Best Chicken Salad
on Feb 12, 2021, Updated Dec 10, 2023
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A few flavorful and crunchy add-ins turn everyday chicken salad into something really special.
A few piquant and crunchy add-ins turn an everyday chicken salad into something you would pay hard-earned cash for at a really nice deli or specialty food counter. And it’s awfully pretty, too.
This is both creamy and crunchy, studded with radishes, relish or chopped pickles, and olives. You can leave out any of the ingredients that aren’t to your taste, but I think is the best chicken salad recipe of all time. You can start with your own shredded cooked chicken (try Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken!), or this is a perfect way to make an interesting meal out of a rotisserie chicken.
Some great sides would be Cucumber Salad, Tomato, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad, or Green Bean Nicoise Salad. Think about building a sandwich with a homemade biscuit as well!
Table of Contents
Best Chicken Salad Recipe: A few flavorful and crunchy add-ins turns everyday chicken salad into something you would find at a really nice deli or specialty food counter.
Best Chicken Salad Ingredients
- Mayonnaise – I like full-fat mayo, but use whatever you like!
- Dijon mustard – Adds a touch of spice and interest.
- Chopped cornichons or sweet pickle relish – Just a little bit of relish or pickles adds pickly zinginess.
- Chopped pitted black olives – Try Greek or Niçoise olives.
- Celery – Offers fresh crunch.
- Onion – A bit of a bite and more crunch.
- Tarragon – You can use minced fresh tarragon or a smaller amount of dried.
- Cooked chicken – You can prepare your chicken shredded or diced, and please feel free to use a rotisserie chicken as a shortcut.
- Radishes – Cut into matchsticks (see Tips).
Pro Tips and Variations
- Any simply cooked chicken is fine, including poached chicken, baked chicken, or a purchased rotisserie chicken.
- To cut radishes into matchsticks, Trim the tops and roots off the radishes and cut each into ⅛-inch-thick slices. Stack up the slices and cut them into ⅛-inch-wide matchsticks. That’s it. If this still seems like too much, just chop them.
- Chicken Salad with Grapes – Another great way to homemade chicken salad!
- Simple Chicken Salad – Stop before adding the radishes, pickles, and olives, and serve just as is. Or, remove as much plain chicken salad as you like, and adjust the amount of the remaining ingredients as needed. Exact amounts are really irrelevant here.
How to Make the Best Homemade Chicken Salad
- Make the dressing: Mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, olives, cornichons or sweet pickle relish, salt, and pepper.
- Add the celery, onion, and tarragon: Stir to combine.
- Combine the salad: Place the chicken in a large serving bowl. Add the dressing, toss to combine, and taste and adjust the seasonings. Stir in the radishes.
- Serve: Enjoy right away or store in the fridge.
How to Serve Chicken Salad
Toss a scoop onto a green salad, use it to make a sandwich or a wrap, or serve it on crackers.
As for the best bread to make a sandwich, personal favorites are a roll (Kaiser, Portuguese, or any deli roll), rye bread, sourdough bread, and country white bread. Toasting your bread adds another satisfying layer of texture and flavor. Two other really great and special-feeling options: homemade biscuit or a croissant, halved horizontally and filled with chicken salad is a fine, fine lunch.
FAQs
I love a chicken salad with grapes and also one with lots of fresh herbs, but for this recipe, loads of flavor and texture are provided by a combo of relish, olives, celery, onions, radishes, and tarragon.
In this recipe, yes, absolutely! It adds a bit of salty-sweet-sour flavor, and also provides some texture and moisture to the chicken.
Make sure not to add too much of any watery ingredient like relish or mayonnaise. If there are vegetables that contain a lot of water in the salads, those can make them get watery over time. You can drain of any excess water and give the whole thing a stir before serving to make sure it is thick and creamy/crunchy.
Because this has mayonnaise in it, it’s best not to let it sit out at room temperature for more than an hour or so. If you are serving it on a buffet or at a picnic, it’s smart to serve it in batches, and keep the remainder cool until it’s time to replenish.
Storage
This will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, depending on the freshness of the cooked chicken. It does not freeze well; the texture of the dressing changes when defrosted.
What to Serve With Chicken Salad
More Chicken Sandwich Recipes
- Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Spread Sandwich
- Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps
- Herbed Chicken Salad
- Chicken Salad with Grapes
- Chicken Piccata Orzo Salad
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Best Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- ¼ cup chopped cornichons (or sweet pickle relish)
- ¼ cup chopped pitted black olives (such as Greek or Niçoise)
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ¼ cup minced onion
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 3 cups shredded or diced cooked chicken
- 4 medium-size radishes (cut into matchsticks; see Note)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, olives, cornichons or sweet pickle relish, salt, and pepper. Add the celery, onion, and tarragon and stir to combine well.
- Place the chicken in a large serving bowl. Add the dressing, toss to combine, and taste and adjust the seasonings. Add the radishes and toss to combine.
Notes
- To cut radishes into matchsticks, Trim the tops and roots off the radishes and cut each into ⅛-inch-thick slices. Stack up the slices and cut them into ⅛-inch-wide matchsticks. That’s it. If this still seems like too much, just chop them.
- Chicken salad will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, depending on the freshness of the cooked chicken. It is not good to freeze chicken salad, and the texture of the dressing changes when defrosted.
