Chicken Salad
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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. Whether served on a bed of greens, tucked into a wrap, or piled into a hearty sandwich, it delivers every time.
“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. It will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days before serving (I don’t recommend freezing).
Tips & Chicken Salad 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 too much.
- 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
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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
- Poached chicken, leftover grilled chicken, or roasted/rotisserie chicken all work well for this recipe. If you'd like to roast bone-in chicken, you'll need 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange the chicken breasts skin-side up on the prepared baking sheet. Coat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle both sides with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, or until done. Let cool before shredding
- Make-Ahead Instructions: This salad can be made and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before serving.
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.
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Would the recipe still be good if I omitted the sour cream or yogurt substitute? My guest cannot have milk products.
Hi Beverly, I’m not sure I fully understand your question, but if you’re asking if you can substitute a non-dairy yogurt for the sour cream, I think it should work. If it doesn’t have the same thickness as sour cream, I’d put it in a sieve and let the extra liquid drain off. Please LMK how it turns out!
This recipe is a winner. I have tried to find a chicken salad recipe for a while, and just never found one I liked. I now make this almost weekly as a double batch, and it flies out of the refrigerator. You will not to be disappointed.
as a side note….I like to make salads fast,
I do all the vegetables in a Cuisinart, trying to not over chop, then put the Cuisinart stem in with larger vegetable slicing attachment and feed the cooked chicken through it. Its a little finer and not as elegant as the hand chopped, but excluding chicken cooking time, I can do a double batch in 10mins (15?)
I made this for the first time this Summer and it was fantastic. I used a flavored rotisserie chicken and served it on tomato slices with romaine and garlic bread and everyone loved it. So simple, delicious and easy to make!
Tastes amazing! I loved how easy it was to come together. Perfect for the beach.
I love chicken salad and this is the best ever! When we grill chicken breasts for dinner I make chicken salad from the extra breasts for the next night. I can’t stop eating this. If you are a chicken salad lover this is THE ONE!!!!
Thank you, Jenn!!! 🙂
I am embarrassed that I have not reviewed any of the incredible recipes from Jenn. When a friend introduced me to this site, it opened up a whole new world of easy, delicious, no-fail recipes that I rely on for entertaining. I have made this chicken salad several times for friends (perfect for boating), and everyone thinks I bought it from a high-end deli. It is simple but full of flavor. I especially appreciate the generous amount of fresh dill.
Jenn, do you have a few suggestions for what to serve the salad on? Breads, rolls, etc. Love your recipes and detailed instructions! Thank you, Kathleen
Hi Kathleen, the options that come to mind are a hearty toasted whole grain sandwich bread, as a wrap, on a croissant, or for a low carb option, over greens. Hope that helps!
Delish!!
Delicious chicken salad recipe! I used the recipe for the poached chicken and loved it. Very simple and easy and leaves you with tender and moist chicken. I used dried herbs because that’s what I had on hand. Next time, I will try the fresh herbs – I’m sure they are better.
Delicious recipe!! And tastes even better on the second day after the flavors meld together. Made the recipe exactly as written but used poached chicken breasts (cut into smaller pieces when poaching then shredded) since that was what we had, and cut the dill by 1/3 since my husband doesn’t like too much dill flavor. Just had one sandwich for lunch and I’m ready for a second…