Chicken Salad with Grapes
on Jun 05, 2022, Updated Jul 19, 2023
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This old-school classic is a perfect lunch any time, any place. So simple to make, juicy, and delicious.
This colorful chicken salad is a total treat. The juicy sweet pop of the grapes with tender chunks of poached chicken and crunchy celery in a creamy dressing flecked with dill is just divine. You can eat it straight up, pile it on a salad, make it into a sandwich or a wrap, or even use it to stuff hollowed-out tomatoes. This would be great stuffed into a Buttermilk Biscuit or served with a slab of Cornbread. Or scoop it up with pita chips!
My grandmother used to make chicken salad with poached chicken and grapes — or come to think of it, she perhaps bought poached chicken salad with grapes, and I just assumed she made it. Either way, it takes me back.
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Poached Chicken Salad with Grapes: This old-school classic is a perfect lunch any time, any place. So simple to make, juicy and delicious.
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Poached Chicken for Chicken Salad
A poached chicken salad is a specific type of chicken salad unto itself. Poached chicken breasts, when made correctly, result in extra tender, delicate, moist, consistently-textured white meat chicken. And that chicken, in turn, makes for a tender, delicate, moist chicken salad.
Poaching chicken breasts is one of the easiest ways to cook chicken and takes very little time. It’s also very flexible in that you can season the poaching liquid in any sort of way with whatever herbs and aromatics you have around. Here’s how to prepare perfect poached chicken breasts every time.
Ingredients
- Mayonnaise – Use full-fat, reduced-fat, avocado mayo, or any version you like.
- Plain Greek yogurt – The higher the fat content, the creamier this salad will be.
- Milk – Loosens up the dressing just a bit.
- Dijon mustard – Adds a little kick.
- Celery – Thinly sliced celery adds crunch.
- Sliced scallions – Use both the green and white parts for an oniony bite and color.
- Flat-leaf parsley – Adds nice freshness.
- Fresh dill – My favorite herb for chicken salad.
- Grapes – You can use green, red, or purple, and seedless are best. Or, use a combo of colors and varieties!
- Poached skinless chicken breasts – Make sure they are cooled completely before dicing them. You can poach the chicken up to 2 days before making the salad and keep them in the fridge.
FAQs
This recipe calls for parsley plus dill, which is one of my favorite herbs in chicken salad. Tarragon would be amazing as well, either in combination with the dill or as a substitute. Other herbs like oregano, chervil, marjoram, and thyme are also options. I always like parsley in addition to another herb, but you can skip it if you don’t have it around.
I grew up with grapes in chicken salad (it was very sophisticated back then —and still seems sophisticated to me now!).
Green grapes, black grapes, red grapes…anything works here. Seedless grapes provide the nicest eating experience.
Tips and Variations
- You can use other fruit in place of the grapes. Diced apples would be delicious and especially welcome during the fall season.
- Try ½ cup chopped dried fruit in addition to or instead of the grapes. Dried cranberries, cherries, chopped dried apricots, or strawberries would be great additions.
- You can also add ½ cup roughly chopped toasted walnuts or pecans.
How to Make Chicken Salad with Grapes
- Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, milk, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Add the vegetables and herbs: Stir in the celery, scallions, parsley, and dill.
- Dice the chicken.
- Finish the salad. Mix the chicken and the grapes into the mixture in the bowl until well combined.
- Serve: Enjoy in a sandwich or on toasted bread as an open-faced sandwich. Or, pile some onto a green lettuce salad, either lightly dressed or not dressed at all (the dressing in the chicken salad will serve as a dressing for the greens).
Storage
This chicken salad will last in a sealed container for 2 days in the fridge. After that, the grapes will start to make the salad watery. Don’t try to freeze this salad; it doesn’t defrost well.
What to Serve With Chicken Salad and Grapes
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Chicken Salad with Grapes
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery
- ½ cup sliced scallions (green and white parts)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 ½ cups halved grapes (green, red or purple)
- 3 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (poached and cooled)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, milk, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir in the celery, scallions, parsley, and dill.
- Dice the chicken into ½ inch cubes. Mix the chicken and the grapes into the mixture in the bowl until well combined. Serve in a sandwich or on toasted bread as an open-faced sandwich. Or, pile some onto a green lettuce salad, either lightly dressed or not dressed at all (the dressing in the chicken salad will serve as a dressing for the greens).
Notes
- You can use other fruit in place of the grapes. Diced apples would be delicious and especially welcome during the fall season.
- Try ½ cup chopped dried fruit in addition to or in instead of the grapes. Dried cranberries, cherries, chopped dried apricots, or strawberries would be great additions.
- You can also add ½ cup roughly chopped toasted walnuts or pecans.
- This chicken salad will last in a sealed container for two days in the fridge. After that, the grapes will start to make the salad watery. Don’t try to freeze this salad; it doesn’t defrost well.
- This recipe calls for parsley plus dill, which is one of my favorite herbs in chicken salad. Tarragon would be amazing as well, either in combination with the dill, or instead of the dill. Other herbs like oregano, chervil, marjoram, and thyme are also options. I always like parsley in addition to another herb, but you can skip it if you don’t have it around.
