Southern Chicken Salad Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Southern Chicken Salad Recipe

A simple, old fashioned chicken salad recipe that's delicious on its own, and equally good in sandwiches!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword chicken salad sandwich, chicken salad with cranberries, chicken salad with grapes, easy chicken salad recipe, how to make chicken salad, southern chicken salad recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 0

Chilling Time 1

Total Time 1 15

Servings people

Calories 428kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

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

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.

We prefer shredded chicken rather than diced or chopped chicken. The mayo dressing tends to cling to the shredded chicken a little better.

How to cook the chicken at home: If you'd rather cook your own chicken instead of using a rotisserie chicken, you'll need about 1 ½ pounds of raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs. Boil the chicken until cooked through (about 15-18 minutes), and then shred with two forks. Alternatively, you can cook the chicken in a crockpot for 1-2 hours on HIGH, then shred and cool before using in the salad. If you’re shredding a lot of cooked chicken at once, use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer to make the job easy!

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 personal 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.

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