Chicken Salad: the Ultimate Fridge Staple for Easy Eating
There’s so much to love about a chicken salad! This chicken salad recipe is easy and fast and is in my weekly rotation because it’s perfect for everyday. I absolutely love the addition of giardiniera for a bit of a spicy kick. It’s creamy, tangy, crunchy…it truly hits all the right notes! Chicken salad is one of my favorite sources of protein. (Is it even my fridge if there’s no Mason jar of chicken salad?!)
Make my chicken salad when meal prepping for the week! This recipe is very easy to make with either my Sizzling Everyday Roasted Chicken Breasts or a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Prep it on Sunday and enjoy it throughout the week. But be forewarned: you’ll be hard pressed to keep your favorite eaters from devouring it all on day one–I understand, because I made a version of this chicken salad for my kids for decades–in fact, it’s worth getting the No Crumbs Left cookbook just for the Teri’s Favorite Chicken Salad recipe alone! I must confess it’s truly my favorite. It’s so delicious! It takes a little more labor so it’s fantastic for a special occasion.
If you start with my Sizzling Everyday Roast Chicken Breasts, you’ll find that it’s simple to make and a no-fail recipe for juicy perfection. But if you’re running short on time, your favorite grocery store will have a rotisserie chicken. You can use the breasts for the chicken salad and enjoy the rest of the chicken for lunch or dinner.
When making delicious food, love is in the details, and you will surely taste the love in this chicken salad recipe. Once the chicken has cooled down a bit, I carefully separate the chicken meat from the bones. Discard any gristly, red, or unsavory bits and then separate the chicken into two groups. The first group is the most delicious and juicy pieces of chicken that I tear or give a rough chop. The second group is the not so perfect looking pieces, which I blitz for five seconds in the food processor. Combining these two elements will give your chicken salad a moist, creamy texture and a substantial body.
The chicken salad base is a combination of the chicken, mayo, celery, onion, and chives. In this recipe, I’ve added Chicago-style giardiniera, but you can easily use peppadew peppers or my Pistachio Pesto instead. The possibilities are endless, so engage your imagination to give a twist to the classic. Then it’s as easy as mixing the ingredients together. You can certainly serve it right away, or just store it in a jar in the fridge for later.
This chicken salad is so delicious! It’s absolute perfection alone, but it lends itself beautifully to so many other dishes. It’s the perfect high protein snack along with some parmesan crisps and avocado or the easiest lunch on the go on a bed of greens, Marinated Red Onions, grapefruit supremes, tomatoes, and olives. By the way, have you made my tuna melt? Swap out the tuna salad and use this chicken salad for another incredible sandwich! If you’re looking for a lighter option, why not try one of my popular lettuce wraps with the chicken salad and a little cheddar cheese? It was quite popular in the @nocrumbsleft kitchen!
If you make my lettuce wraps, please rate and review below to let me know what you think! And if you’re looking for more fun, sign up for our Friday Favorites newsletter, and follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok!
Print
Chicken Salad: the Ultimate Fridge Staple for Easy Eating
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Description
A versatile and delicious fridge staple, you’ll make this chicken salad again and again!
Ingredients
2 large Sizzling Everyday Roast Chicken Breasts, or 3 cups of chopped chicken
¾ cup finely diced onion
¾ cup sliced celery
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
¼ cup minced chives
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped giardiniera (optional, but recommended)
Instructions
After making the Sizzling Everyday Roast chicken breasts and allowing to cool down, remove the skin from the chicken breasts and use your hands to meticulously pull the meat off the bones, discarding the imperfections like soft tendons, cartilage, and red pieces. Measure out 3 cups of chicken and reserve the rest for a different recipe. Note: You can save the bones in your freezer to make chicken stock in the future.
Divide the chicken into two groups: perfect, moist pieces in one group and dry, not-so-perfect pieces in another. Coarsely chop the perfect, moist pieces and put them in a large bowl. Put the dry, not-so-perfect pieces in a food processor and pulse for 5 seconds, then transfer to the bowl with the perfect pieces and mix.
Add the onion, celery, mayonnaise, chives, salt, pepper, and giardiniera, if using any. With a large spoon or spatula mix really well until thoroughly combined. Store in a jar or glass container and store in the fridge. You can eat this chicken salad right away but letting it sit for a little while allows the flavors to marry. Enjoy!
Notes
If you have more than 3 cups of chicken, use the remainder chicken in another recipe or add the remainder into the chicken salad and add a little an additional tablespoon or two of mayonnaise.
What brand of giardineria do you suggest? Thank you!
I love how you described the balance of creamy, tangy, and crunchy — that’s exactly what makes chicken salad such a timeless staple. The idea of mixing in giardiniera for a little kick is genius, I’ve only ever tried apples or grapes for sweetness, but now I’m definitely experimenting with this twist.
Love the giardiniera twist! I usually add grapes for sweetness, but the spicy kick sounds perfect. Definitely trying this version.
Regards,
Emma
chickensaladchicksmenu.com