Hot Chicken Salad

A classic Southern dish, Hot Chicken Salad is a cozy and flavorful casserole that combines chicken, cheese, vegetables, and toasted almonds in a creamy sauce. Top it off with crushed potato chips for a bit of salty crunch, and serve the old-fashioned dish with salad, broccoli, cornbread, or biscuits for an easy, family-friendly dinner!

Hot Chicken Salad Recipe

Hot chicken salad is a classic luncheon dish that Southern ladies have enjoyed for decades. At baby showers, bridal showers, and church potlucks — this old-fashioned dish is always a crowd-pleaser! It’s also a popular dinner option for cozy family meals at home, since it’s easy to prepare and full of flavor.

While “hot” chicken salad might sound odd to some, think of this as a simple chicken casserole that includes many of the same ingredients that you’ll find in a cold chicken salad. There are aromatic veggies like celery, onion, and garlic, toasted slivered almonds for nutty crunch, plenty of melty cheese, and tender, juicy chicken — all stirred together in a creamy mayonnaise and sour cream sauce. Finish it off with salty potato chips and what’s not to love?!

Ingredients for Hot Chicken Salad with Potato Chips

This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a hot chicken salad casserole. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Slivered almonds: give the dish a toasty, nutty, crunch.
• Olive oil: to sauté the vegetables before stirring them into the filling.
• Celery, onion, and garlic: aromatic vegetables that add flavor to the base of the casserole.
• Chicken: you’ll need about 3 cups of cooked, shredded chicken. I use a store-bought rotisserie chicken for great flavor and quick-prep, but you can boil your own chicken at home, if you prefer.
• Salt and ground black pepper: to enhance the other flavors in the dish.
• Cheddar cheese: for the filling and fort the top of the casserole. Feel free to substitute with other types of cheese, such as Monterey Jack, Colby, Pepper Jack, or Swiss. We prefer full-fat cheese, but reduced fat cheddar will also be fine.
• Mayonnaise and sour cream: form the base of the creamy sauce that binds the casserole filling together.
• Lemon juice: just a tablespoon lemon juice adds a bright, acidic touch.
• Potato chips: for a classic Southern casserole topping that’s salty, crunchy, and full of flavor.

How to Cook Chicken for a Casserole

While it’s possible to cook a casserole with raw chicken, you’ll need cooked chicken for this recipe, and a variety of options will work. Pick the most convenient method for you:

• Boiled and Pulled Chicken: Boil about 1 ½ lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs until cooked through (about 15 minutes). When cool enough to handle, chop or pull the chicken. You’ll need a total of about 3 cups shredded. I find that 1 ½ lbs. of chicken breasts yields about 3 cups of pulled chicken, but there’s some flexibility here — it doesn’t need to be exact.
• Rotisserie Chicken: This is a great shortcut! Purchase a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, shred the meat, and use in the recipe as instructed.
• Leftover Chicken: If you have leftover grilled or baked chicken from a previous meal, put those extras to good use in this casserole.
• Canned Chicken: Yep, even canned chicken from the pantry will work in this recipe.

How to Make Hot Chicken Salad

With a few easy steps, this chicken casserole comes together quickly for a hearty lunch or dinner — with no cream of chicken soup necessary!

1. Toast almonds in a dry skillet, then remove to a plate.
2. Sauté the vegetables in olive oil in the same skillet.
3. Stir together the toasted almonds, vegetables, chicken, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
4. Combine half of the cheese with the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, and chives in a small bowl.
5. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the chicken mixture and stir to combine.
6. Transfer to a greased 2-quart baking dish or a dish that’s sprayed with cooking spray.
7. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese and the crushed potato chips.
8. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the filling is hot and bubbly.
9. Garnish with sliced green onions or chopped fresh herbs, and serve!

What to Serve with Hot Chicken Salad Casserole

Pair the hot chicken salad casserole with any of these easy sides:

• Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, Caesar Salad or House Salad with Candied Pecans
• 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, Flaky Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits or Drop Biscuits
• Skillet Cornbread, Honey Cornbread, Corn Sticks, Mexican Cornbread or Corn Muffins
• Crusty French Baguette, Soft Dinner Rolls, or Homemade Crescent Rolls
• Charleston Red Rice or Rice Pilaf
• 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins, Applesauce Pumpkin Muffins or Pumpkin Bread
• Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
• Balsamic Roasted Root Vegetables
• Southern Fried Apples or Baked Apple Slices
• Broccoli and Cheese, Steamed Broccoli, or Garlic Oven-Roasted Broccoli
• Perfect Oven Roasted Asparagus or Sauteed Asparagus
• Brown Sugar Roasted Acorn Squash
• 5-Ingredient Easy Cranberry Salad
• 3-Ingredient Cranberry Orange Sauce
• Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon or Southern-Style Green Beans

Make Ahead

This is a great make-ahead dinner. You can assemble the casserole up to 24 hours in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator until ready to bake. When ready to bake, allow the dish to sit on the counter and come to room temperature for at least 30-60 minutes. Add the potato chips to the top just before baking so that they don’t get soggy.

Storage

• Leftover chicken casserole will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
• I do not recommend freezing hot chicken salad. Creamy sauces have a tendency to “break” or separate when thawed, giving the dish an undesirable texture.
• To reheat the casserole: If reheating an entire casserole, cover the dish loosely with foil and bake in a 350°F oven until warmed through (about 15-20 minutes). Individual portions can be reheated in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Recipe Variations

• Replace 1 cup of the chicken with vegetables like frozen peas, frozen mixed vegetables, or parboiled broccoli or green beans.
• Instead of potato chips, top the casserole with buttered Ritz cracker crumbs or other butter crackers, buttered breadcrumbs, additional slivered almonds, or even French fried onions (add them towards the end to prevent burning).
• Diced pimentos and water chestnuts are also nice additions to the filling.
• Stir some additional herbs or other seasonings into the sauce. Try dried or fresh parsley, thyme, basil, oregano, tarragon, or rosemary.
• Any good melting cheese will work in this dish. Instead of cheddar, use Monterey Jack, Colby, Pepper Jack, or Swiss.

Tips for the Best Hot Chicken Salad Recipe

• Use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken for a shortcut.
• If you prefer to cook your chicken at home, use about 1 ½ lbs. of raw boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs. Boil the chicken for about 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. When cool enough to handle, chop or shred with forks and use in the recipe.
• Cooking Just for Two? Cut the ingredients in half and prepare the casserole in a small 1-quart baking dish. The assembly instructions remain the same, but you may need to reduce the baking time to about 15 minutes.
• To serve a larger crowd, double all of the ingredients and prepare the casserole in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. You may need to increase the total baking time to about 25 minutes, tenting the top of the casserole loosely with foil if the chips start to get too brown.

More easy chicken casserole recipes that you might enjoy:

• 5-Ingredient Crescent Roll Chicken Casserole
• Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
• King Ranch Chicken Casserole
• Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole
• Chicken Casserole with Ritz Crackers
• Doritos Chicken Casserole
• Buffalo Chicken Casserole
• Green Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
• Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole with Rice
• Chicken Noodle Casserole
• Farmhouse Chicken Cornbread Casserole
• Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
• Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Hot Chicken Salad

5 from 1 vote

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 40 minutes

Total: 1 hour

Servings 4 – 6 people

Calories 492 kcal

A classic Southern dish, Hot Chicken Salad is a cozy and flavorful casserole that combines chicken, cheese, vegetables, and toasted almonds in a creamy sauce. Top it off with crushed potato chips!

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ½ cup slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup diced celery
• ¼ cup diced onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed (about 1 teaspoon)
• 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon dried chives (or 1 ½ teaspoons fresh minced chives)
• 1 cup lightly crushed potato chips
• Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley; chopped scallions

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish; set aside.
• In a dry skillet, toast almonds over low heat just until fragrant and golden brown. Stir frequently, and keep a close eye on them, because the nuts can burn quickly. Transfer toasted almonds to a plate.
• In the same skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the celery and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• In a large bowl, stir together the almonds, onion, celery, garlic, chicken, salt, and pepper.
• In a medium bowl, stir together ½ cup of the cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, and chives.
• Add the mayonnaise mixture to the chicken mixture; stir to combine. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
• Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of cheddar cheese and the crushed potato chips.
• Bake, uncovered, until the cheese melts and the filling is hot, about 20 minutes.
• Garnish with fresh parsley or sliced scallions and serve.

Notes

• Use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken for a shortcut.
• If you prefer to cook your chicken at home, use about 1 ½ lbs. of raw boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs. Boil the chicken for about 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. When cool enough to handle, chop or shred with forks and use in the recipe.
• Cooking Just for Two? Cut the ingredients in half and prepare the casserole in a small 1-quart baking dish. The assembly instructions remain the same, but you may need to reduce the baking time to about 15 minutes.
• To serve a larger crowd, double all of the ingredients and prepare the casserole in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. You may need to increase the total baking time to about 25 minutes, tenting the top of the casserole loosely with foil if the chips start to get too brown.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 of the casseroleCalories: 492kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 30gFat: 37gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 92mgSodium: 474mgPotassium: 568mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 352IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 194mgIron: 2mg

Keyword: chicken casserole, hot chicken salad, hot chicken salad casserole recipe

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Southern

Author: Blair Lonergan

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This recipe was originally published in November, 2014. It was updated in January, 2022.