Classic Chicken Salad is a creamy, flavorful favorite with a satisfying crunch, ready in minutes for easy lunches or light dinners. Try now!
Everyone loves a great lunch with Summer Salads for picnic options, and this recipe is perfect for a potluck or picnic. Try out other favorites too, like Macaroni Salad and Tuna Salad too!
Sabrina’s Classic Chicken Salad Recipe
This classic recipe is a great Americana culinary dish that you’ll want to serve every year for your Fourth of July parties and other summer events. The cooled chicken is so refreshing and delightful, everyone will be coming back for second helpings! Summer is short. Make it more flavorful with this easy recipe your whole family will love!
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast , chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 cup celery , chopped finely
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds , (optional)
Instructions
- Mix chicken, salt, pepper, mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, and almonds together in a large serving bowl.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
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Nutrition
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Table of Contents
About this Recipe
Classic Chicken Salad is the perfect thing to serve for lunch in a sandwich or over a bed of lettuce. This salad is also great as fresh side dish. You can add crunchy and nutty almonds to complete the PERFECT dish to bring to a picnic or get-together. This is a great recipe to make-ahead at the beginning of the week for grab-and-go lunches. It is a great go-to when you have a busy schedule ahead, especially if you have leftover cooked chicken, like Slow Cooker Chicken Breast. You’ll never want to go back to store-bought again!
How to Store
- Serve: This is a dish best served cold. Don’t leave it out at room temperature for more than two hours for food safety.
- Store: Chicken salad will last refrigerated for 3-4 days, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
- Freeze: It is not recommended that you freeze this salad because the mayonnaise will separate when defrosting. You can freeze the cooked chicken, then just defrost it in the refrigerator the day before you want to make the salad, and add the other fresh ingredients the day-of.
Ideas to Serve Classic Chicken Salad
- Sandwich: This makes an incredibly delicious chicken salad sandwich that can be served at lunch or a light mid-afternoon snack. Serve your sandwich on fresh Garlic Bread for a completely satisfying meal.
- Appetizer: Serve sliced french bread or crackers with a small scoop of this salad and top with a halved cherry tomato and a dash of dried Italian parsley for a fun and festive snack at your next party.
- Lettuce Wrap: For a low carb option, wrap the chicken salad in your favorite lettuce. Iceberg or large Romaine leaves work well.
Frequent Questions
Cook the chicken breasts in the crockpot, then use an electric hand mixer to shred the chicken for a shredded chicken salad recipe! If you don’t have time to cook the chicken yourself you can use a rotisserie chicken. Just remove the skin and chop into pieces. You can also use fresh chicken or canned chicken for this recipe.
Add spices to this recipe to add different flavors like garlic, paprika, curry powder, or even mustard. Try chipotle seasoning and lime juice instead of lemon juice. Or add a dash of cayenne pepper with pickled jalapeños for a spicy version.
Variations
- Mayo Substitutes: Replace the mayo with pureed avocado and sour cream for an avocado chicken salad. Cut the calories in this recipe by using Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.
- BBQ: Make BBQ chicken salad by adding 2-3 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ sauce in place of some of the mayonnaise.
- Add-ins: You can add other fresh ingredients to this recipe like green onion, red onion, fresh dill, or avocado. Try adding in two tablespoons fresh parsley, eggs, olives, pickles, dried fruit, bell peppers. Add grapes, raisins, apples, or dried cranberries to add a sweet flavor.
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Photo used in a previous version of this post.
A great chicken salad recipe. I cut up my chicken and let it cook in slow cooker so when it’s done, I just have to separate it. I use Duke’s Light mayo. I always have to make enough to take to my mother-in-law in independent living because she loves it. This recipe will always be bookmarked.
Thank you Eve for making my day! So glad you and your mother-in-law love the recipe and thank you for the five stars.
What mayo do you use?
That’s such a great question. I’ve used various kinds and at this point I don’t have a favorite to recommend. Do you prefer olive oil or avocado oil? Then use mayo’s with those oils. Let us know what you decided to use and how you enjoyed the recipe. Enjoy!
I’ve made this twice now and it will definitely be on my weekly rotation. It is delicious just the way it is!! Thank you for this easy and tasty recipe!!!
You’re welcome Jodi! Glad you enjoyed the Classic Chicken Salad.
I made this for a women’s conference at our church last year, and was a winner. Still get so many compliments on it, and asked when I’d be making it again. Had to quadruple the recipe. Thank you so much for sharing.
You’re welcome DeeDee! So glad everyone enjoyed the recipe.
Pretty good. I don’t use the slivered almonds and I do add some finely diced sweet onion, so I can’t rate it higher as is, since I changed a couple things.
I just made this, added a 1/4 sweet onion, but it’s delicious! I put it on a toasted bagel and had it for lunch! YUM! Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome Christine and thank you for the 5 stars!