15 Chicken Salad Recipes for Your Best Lunch Ever
From classic and creamy to light and bright iterations.
Homemade chicken salad is an easy and nourishing bite to enjoy for brunch or lunch. The most classic version of this dish features cooked chicken (diced or shredded) tossed with a combination of mayonnaise, celery, grapes, fresh herbs, minced onions or shallots, and occasionally nuts. You can eat the chicken salad as is, tuck it into lettuce wraps, or pile a mound onto sliced bread.
Of course, this is just scratching the surface. Think of this chicken salad recipe as your starting point, then get creative. Here you'll find 15 chicken salad recipes that range from classic, creamy versions to summery iterations like grilled barbecue chicken salad. Traditional? Not exactly. Delicious? Absolutely.
One of the best parts of chicken salad is that it's an easy dish to meal prep and enjoy for lunch at home or on-the-go throughout the week. And while some of these recipes call for roasted or poached chicken, you can save even more time by using store-bought rotisserie chicken. (Pro tip: Save the bones to make homemade chicken stock!).
When it comes time to serve, you can get creative. Scoop the prepared chicken salad into large lettuce leafs for a low-carb bite or serve with toast points. You can also make a hearty sandwich with your favorite kind of bread (Ree likes to use a store-bought croissant for hers). Read on for the best chicken salad recipes to make at home.
Chicken Salad
When you want classic, creamy chicken that’s packed with fresh herbs, this is it. Ree’s recipe calls for poached chicken, a duo of mayonnaise and yogurt, grapes, almonds, celery, and dill.
Get Ree's Chicken Salad recipe.
Cowgirl Chicken Salad
Inspired by Cowboy Caviar, this Tex-Mex twist features grilled chicken, fresh corn kernels, black beans, barbecue sauce, and a whole lot of other cowgirl-approved ingredients. Plus, it’s easy to meal prep for the week ahead.
Get Ree's Cowgirl Chicken Salad recipe.
Curried Chicken Salad
A few tablespoons of curry powder give this chicken salad a warm, spicy flavor and yellow hue. The chicken is tossed with golden raisins, fresh cilantro, celery, and almonds for an inspired bite.
Get Ree's Curried Chicken Salad recipe.
Barbecue Chicken Salad
This isn’t your ordinary chicken salad. Grilled bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts are tossed in apricot preserves and barbecue sauce, then served over a crunchy green salad for the summer chicken salad of your dreams.
Get Ree's Barbecue Chicken Salad recipe.
Chicken Salad with Quick-Pickled Apples
You’ve heard of pickled vegetables, but what about pickled apples? Here, chopped apples are left to soak briefly in a combination of apple cider vinegar, honey, mustard, and salt. They’re the star of the show in this chicken salad.
Pesto Chicken Salad Croissants
This is quite possibly one of the easiest chicken salad recipes—and also one of the best. Store-bought rotisserie chicken is tossed with prepared pesto and piled onto bakery croissants for a lunch sandwich that everyone will want to take part in.
Get Ree's Pesto Chicken Salad Croissants recipe.
Chicken Waldorf Salad
Classic Waldorf salad got a major upgrade with this hearty, protein-packed version. It features all of the hallmarks of the timeless dish—celery, apples, grapes, pecans, and a creamy dressing—plus roasted chicken breasts.
Get the Chicken Waldorf Salad recipe.
Cobb Chicken Salad
It’s a matchmade in salad heaven! Cobb salad and chicken salad join forces for a flavorful bite that you can bring to picnics, work, or casual daytime gatherings.
Get Ree's Cobb Chicken Salad recipe.
Fruity Chicken Salad
Most families have a chicken salad recipe that they consider to be the best. This is the one that Tanya Harris’s family always turns to. The secret ingredient? A can of crushed pineapple.
The Best Chicken Salad
Whether poached, roasted, or served as a creamy salad, tarragon is a lovely complement to chicken. This punchy salad from Sylvia Fountaine places the green herb front and center alongside capers, diced onions, and whole grain mustard.
BBQ Chicken Salad
MinShien Denis’s recipe has all of the hallmarks of a classic summer BBQ—corn kernels, ripe cherry tomatoes, baby greens, and glazed chicken.
Southwest Chicken Salad
Have you ever seen a more colorful salad than this one? This Southwestern-inspired salad includes a bevy of colorful, textural ingredients including tortilla chips, corn, avocado, shredded cheese, zucchini, and tomatoes.
Napa Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing
Homemade sesame dressing is the star of the show in this East Asian-inspired salad, which was created by Lindsay Ostrom. It’s tossed with rotisserie chicken, cashews, fried wonton strips, and loads of crunchy cabbage.
Get the Napa Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing recipe at Pinch of Yum.
Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad
This chicken salad is inspired by the classic bar snack. And instead of the usual romaine, it's packed with quinoa, a fibrous source of protein.
Get the Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad recipe at Chisel & Fork.
Healthy Chicken Salad
No mayo here! This light and bright chicken salad from Suzy Karadsheh includes Mediterranean-inspired ingredients like canned artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, paprika, sumac, and lots of lemon.
Get the Healthy Chicken Salad recipe at The Mediterranean Dish.
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