How Do You Make Chicken Salad?

You said no nuts but I love toasted cashews in my chicken salad. A real treat is having it on a Costco croissant. Yum.

Updated

You said no nuts but I love toasted cashews in my chicken salad. A real treat is having it on a Costco croissant. Yum.

chicken
chopped boiled eggs
olives
chopped kosher dill pickles
mayo (NOT Miracle Whip)
brown creole mustard
Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning

I either use leftover chicken or boil chicken. Add mayo or miracle whip and celery. That is all. And amazing every time.

My favorite is the allrecipes.com holiday chicken salad.
The fruit and nuts add a wonderful dimension of flavor that once I found the combination that I liked I will never eat chicken salad without them again!
My personal favorite is dried cranberries with pecans (candied pecans are even better!) But apples and walnuts are good too.
If you have a nut allergy that's another story of course, but if not I highly recommend giving it a try before poo-pooing it!

ETA: There is a distinct difference between Miracle Whip and Mayonnaise. Miracle Whip is sweet. Mayonnaise is not. Mayonnaise with olive oil settles differently and causes a different consistency in your final product of food.

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ooh it depends upon my mood...

bottom line? I ONLY use MAYONNAISE. Not miracle whip and not olive oil mayonnaise.

When I've feeling "festive"?

Chicken
hard boiled eggs
Dried Cranberries
celery
onion
walnuts
dill
sliced purple grapes

when the kids are eating it?
no cranberries. They'll eat it - but they like it better with celery and no onions. and I put pickle relish in it.

Everything is finely chopped and NOTHING is dry.

There are so many chicken salad recipes - you could have a different one every day for a month and still not run out of recipes to try.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/8688/fancy-chicken-salad/

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/8592/parmesan-and-basil-chic...

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/14413/curry-chicken-salad/

If it's a really good, tender, flavorful roasted or grilled chicken, I find it doesn't need much more than mayo, salt and pepper. I like a little finely chopped celery for texture too but my kids hate celery so I usually skip it.

I keep mine really simple.
On Mondays, I usually roast up a pan of boneless, skinless thighs. (2 packages, usually 8 pieces). Place in a 9"x 13" pan, season (salt, pepper, basil or oregano). I take a piece of parchment, cut it to the size of the pan, put olive oil on one side and place that side facing down over the chicken. It keeps the meat moist and juices in the pan. Roast on 375 for about 30 min or so, check for doneness. Then remove and store/refrigerate in airtight container until needed.

When I am ready to use the chicken, I warm it slightly in the microwave, cut into smaller pieces and usually toss in some artichoke hearts (I use the Napoleon brand, jar of hearts in water, not marinated; the leaves and hearts are more tender) and halved cherry tomatoes and some spices (again, basil and/or oregano, Italian seasonings, all good choices)... and add a bit of mayo, not too much. You could add some grated Parmesan. I sometimes like slivered Kalamata olives added in, too. Or for something super simple, just some diced up dill pickle.

It will be interesting to read the other ideas.

I also prefer a simple chicken salad if I'm going to eat it in a sandwich (just celery, mayo and lettuce in a good roll or on good bread). And ONLY Hellmann's mayo. Weird vegan "mayo" and Miracle Whip aren't allowed in our house. But if I'm serving it on a plate, or in lettuce cups, I like adding walnuts and chopped green grapes. I love Ina Garten's recipe.

However, to me, the thing that is most important is how you cook the chicken. I don't approve of the Pioneer Woman's method (boiling the chicken for a lengthy time, even if she does turn the heat down). In my opinion that makes the chicken tough. Instead, I poach the chicken and it turns out wonderfully tender.

Here's how I do it.

First, use a sharp knife to horizontally split the boneless, skinless chicken breasts in half, like a book, if they're thick. You just don't want them really thick. No need to pound them.

Then place the chicken in a large pot filled with cold water. Make sure the water covers all the chicken. You can poach one or several as long as the water completely covers the chicken without it being crowded.

Bring the water to a boil. It's important to make sure that the water doesn't just bubble around the edges - the bubbles must break the surface of the water. You should watch it at this point because you need to act as soon as the boil begins.

Immediately when the water reaches a full boil, take the pot completely off the heat and cover it tightly with a tight fitting lid. Now, no peeking!

Just let the chicken in the pot sit off the heat, until you can place your hand on the pot comfortably. A small pot with a single breast won't take long, but if you're poaching a whole chicken or several breasts it can take longer, so plan ahead.

Now remove the chicken and cut it up to your desired size for the salad. You will be amazed at how tender it is, never rubbery, never tough.

Some cooks like to season the poaching liquid, with wine or herbs or vegetables, but I don't. Just cold water and chicken.

Shredded chicken + mayo + spices + nuts + veggies

To the mayo (Hellman's mayo only in this house) (5 tablespoons for about 1 cup of chicken), I add one tablespoon of fruit preserves (plum, fig, raspberry...). Or sriracha for a spicy twisty. Or Dijon mustard. Or a touch less honey (closer to half a tablespoon). Half plain yogurt and half mayo is nice as well.

Spices are salt and pepper plus whatever spices fit the mood I am in. White pepper rather than black is a mellow substitution. Or garlic and pepper. Or garlic and parsley. Tarragon is great. Rosemary. Chinese five spice is groovy with the sriracha mayo. Jalapeno salt or ground jalapeno for those feisty days.

Nuts are almonds, walnuts, pecans... Or a cruchy topping at the end like tortilla strips or those crunchy Chinese sticks.

Veggies are red onion, celery, bell pepper (red preferred at my house), fennel...

I have been known to toss in dried or fresh fruit. Cranberries, apples, apricots, figs...

Can you tell I toss in whatever stands still long enough for me to add to the bowl? :) Happy cooking.

P.S. Finely mincing the veggies is a nice way to distribute the veggie flavors in every bite and keep from having hunks of veggies in odd bites. Plus it keeps my kids from protesting the veggies.

I made this for camping and put it in the empty mayo jar for easy transport and storage..

I had looked up a bunch of recipes and decided to just throw in what I thought would be good and taste along the way. Everyone liked it.

I put in chicken (canned), grapes, cashews, mayo, garlic powder, onion powder and maybe a couple other things. lol

One of the recipes said they put in a little poppy seed dressing and it was really good. Just experiment with the basics. Good luck!

I just basically chop up the chicken, put in some sweet relish, mayo or miracle whip and if I have celery on hand I'll chop that up too. Onions are a bit strong for my taste...if I have some carrots, I'll shred them in a cheese shredder and throw a few in as well. I usually add salt depending on whether or not the chicken is already salted.

i love chicken salad, but don't have a single recipe. sometimes i make it from leftover roast or grilled chicken, sometimes from canned chicken. i like grapes and strawberries in mine, but sometimes just do mayo and herbs. i like onions but not in chicken salad (unless they're grilled.) i never put celery in it. i faff about with different types of mayo and mustard, sometimes italian dressing, sometimes a touch of blood orange evoo and balsamic. sour cream is awesome. so is plain lowfat yogurt.
it's sort of like my meatloaf. i can't give a recipe because it depends so much on my mood, and what's handy in the fridge.
ETA i just love PW, her blog even better than her show. she's a peach. i love this recipe. not a fan of dill, but i do love basil and chives at this time of year. love her idea of a touch of brown sugar, stealing it.
khairete
S.

My favorite combination is good in a sandwich and better in lettuce leaf wraps. After the ingredients are combined, refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
cubed chicken
mayo with a bit of curry fully mixed in
green grapes cut in half
salt and pepper

Helleman's mayonnaise and chicken. 😊

Okay so reading some of the posts I've noticed an aversion to 2 types of mayo so I have to ask - what's wrong with Miracle Whip and Mayo with Olive Oil? I've used both interchangeably and can't really tell much difference - just asking.

As a general concept, I love adding capers. In chicken salad and in tuna salad.

I love chicken salad. I use mayo, grapes, celery, onions and nuts. I love crunch in my salad and just a touch of sweet. I also use chicken that the grocery stores cook. I will debone it and use all the meat. Some people will add cranberries. I don't. Now I'm hungry!!!!

I skip the apples and such and include the onions, celery and mayo with salt, pepper and little bit of dried mustard.

Basically put in your salad what you like.

Enjoy your cooking experience.

the other S.

I don't think I've ever made chicken salad. I don't like to mix fruit/sugar with meat, so if I was starting with the Pioneer recipe I'd leave out the brown sugar and grapes. The rest looks pretty good!

Instead of boiling the chicken I'd use my pressure cooker. It would be shreddable in 20 minutes.

cooked shredded chicken, mayo, dash of mustard, salt and pepper. (hubbs is allergic to onions and doesn't like a complex chicken salad.)
if i serve on bread sandwich style i offer cheese, sliced tomato, pickles, broccoli sprouts, and lettuce (onion too if its not just my family)

I hate to cook and do it only when I have to. So, I like recipes that are simple but yummy.
Here is my simple chicken salad recipe: Chop the chicken, add mayo until it's the right consistency, add chopped celery and a little pepper.

I'm usually using leftover grilled chicken, so there are often spices left over from the grilling marinade. It adds extra flavor, and makes it different every time, but it's never been bad.

I've had it with apples and almond slices or halved grapes and almond slices and it was delicious. But when I make it, I stick with simple.

I have taken a basic egg salad recipe and added cooked chicken to it.I didn't know how to make chicken salad and did it this way on a whim. It tasted great. Hubby loved it.

Cooked chicken, Mayo or Miracle Whip, boiled eggs, celery, onions, and maybe a few spices to liven up the flavor. Try the nuts and stuff, I've eaten with those and I was astonished at how good they were. The chopped up grapes are awesome too.