Chicken Salad with Grapes and Pecans

This creamy chicken salad with grapes and pecans is easy to throw together in advance and makes a delicious lunch or potluck dish. Enjoy the fresh flavor of this homemade chicken salad in less than ten minutes, using a handful of simple ingredients. 

What is it?

Chicken Salad is a creamy mixture of tender shredded (or cubed) chicken, chopped vegetables such as celery and onion, and bright seasonings and herbs. This great recipe jazzes up a classic recipe with a burst of sweet grapes and crunchy nuts.

Beyond this chicken salad with grapes and pecans recipe, you can always add your favorite ingredients to this classic dish. Customize it to your tastes with apples, walnuts, avocados, and even hard-boiled eggs. Or you can keep it deliciously simple with my classic chicken salad recipe.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Chicken breasts - You can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, or this delicious chicken salad recipe is a great way to use up leftover chicken.
• Mayonnaise - To create a healthier chicken salad, plain Greek yogurt is a great substitution.
• Celery
• Yellow onion - A sweet onion is a great substitute. Use a red onion for a stronger flavor.
• Fresh parsley - Other fresh herbs, like fresh dill, can be substituted. Green onions are a great addition too.
• Poppyseeds
• Dijon mustard
• Lemon juice
• Salt
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Fresh grapes - I think red seedless grapes are best for this recipe, but green grapes can also be used.
• Roughly chopped pecans - Other nuts, like walnuts, can be substituted.

How to make it

My favorite hack for making this chicken salad with grapes and pecans recipe is to use rotisserie chicken. It is pre-cooked, easy to shred, yields the perfect amount of meat, plus it is exceptionally flavorful.  What else could you want?

To make a really creamy chicken salad I recommend combining all of the ingredients first in a large mixing bowl without the chicken, then add the chicken shreds last. The reason for doing this is because the chicken tends to break apart into smaller shreds the more it is mixed.

The finer the chicken shreds become, the most mayo will be needed to make the chicken salad creamy (more surface area needs more mayo to cover). You can always add more mayo to add creaminess, but it is best with hearty chunks of chicken.

Since the grapes are larger, I find the ideal ratio is using twice as many grapes by volume, as pecans. However, you can certainly adjust the amounts to fit your own tastes.

How to serve it

The flavor will always be best when you allow the chicken salad to sit in the refrigerator overnight. However, there is no shame in enjoying it right away either. If you are serving this at a potluck where it will be sitting out at room temperature for many hours, I recommend serving it in a chilled serving bowl to keep food poisoning at bay.

The chicken salad can simply be enjoyed with a fork, otherwise, it makes exceptionally flavorful chicken salad sandwiches when paired with artisan bread, whole wheat bread, or on a buttery croissant. For a low carb alternative, serve the chicken salad in lettuce wraps.

This recipe was originally published here on April 11, 2018.