Creamy Lemon Basil Chicken Salad

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

16 Comments

5 from 4 votes
4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Refrigerate 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Jump to Recipe
Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Creamy Lemon Basil Chicken Salad is the perfect lunch dish and takes just a few minutes in the food processor and some pre-cooked chicken.

Sabrina’s Creamy Lemon Basil Chicken Salad

Creamy Lemon Basil Chicken Salad is a recipe I found in an old pile of handwritten recipes when looking for tea sandwich recipes for my first baby shower. It sounded so delicious, light and easy I figured my friends would enjoy making it, and it wouldn’t take up too much of their time. Since that baby shower this Chicken Salad has become a go to picnic/lunch staple for us. The simple mix of chicken creamy dressing is also easy enough for my husband to make for his own work lunches.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Creamy Lemon Basil Chicken Salad Recipe

Creamy Lemon Basil Chicken Salad is the perfect lunch dish and takes just a few minutes in the food processor and some pre-cooked chicken.
Yield 4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Chicken salad in a croissant with tomato and lettuce 4x3
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 2 grilled chicken breasts , cut into thin slices
  • 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper , freshly ground if possible
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup fresh basil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 stalks celery , thinly sliced
  • 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • If your chicken is not cooked, you can sear it in a skillet on medium-high with a tablespoon of oil for 4-6 minutes on each side or roast at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
  • In a food processor, add the salt, pepper, mayonnaise, basil, garlic, and lemon juice and combine until creamy but just a few little pieces of basil show.
  • Add the chicken, creamy dressing, celery and Parmesan cheese together in a bowl and stir to combine before serving.
  • If possible, refrigerate for an hour or more, the flavors are better as the chicken has some time to soak up the creamy dressing.

Nutrition

Calories: 586kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 26g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 940mg | Potassium: 537mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 621IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 178mg | Iron: 1mg

Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes

Pin this recipe now to remember it later

Pin Recipe

Table of contents

Back to Table of Contents

About This Recipe

Chicken salads are a healthy, easy way of having fun and quick lunches you don’t have to heat up and aren’t as boring as deli meat (or expensive! Have you ever done a cost analysis on how much deli meat -especially pre-packaged- costs?).

Tips and Tricks

Please note you have to keep greek yogurt/sour cream refrigerated more carefully than mayonnaise. I know a lot of people who leave sandwiches with mayonnaise at room temperature until lunch (or with just a small cold pack). I’d prefer you keep this sandwich refrigerated regardless, but I know sometimes that can be difficult.

Mini Food Processor: This recipe doesn’t need a lot of ingredients so I use my mini processor for the creamy dressing, but if you’re making a larger batch I highly recommend a larger full power food processor.

Variations

  • Sandwich: Serve creamy chicken salad in classic sandwich form with your choice of vegetables.
  • Salad: This recipe is also great to serve over a fresh salad.
  • Stuffed tomato: You can core out a tomato and fill it with the chicken salad for an appetizer.
  • Pasta salad: You can toss the chicken salad into a cold small shaped pasta that is pre-mixed with olive oil and Parmesan cheese.
  • Lightened version: If you’d like to keep the recipe a bit healthier, you can cut down on the mayonnaise, or swap part of it for greek yogurt or even some light sour cream.
Creamy Lemon Basil Chicken Salad is the perfect lunch dish and takes just a few minutes in the food processor and some pre-cooked chicken.

variations used in previous versions of the post.

Chicken salad in a white bowl
close up of creamy chicken salad sandwich
Chicken sandwich in a croissant
Chicken salad in a white bowl
Close shot of croissant chicken salad sandwich
Chicken salad with lemon in the background

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Maximum file size: 10 MB.
Allowed formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF. Drop images here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

    1. Thank you for asking Tracy! You can store your dressing 3 – 4 days in your refrigerator in an air tight container. Let us know how you like the recipe!

      Reply

  3. Loved this recipe. Great for this hot day (104 deg.)
    Easy to put together and the flavor was wonderful.
    Served with a piece of sourdough bread.

    Reply

  4. Can you please tell me the amount of chicken you used by weight or measure as the recipe is completely non specific? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Looks like my recipe plug in adjusted the wording on that. Thanks for catching it!
      It should read “2 grilled chicken breasts cut into thin slices”. Any size chicken breast would work.

      Reply

  9. Basil is one of the best herbs! I bet it’s divine with the lemon flavor too! It would be a great change of pace from the same ol’ boring sandwiches!

    Reply