomorrow.

Pretty much any recipe from this place minus the one with the fruit. Sprouts is pretty good too.

Just go to your local grocery store buy their store-made chicken salad they make using leftover rotisserie chicken.

Easy to get, affordable, and won't mess up your kitchen.

I like this one although I probably quadruple it when I make it.

R23: That looks delicious!

I might have lunch at Chicken Salad Chick tomorrow.

I find baked chicken too dry and tough for chicken salad. Poach your own breasts or but a rotisserie chicken.

Do not, I repeat, do NOT listen to R12's advice.

[quote] I bake my chicken breasts on 325 ,covered. I add about 1/3 cup lemon juice before putting it in the oven. I make my chicken salad the evil way, grapes, celery, pecans, dried cranberries, half miracle whip, half plain greek yogurt, shredded carrots and apple. I make it pretty dry because I like a little bit of honey mustard dressing on my greens (or bread) and I crumple a slice of bacon over it.

Oh that’s sounds delicious, but fairly bougie. By chance do you live in the Hamptons.

no r27, Vermont!

R28 Ok, I thought maybe you were Ina Garten incognito trying to sneak in under the radar into our chicken salad discussion. Were all cool.

haha. I never had chicken salad until I was an adult. a little corner store had sandwiches they would make and it looked SO GOOD in the summer. I duplicate it basically.

Then, add coriander, cumin, pumpkin and pomegranate seeds for a unique musky, crunchy zest!

I make it basic as mentioned above but with parsley, dill and cucumber with the seeds scraped out first that I salt beforehand to remove excess liquid

You could probably just pan-fry a boneless, skinless chicken breast. I would butterfly it, though, to make it flatter / thinner. After that, you could cube it up for your salad. Just don't overcook the chicken.

2 cups diced chicken (or other meat) 1 cup mayonnaise or dressing 1 cup diced celery The meat should be in medium or large dice so one knows what one is eating, the celery diced but not minced, and the dressing of whipped-cream consistency. The seasoning is up to you. In using roasted chicken or turkey for salads, if the skin is crisp, a couple of tablespoonfuls ground up and added to the mayonnaise gives it a wonderful flavor, but do not use it if it is fat and greasy. (And if you use turkey it is a bit better, I think, if marinated first in a tart French Dressing, or if a dash of wine vinegar is added to the mayonnaise.) Chicken Salad should be served on cold, crisp salad greens - lettuce, to be exact. You can let your imagination run wild on the accompani-ments. If you stuff a tomato with the salad, it should be peeled, chilled, and stuffed just before serving. A few things like capers, slivered and browned almonds, chopped chives, chopped hard-cooked egg if you are from the Carolinas, are good to add to the mixture; count it as the celery, or serve on top, but do it just before combining and serving. My favorite garnish and extender is fresh pineapple, or white grapes - and fresh strawberries when they are at the height of the season.

Does anyone recommend using sour cream for part of the mayonnaise? I can't figure out why the Sprouts chicken salad tastes so good to me.

I can't even look at mayonnaise, so I use full-fat Greek yogurt. Nice tang to it. Salt, pepper, dijon. I like grapes but they're so juicy that the chicken salad gets watery and gross.

Minced sweet pickles can be good too!

R35, I would just use mayo (Best Foods or Hellman's). I actually dislike mayo, except for making "salad" sandwiches (turkey, egg, tuna).

[quote]Does anyone recommend using sour cream for part of the mayonnaise?

If I'm using mayo in making either chicken or potato salad, then yes, I'm also using an equal amount of sour cream.

- r17

I only do that for coleslaw.

Replace half of the mayo with avocado.

Real mayo ? Ewww.

This is my go to.

Here's a good one.

Only fake mayo for her royal highness, R41.

mmmmm, I made chicken salad today!

I'm old enough to have ridden the initial crest of chicken salad sandwiches with homemade mayo and curried pecans, and still prefer it. Served on a toasted chall-ette, with some chips and an iced tea, it's a terrific Summer meal.

Normally I'm a roasted chicken kinda' guy but for chicken salad it's gotta' be poached, as many up threaders have said. Simmered until just done, shredded while warm and then chilled. Dressed with mayo, which can be made in about 30 seconds, and some pecans toasted in olive oil and curry powder. A nice, spongy challah roll completes this classic.

Anybody wanna' join me for lunch on Sunday? I'll be making lime water ice for dessert. 👨‍🍳

[quote]I'm old enough to have ridden the initial crest of chicken salad sandwiches with homemade mayo and curried pecans, and still prefer it.

Is there some timeline of chicken salad history that we should ve aquatinted with? When was this "initial crest?"

The "initial crest" of chicken salad probably in the late '60s / early '70s.