Classic 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!
Everyone should have a trusty classic chicken salad recipe in their back pocket—whether it’s for a sunny picnic, hosting friends for a mid-day meal, or simply transforming last night’s leftovers into today’s delicious lunch.
Over the years, I’ve shared several of my favorite chicken salad recipes with you, from curried chicken salad to chicken salad with grapes. Yet, this is the classic recipe that I turn to time and again. It’s simple, creamy, and packed with flavor—similar to the classic you’d find at many delis, but even better in my opinion, and without any “weird stuff” in it, as my kids would say.
The key is using tender, juicy chicken. I typically use poached chicken, which isn’t highly seasoned, but a store-bought rotisserie chicken works great too, especially when time is short. Whether served on a bed of greens, tucked into a wrap, or piled into a hearty sandwich, it’s a hit every time.
“There’s chicken salad and then there’s THIS chicken salad…My husband commented I should toss out my other chicken salad recipe because this is the one.”
Classic Chicken Salad Ingredients
- Creamy Base: Mayonnaise and sour cream make the tangy, creamy base that binds all the ingredients together. Make sure to use a good brand of mayo such as Hellmann’s or Duke’s.
- Fresh lemon juice: Provides a bright, acidic note that balances the richness of the mayonnaise and sour cream.
- Cooked shredded chicken: You’ll need 4½ cups of cooked chicken for this homemade chicken salad recipe. Make a batch of poached chicken, use some leftover grilled chicken, or pick up a rotisserie chicken at the store. They all work well.
- Flavor and crunch: Scallions add a mild onion flavor and a bit of crunch while celery amps up the crisp texture and adds a fresh, slightly bitter note. Fresh dill and parsley give a burst of freshness and color.
- 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. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. The salad can be made and stored in the refrigerator 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. If you like your dishes with a bit of a kick, you can add a few shakes of hot sauce, add some diced chilies, or use blackened chicken instead of plain poached or grilled chicken.
- Lighter Version. For the best flavor and texture, I’d stick with 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. For a hint of sweetness, add dried cranberries, diced apple, or halved grapes.You can also switch up the herbs—chives, tarragon, or basil would all work nicely here too.
Video Tutorial
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Classic Chicken Salad
Meet your new go-to classic chicken salad—creamy, herby, and full of crunch. It’s perfect for sandwiches, picnics, or straight from the bowl.
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.
- Note: 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 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
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 431
- Fat: 38 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Sugar: 1 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Sodium: 393 mg
- Cholesterol: 94 mg
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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This was delicious! I had to use curly parsley in a pinch as it was all my grocery store had left, but I otherwise made it exactly as written. I’ll probably slightly reduce the herbs next time just due to personal preference, but it was excellent as is. Brought it to a Mother’s Day luncheon and everyone loved it!
If you’re buying already pulled rotisserie chicken about how many lbs. of pulled chicken do you think you’d need for 1 batch? Excited to try this!!
Hi Colleen, I’d recommend about 1.5 pounds. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn,
Can you use this salad in a roasted Panini ?
I really enjoy your recipes. Thank you!
Sure, I don’t see why not (and glad you like the recipes)!
This was absolutely delicious. The tang from the lemon and the dill is what makes this dish so special. Thank you for your recipes.
Excellent! Very flavorful. I poached chicken thighs because I had 5of them in my freezer.
I’m thinking of making this recipe for an event where I need to bring sliders. If I wanted to bring about 24 sliders, maybe using Kings Hawaiian rolls, would I need to double the recipe? Triple?
Thanks!!
I’m guessing that should be enough as they sliders won’t fit that much chicken salad in them. Hope everyone enjoys!
Hi Jenn
I will be making the Classic Chicken salad for a bridal shower. Do you know how many pounds or cups I would need for 30 people?
You’ll need about 22 cups of shredded poached chicken. If you’re using bone-in, skin-on breasts, you’ll need about 15 pounds. Hope that helps and that everyone enjoys!
Thank you for your quick response!!
I made this because I had a left over roasted chicken. I only had 4 cups instead of 4 1/2 cups of leftover meat on the carcass but I figured close enough. Put it all together like the recipe said and was it delicious! I used the demi baguettes from TJ’s crisped in the oven to get a nice crusty consistency, removed the crumb to allow a place for the chicken salad and made a green salad to accompany the chicken salad. It was so good.
Tried this week..delish!!!!
My husband doesn’t like chicken salad but he likes this chicken salad. My husband doesn’t eat leftovers but he ate this chicken salad as a leftover. What!?!