This traditional chicken salad recipe uses simple ingredients! Tender chicken pieces are combined with crunchy vegetables and a creamy dressing. Serve with fresh greens or as a sandwich for a quick and easy meal.
If you like this recipe, check out these similar dishes: tuna salad, egg salad, and shrimp salad.
Recipe Science
- Combining cooked chicken with mayonnaise creates a stable emulsion, giving the chicken salad a creamy and cohesive texture.
- Adding acidic ingredients like lemon juice balances the richness of the mayonnaise and enhances the overall flavor.
- Including crunchy vegetables such as celery and onions provides textural contrast and adds fresh, crisp elements to the salad.
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Featured Comment 5
“This chicken salad recipe is easy and quick and produces an excellent chicken salad, light and zesty. The lemon juice provides that zest. Way to go, Jessica, on a simple but delicious recipe.”—Jowdy A.
Why It Works
This delicious chicken salad recipe is quick and easy to prepare. Made with simple, fresh ingredients and a few pantry staples, you’ll have lunch ready in no time! It’s also a great way to transform leftover chicken into a delicious new dish.
If you’re cooking poultry from scratch, try my poached chicken or shredded chicken recipe. Chop or dice into bite-sized pieces, then toss with crunchy vegetables and a mayonnaise dressing. Refrigerate for meal prep, or add to your favorite bread or salad to make it a hearty meal.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken: Use small pieces of shredded chicken. Leftover roasted chicken, cooked chicken breasts, or thighs are great options. The pieces can also be chopped or diced.
- Vegetables: Diced celery, red onions, and green onions add flavor and crunch.
- Dressing: For a creamy sauce, combine mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).
Ingredient Substitutions
This recipe is versatile and can be customized differently. Here are some tasty ideas to personalize the flavor:
- Add in fruit like sliced red or green grapes or diced apples.
- Add dried cranberries, apricots, cherries, or raisins.
- Herbs like fresh dill, rosemary, thyme, basil, chives, parsley, or tarragon.
- Crunchy nuts like sliced almonds, pecans, or walnuts.
- Add sour cream or Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, or use a combination to lighten the dressing.
- Add some heat with Cajun seasoning, buffalo sauce, or diced jalapenos.
- Add more vegetables like chopped bell peppers, carrots, or cucumbers.
How to Make a Classic Chicken Salad
Step 1: Mix the Salad
Combine the shredded meat, mayonnaise, diced celery, chopped onions, sliced green onions, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
The more the mixture is stirred, the finer the meat pieces will become.
Step 2: Ready to Serve
I recommend serving the salad immediately or storing it in the refrigerator for up to five days. It’s one of my family’s favorite lunches, so I meal-prep it at the beginning of the week and make a chicken salad sandwich with toasted sourdough, white bread, wheat, or a croissant.
You can also serve this on a bed of lettuce with tomatoes, cucumber, and avocado for a low-carb meal, add it to a tortilla, or make it a lettuce wrap. Serve inside avocado halves or tomatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Add vegetables like celery, onions, or carrots, fruits like grapes, apples, dried cranberries, or raisins, and chopped nuts for crunch, like pecans or almonds.
Pair with crisp greens, fruit salad, sweet potato fries or wedges, coleslaw, kale slaw, or tomato or butternut squash soup.
If not eaten the same day, you may notice that the salad may release some liquid. This is just the juice from fresh vegetables like celery and onion or fruit like apples or grapes. The salt in the salad draws out the moisture over time. Just mix before using.
The more fresh vegetables or fruits added to the salad, the higher the chance that the salad will become watery if not eaten on the same day. Once the cell walls of the plants are cut, the exposed areas, when combined with salt, will release more moisture. Don’t add fresh veggies or fruit if you want to make the chicken salad in advance. Store in a separate container and add right before serving or within 2 hours.
Serve This With
If you tried this Classic Chicken Salad, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Classic Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup diced celery, ¼" dice
- ⅓ cup diced red onion, or shallots, ⅛ dice
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onions, or chives
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Make the Salad – In a large bowl, add the chicken, mayonnaise, celery, red onion, green onions, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine, mixing well until the desired consistency is reached.
- To Serve – Season with more salt and pepper as desired. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Recipe Yield: About 4 cups
- Serving Size: About ½ cup
- Storing: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Lynn says
The recipe has instructions to make the dressing, but nowhere does it say when to add the chicken. I did put the chicken in a bowl and added the dressing, and it was delicious, but maybe you want to update the directions.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you, Lynn! I’ve updated the recipe.
Cyndi says
How much pickle relish do I put in? It just says to add but not how much.
Jessica Gavin says
Sorry for the confusion! There is no pickle relish. I’ve updated the recipe.
Jowdy Andy says
This chicken salad recipe is easy and quick and produces an excellent chicken salad, light and zesty. The lemon juice provides that zest. Way to go Jessica on a simple but delicious recipe.