This Classic Chicken Salad is perfectly tender and creamy with crunchy bits of celery and onion sprinkled throughout. You will never want to use another chicken salad recipe again!
Ingredients You'll Need
Go ahead and whip up this traditional chicken salad recipe for lunch. It has all of the classic chicken salad ingredients you crave - tender shredded chicken, chopped celery and onions, and plenty of creaminess!
The celery and onions add a satisfying crunch to each bite, while mayo soaks up the flavor of the seasonings and dijon mustard. Parsely is added for color and herbal freshness. You can customize the ingredients to fit your tastes, but you can't go wrong by sticking to the recipe.
Chicken Salad using Rotisserie Chicken
Do you want to know my secret to making the best chicken salad? Use rotisserie chicken! Seriously, it is perfect. It is already cooked, it is exceptionally tender, and loaded with flavor. Not only does it make this chicken salad recipe easier, it tastes better too!
More ways to customize this recipe
If you want to customize this recipe to fit your tastes try any of the following additions:
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Sweet peppers
- Briney food such as pickles or olives
- Sundried tomatoes
- Nuts
Can I Make Chicken Salad Ahead of Time?
Yes! This Chicken Salad recipe is great to make ahead. It is meant to be enjoyed cold, so you can simply whip up a batch and store it in the refrigerator. Plus, this gives time for the flavors to meld properly. However, there is nothing wrong with eating it right away either. This salad will last approximately 4 days before the quality starts noticably degrading.
How to serve it
Chicken salad is a very versatile dish. My favorite way to enjoy it is as a sandwich on a bun. Though cheap "bread-aisle" buns will work fine, getting artisan buns from the bakery department can really elevate this dish. Alternatively, serving chicken salad on crackers or simply naked in a bowl are perfectly suitable options as well.
More creative chicken salad recipes
Though this classic chicken salad recipe is a very popular way many people enjoy chicken salad, there are many flavorful variations to try as well! If you are craving a jazzed up chicken salad with punches of fruit dazzling your taste buds, try my Chicken Salad with Grapes and Pecans or my Chicken Salad with Apples.
If you are looking for a boldly flavored chicken salad recipe, check out my BBQ Chicken Salad, or Grilled Chipotle Chicken Salad. Otherwise, avocado is an extremely flavorful creative addition that stars in my Avocado Chipotle Chicken Salad and my Bacon Avocado Chicken Salad.
Classic Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded chicken breast (can use 1 rotisserie chicken), cooked & cooled
- ½ cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 stalk celery (chopped)
- ½ medium yellow onion (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- fresh ground pepper to taste
- buns for serving
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix to combine.
- Place ~⅓ cup of mixture on buns and enjoy. Or refrigerate chicken salad for later use.
Gaye
I could eat my weight in chicken salad; and, No! I’m not gonna tell my weight. Never knew to add mustard for zip. Grapes and pecans are a no, no!’
Anita
Can I use sweet relish in the salad?
Fox Valley Foodie
I'm not sure how that would taste. You could give it a try.
Mercedes Hoffman
It’s good with pickle relish but you would want to squeeze it dry because it tends to separate and get watery when in the refrigerator overnight.
Dana Francis
Can you use spicy mustard with this recipe as well?
Fox Valley Foodie
Sure can!
Debbie
Could you use dill pickles in your recipe
Fox Valley Foodie
They wouldn't be my first choice to add, but there is no reason you couldn't.
Carly Saponari
Totally used red onions because I love
Them
Marie
Made this chicken salad today exactly as per the recipe and it was amazing. Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
Angel
Could you do this without the mustard and parsley?
Fox Valley Foodie
You certainly could, although it would be considerably more bland without the acidity of mustard since that is a primary source of flavor.
Jessica
What type of onion?
Fox Valley Foodie
A classic yellow onion or sweet onion would be ideal.
Brandon
Haha love your basic recipe、 epicurian smob. Found it researching ways to make my chicken salad better. You remind me of my friend from Japan who says "I don't do condiments... I only do sauces." Lol. Good basic recipe!
Terry
BEST EVER!!! I can toss the others out!
Thank you !!!
Linda Ross
Can I add hard boiled eggs? And if so, should I had more mayonnaise?
Fox Valley Foodie
Absolutely you can! I wouldn't add more mayo unless needed. If you accidentally break up the eggs too much while stirring them into the egg salad, you will likely need more mayo because the smaller bits can soak up the sauce. However, if you leave the chopped eggs relatively in-tact while incorporating them into the salad, you shouldn't need more mayo.
Cheryl Lynn Belangee
I don't eat onions, and I always use miracle whip. This was prstty good.
Fox Valley Foodie
Miracle Whip would probably be a tasty substitution!
Jill
This is a classic for a reason!