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Whip up my classic chicken salad recipe, a tried-and-true favorite for picnics, gatherings, or simply turning last night’s leftovers into today’s lunch. It’s everything you love about deli-style chicken salad, only better!
This chicken salad recipe is simple, creamy, and packed with flavor—similar to the classic version you’d find at many delis, and without any “weird stuff” in it, as my kids would say. The secret is twofold. First: using both mayonnaise and sour cream in the dressing. The sour cream freshens things up and adds a subtle tang you won’t get from mayo alone. Second: starting with perfectly tender chicken.
I typically use poached chicken, which has a mild flavor that works beautifully here, but a store-bought rotisserie chicken works well too, especially when time is short. I’ve shared plenty of chicken salad variations over the years, but this is the one I make when I want the classic done right.
“Probably the best chicken salad I have ever eaten…I think the sour cream is the trick.”
Classic Chicken Salad Ingredients
- Chicken: Start with chicken that’s tender and juicy. I prefer poached chicken breasts, but leftover roast chicken, grilled chicken, or rotisserie chicken all work well.
- Mayonnaise and Sour Cream: Together they form the creamy base of the dressing. The sour cream lightens the mayonnaise and adds a subtle tang. Use a good-quality mayonnaise, such as Hellmann’s or Duke’s.
- Lemon Juice and Dijon Mustard: Add brightness and tang to balance the richness of the dressing.
- Celery: Adds plenty of fresh crunch and is essential to that classic chicken salad texture.
- Scallions: Add mild onion flavor without overpowering the other ingredients.
- Dill and Parsley: Fresh herbs give the salad a big flavor boost. Dill adds its distinctive flavor, while parsley adds freshness and balances the dill.
- Sugar: Just a touch rounds out the acidity in the dressing without making the salad taste sweet.
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper: Season the salad and bring all the flavors together.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How to Make Chicken Salad
Step 1: Make the dressing. Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, mustard, salt, sugar, and pepper in a large bowl.
Step 2: Combine the ingredients. Add the chicken, scallions, celery, dill, and parsley to the bowl with the dressing.
Step 3: Mix and chill. Toss the ingredients together until everything’s well combined. Cover and refrigerate the salad until you’re ready to serve.
Tips & Variations
- Using Rotisserie Chicken: Store-bought rotisserie chicken is a great time-saver, but it tends to shred more easily. Be gentle when mixing it with the dressing so it doesn’t fall apart.
- Spicy Version: Add a few shakes of hot sauce, some diced chilies, or use blackened chicken instead of plain chicken.
- Lighter Version: For the best flavor and texture, use full-fat ingredients, but if you’re looking to lighten it up, Greek yogurt and light mayo will do the trick.
- Adding Extras: For crunch, try roasted nuts: walnuts, pecans, or almonds all work well. If you love the classic grape-and-nut combination, my chicken salad with grapes and almonds is built around it. Dried cranberries or diced apple add a touch of sweetness, and you can swap the herbs, too—chives, tarragon, or basil are all delicious options.
Video Tutorial
Make-Ahead & Storage Instructions
The chicken salad can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator. Give it a stir before serving. I don’t recommend freezing it, as the dressing and vegetables can lose their texture.
Classic Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4½ cups cooked shredded chicken (see note)
- 3 scallions, light and dark green parts, thinly sliced
- 2 ribs celery, finely diced
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
- Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, mustard, salt, sugar, and pepper.
- To the dressing, add the chicken, scallions, celery, dill, and parsley.
- Toss until evenly combined. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
How To Serve Chicken Salad
Pile the chicken salad onto toasted sourdough or a croissant, tuck it into a wrap, or spoon it over a bed of greens. For a deli-style lunch, add potato chips and a few bread and butter pickles on the side.
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Love your chicken salad (and literally all your recipes)! Question for you – I’m making this for a large women’s event. It will go in wonton cups, about a heaping tablespoon per cup. If I need to make 60 cups, how many recipes should I make? Double, triple? I haven’t made this in awhile and can’t remember quite how much it yields. Thank you so much for your advice!
Thanks for your kind words – so glad you like the recipes! I’d double the recipe for 60 wonton cups. That should give you plenty for a heaping tablespoon in each, with a little extra to spare. I’d also chop the chicken fairly finely rather than shredding it into large pieces, so it’s easier to fill the cups. Enjoy the event!
This chicken salad is heaven!! It’s not too heavy on mayo as the sour cream, dijon and lemon juice really lighten the dressing. I always add Dijon to my tuna salad too. I also add red grapes, diced, which helps balance the “tang”.
I am known to taking recipes and making the food item to what I have on hand, what I like in the blend of ingredients, I closely followed this recipe, but did not add onion or sour cream. I have chilled it and will place it with good size slices of a pepper that are blended red and yellow. By using the chicken salad with the pepper slices, I am adding more fiber, more nutrients and more crunch to the lunch. Thanks!