Classic Chicken Salad Recipe

Leftover chicken is a very common occurrence in our household. There have been many times I’ve had to whip up a quick chicken salad with whatever I had on hand. This particular time was a little different because I actually planned this recipe out. I chose a few ingredients I thought would be ideal in making a classic chicken salad recipe and the result was one of the best chicken salads I’ve made so far.

This recipe yields a large batch and usually includes about 4 chicken breasts, fully cooked and cut into small pieces. If you don’t have any leftover chicken laying around, you can make some fresh chicken using the steps I’ve outlined below:

1. Brine the chicken breasts for 15 minutes by submerging them in cold water with 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Drain the chicken breasts and pat them dry with paper towels.
4. Rub each chicken breast with olive oil. Then sprinkle with a mixture of garlic salt, black pepper, paprika and onion powder.
5. Place chicken breasts side by side in a baking dish. Bake for about 35 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and let rest about 5-10 minutes before slicing

Once that’s done, everything else is very easy to put together. Make sure to start making this dish early so that you have time to chill it in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.

This classic chicken salad recipe is light and healthy with very few ingredients needed. It makes for a great side dish or hearty sandwich. Read on for the full recipe and leave me any feedback or questions in the comments below!

TRY THESE REFRESHING SALAD RECIPES NEXT!

1. Avocado, Corn & Black Bean Salad
2. Healthy Spinach & Broccoli Salad
3. Refreshing Avocado, Chicken Salad
4. Broccoli Salad with Bacon

Classic Chicken Salad Recipe

Course: Sides u0026amp; SaladsDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Fridge time

2

hours 

Calories

261

kcal

Classic, homemade chicken salad filled with celery, onions, dried cranberries and a light, refreshing mayo dressing.

Ingredients

• 4 cooked chicken breasts (see post above for tips on baking perfect chicken breasts)

• 2 celery stalks, chopped

• ½ red onion, chopped

• ½ cup dried cranberries

• 1 cup mayo (I prefer Olive Oil Mayo)

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp pepper

Directions

• Chop up the cooked chicken into small pieces (if you are cooking fresh chicken, follow my instructions in the blog post above)
• Add the chopped chicken, chopped celery, chopped onions and dried cranberries into a large bowl
• In a separate small bowl, add the mayo, salt and pepper and mix until well combined
• Pour the mayo mixture into the large bowl with the other ingredients. Mix until everything is coated well
• Place in the fridge to cool for at least 2 hours before serving 
• ​Serve on your choice of bread if desired