A simple Southern chicken salad recipe that's loaded with tender meat, sweet cranberries (or juicy grapes), celery, and almonds in a mayonnaise-based dressing. You just can't beat a classic. Serve the sweet and savory dish on its own with cornbread, coleslaw, or crackers; or pile it high on the best chicken salad sandwich with a side of potato chips and pickles!
Easy Chicken Salad Recipe
This basic Southern chicken salad recipe has been one of my favorite make-ahead lunch or light dinner options for as long as I can remember. My mom serves it regularly, and I've tweaked my own version over the years to make it absolutely perfect. While a curried chicken salad with grapes is delicious for a change of pace, I always come back to the tried-and-true favorite!
Why This is the Best Homemade Chicken Salad
There's a little country store near our house that sells the best store-bought chicken salad I've ever tasted. I used the chicken salad from Yoder's Country Market as the inspiration for my homemade version, even consulting one of my local girlfriends to make sure that my recipe was a close copycat to the market's. We've got a winner, and I'm so excited to share it with you! Here's why this Southern chicken salad recipe is truly the best:
- The Right Amount of Mayonnaise: Yoder's chicken salad has just the right amount of mayo -- enough to hold the dish together, but not so much that it's overpowering. It took some tweaking, but I finally got the proportions correct. The salad is moist and flavorful, but not drowning in dressing.
- A Variety of Textures and Flavors: The recipe includes a great mix of sweet and savory flavors, as well as crunchy, chewy, and tender textures. You'll love the combination of nutty almonds, crisp celery, tender chicken, and sweet cranberries or grapes. Add hardboiled eggs or pickle relish for even more flavor!
- It's Quick and Easy: No one wants to spend hours in the kitchen just to get a meal on the table. I've got 5 hungry mouths to feed, so I need delicious, flavorful options that come together without too much effort. This recipe delivers! You can cook your own chicken at home, or use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken. When starting with cooked chicken, the entire dish is ready in about 15 minutes.
- A Prep-Ahead Option: This traditional chicken salad recipe is best when it has a chance to chill for at least 1 hour before serving. As a result, it's a great choice for parties, luncheons, or busy weeknight dinners when everyone is on different schedules and you need an easy meal ready in the fridge.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you'll need to prepare the easy chicken salad recipe. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Chicken: cooked and shredded; a rotisserie chicken is my preference for both ease and flavor.
- Dried cranberries, dried cherries, or red grapes: sweet fruit provides a delicious contrast to the savory chicken.
- Celery: crunchy, crisp texture and savory flavor.
- Nuts: I use sliced almonds (since that's what Yoder's does), but chopped pecans, cashews, or walnuts are also delicious.
- Mayonnaise: Duke's brand is my top pick for the best quality and flavor.
- Vinegar and lemon juice: bright, acidic additions to the dressing.
- Sugar: I realized that one aspect of Yoder's chicken salad that I really love is the sweetness in the dressing. It's similar to a classic coleslaw dressing.
- Ground mustard, onion powder, kosher salt, and ground black pepper: simple pantry staples that add so much delicious flavor to the salad.
The Best Chicken to Use for a Southern Chicken Salad Recipe
My favorite chicken to use in this recipe is shredded meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken. It's a quick shortcut that yields delicious results, since the rotisserie chicken is moist, tender, and already seasoned.
If you'd prefer to cook your own chicken at home to use in this salad, you'll need about 1 ½ lbs. of raw, boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs to equal about 3 cups of cooked, shredded meat. You can boil the chicken until cooked through (about 12-18 minutes), and then shred with two forks or dice into small pieces when it's cool enough to handle.
Use white meat, dark meat, or a combination of both -- whatever you prefer!
Substitute for Celery in Chicken Salad
If you don't have any celery on hand, or if you just don't care for the taste, you can substitute with any of these other ingredients:
- Extra nuts, extra cranberries, or diced or grated sweet onion
- Scallions or green onion
- Diced or grated carrots
- Water chestnuts
- Diced green apple
How to Make Chicken Salad
If you’re starting with cooked, diced chicken, this recipe comes together in about 15 minutes — no baking required!
- Stir Together Salad Ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the chicken, cranberries (or cherries or grapes), celery, and almonds.
- Whisk Together Dressing. In a separate bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, lemon juice, ground mustard, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Add Dressing to Salad. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the chicken mixture and toss to coat.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate the chicken salad for at least 1 hour before serving. This gives the ingredients a chance to absorb the dressing, it brings the flavors together, and it ensures that the salad is crisp and cool.
How to Season this Southern Chicken Salad Recipe
This salad is seasoned simply with a little bit of ground mustard, onion powder, salt, and pepper in the mayonnaise-based dressing. Fresh parsley adds a bright touch at the end, but you can also stir additional herbs into the dressing. Try chopped fresh rosemary, dill, or thyme. Adding a little bit of curry powder (like this recipe) or garlic powder works well, too!
How to Serve Traditional Chicken Salad Recipes
Chicken salad is a great option to keep in the refrigerator and pull out when you need a quick snack with crackers, when you need an easy lunch, or when you want a simple, make-ahead, light dinner or potluck option. Here are a few great ways to serve a traditional chicken salad:
- Make chicken salad sandwiches on rolls, French bread, or on classic farmhouse oatmeal bread;
- Make chicken salad wraps by rolling the salad in a tortilla with lettuce and tomato;
- For a decadent brunch, try serving chicken salad biscuits or chicken salad croissants (perfect for baby showers and bridal showers);
- Keep it simple and light and serve the salad on top of a bed of lettuce;
- Set out the salad in a bowl and serve it with crackers for scooping;
- Pair the sweet and savory chicken salad with blueberry muffins, sweet cornbread muffins, cranberry bread, cranberry muffins, blackberry muffins, strawberry bread, almond cherry bread, pumpkin bread, banana nut bread, pumpkin muffins, or lemon poppy seed bread.
- Or for an impressive presentation, scoop out the seeds from a cantaloupe melon and serve the salad inside the center of the fruit. It’s a delicious sweet-and-savory combination.
The Best Crackers for Chicken Salad
If you're pairing the chicken salad with crackers, here are a few great options to try:
- Ritz (perfect flaky, buttery texture and flavor)
- Wheat Thins (a nice sweet-and-savory flavor profile; try the "big" size for dipping)
- Carr's Table Water Crackers (my grandmother's favorite!)
- Triscuits (thick and sturdy -- perfect for scooping)
What to Serve with a Chicken Salad Sandwich
If you prefer to serve the salad on bread, croissants, rolls, or biscuits, here are a few sides that will go well with the chicken salad sandwiches:
- Wedge Salad, Classic Caesar Salad, House Salad with Candied Pecans, or a Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
- Fresh fruit, such as a bowl of berries, wedges of melon, or a colorful fruit salad;
- Potato chips for crunch;
- Dill pickles or bread and butter pickles;
- Three Bean Salad;
- Vinegar Coleslaw;
- Carrot Raisin Salad.
Storage
Prepare this salad up to 24 hours in advance. It keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and actually gets better as it sits overnight and the flavors come together. Stored properly, homemade chicken salad will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
How to Thicken Up Southern-Style Chicken Salad
If you find that you have too much dressing for your preference, you can thicken the chicken salad by adding more chicken, almonds, celery, cranberries, or grapes. You might also like to stir in some chopped hardboiled eggs. This recipe is very flexible, so feel free to tailor it to suit your taste.
Southern Chicken Salad Recipe Variations
- Southern Chicken Salad Recipe with Grapes: I've shown cranberries here, because that's how Yoder's Country Market makes its chicken salad. I love the sweet, tart, and chewy taste that the Craisins provide. That said, red grapes or dried cherries are also classic additions and work well as a substitute for the cranberries.
- Hardboiled Eggs: Many Southern chicken salad recipes include chopped hard boiled egg. You can feel free to add those, too!
- Add Mustard: This particular chicken salad recipe is made without mustard and instead takes advantage of ground mustard. If you prefer, you can add a dollop of Dijon mustard, yellow mustard, or honey mustard to your dressing.
- For a bit of tang, replace some of the mayonnaise with sour cream or full-fat plain Greek yogurt.
- Stir in sweet pickle relish or chopped dill pickles.
- Add herbs such as parsley, chives, dill, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, or basil. Sliced green onions (scallions) are also delicious in the salad.
Tips for the Best Chicken Salad Recipe
- White or Dark Meat: If you like dark meat, it adds great flavor to chicken salad. We like a combination of both white and dark, but you can use whichever you prefer.
- Use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken for an easy, flavorful shortcut.
- Cook the Chicken at Home: If you're cooking the chicken at home, you'll need about 1 ½ pounds of raw boneless, skinless chicken. Boil the chicken until cooked through (about 15-18 minutes), and then shred with two forks or dice into small pieces when it's cool enough to handle.
- Use a high-quality mayonnaise, since this contributes a lot of flavor to the dish. I prefer Duke's brand.
- Add More or Less Mayonnaise: The amount of mayonnaise in a chicken salad recipe is truly a matter of preference. I like to err on the side of less mayo, so I think this is best with about ¾ cup. If you like a wetter salad, increase the amount to 1 full cup.
- Cooking just for two? Cut all of the ingredients in half to prepare a smaller portion. If you'd like to serve a larger crowd, you can easily double or triple all of the ingredients.
More Chicken Salad Recipes to Try
- Curried Chicken Salad
- Southern Chicken and Rice Salad
- Hot Chicken Salad
- The Best Chicken Salad Recipe
- Strawberry Chicken Salad
- Chinese Chicken Salad with Cashews
Southern Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (such as from a rotisserie chicken)
- 1 cup dried sweetened cranberries (such as Craisins), dried cherries, or halved red grapes
- ⅔ cup finely diced celery
- ½ cup sliced almonds (or chopped pecans or walnuts)
- ¾ cup Duke’s mayonnaise, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss together the shredded chicken, cranberries (or grapes or cherries), celery, and almonds.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, lemon juice, ground mustard, onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and a dash of pepper.
- Add the mayonnaise mixture to the chicken mixture; stir gently to combine. Gradually add more mayonnaise, if necessary, to reach the desired consistency.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours (or overnight) to allow the flavors to come together.
Notes
- Southern Chicken Salad Recipe with Grapes: I've shown cranberries here, because that's how Yoder's Country Market makes its chicken salad. I love the sweet, tart, and chewy taste that the Craisins provide. That said, red grapes or dried cherries are also classic additions and work well as a substitute for the cranberries.
- Hardboiled Eggs: Many Southern Chicken Salad recipes include a couple of chopped hardboiled eggs in the dish. You can feel free to add those, too!
- Add Mustard: This particular chicken salad recipe is made without mustard and instead takes advantage of ground mustard. If you prefer, you can add a dollop of Dijon mustard, yellow mustard, or honey mustard to your dressing.
- For a bit of tang, replace some of the mayonnaise with sour cream or full-fat plain Greek yogurt.
- Add herbs such as parsley, chives, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, or basil. Sliced green onions (scallions) are also delicious in the salad.
- White or Dark Meat: If you like dark meat, it adds great flavor to chicken salad. We like a combination of both white and dark, but you can use whichever you prefer.
- Use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken for an easy, flavorful shortcut.
- Cook the Chicken at Home: If you're cooking the chicken at home, you'll need about 1 ½ pounds of raw boneless, skinless chicken. Boil the chicken until cooked through (about 15-18 minutes), and then shred with two forks or dice into small pieces when it's cool enough to handle.
- Use a high-quality mayonnaise, since this contributes a lot of flavor to the dish. I prefer Duke's brand.
- Add More or Less Mayonnaise: The amount of mayonnaise in a chicken salad recipe is truly a matter of preference. I like to err on the side of less mayo, so I think this is best with about ¾ cup. If you like a wetter salad, increase the amount to 1 full cup.
- Cooking just for two? Cut all of the ingredients in half to prepare a smaller portion. If you'd like to serve a larger crowd, you can easily double or triple all of the ingredients.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in June, 2020. It was updated in April, 2022.
Stephanie Bowman
I’ve been trying to replicate Yoders chicken salad too! But failing badly. One thing I notice they do is make their salad really sweet, but I didn’t notice any sugar or sweetener in your recipe? I’m dying to make theirs at home!!
Blair
That's funny, Stephanie! I hadn't noticed that Yoder's version is sweeter than usual. I'll have to pay attention to that the next time I buy it. 🙂 Or, if you add sugar to yours and it works well, let me know -- maybe that's a missing ingredient! Hope you enjoy!