This simple cold chicken salad recipe includes crunchy celery, tangy pickles, diced red onions, mayonnaise, mustard, and parsley or dill.
I love cold salads: tuna, egg, chicken. This chicken salad recipe is easy to make and keeps in the refrigerator for a couple days. Take cold chicken salad to the mountains, or the beach, or add to your picnic basket.
Serve simple and easy cold chicken salad with bread/toast, crackers, or with vegetables/salad, or just by itself.
Chicken Salad Recipe Ideas
Use your favorite herbs for cold chicken salad recipes. My favorites include dill, parsley, or tarragon but I've also made it with cilantro and rosemary.
Regular dill pickles are in this cold chicken salad recipe but sweet pickles like bread and butter pickles or pickle relish also work.
Some folks love grapes in chicken salad. Not me, pass on that. This chicken salad has no grapes in it or cranberries or any fruit for that matter. Having said that, if you like to mix fruit with meat (many people do!), then add some halved grapes.
Red onions taste similar to yellow onions but I use red for their beautiful color. There are so few onions in this chicken salad recipe that any onion will work, including chives, shallots, or green onions.
Hot vs. Cold Chicken Salad?
Chicken salad recipes are traditionally served cold, as in chilled. It can be eaten warm or at room temperature, but the flavors meld together when they've had time in the refrigerator for a couple hours.
My opinion is that chicken salad tastes best chilled and that it also tastes even better the next day.
What Kind Of Chicken For Cold Chicken Salad?
Chicken salad can be made with a rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, or boiled chicken breasts or thighs. It's easier if the cooked chicken is cooled before working with it.
Shred or dice the chicken for easy chicken salad. Shredding the chicken with your hands give it a nice texture but takes a little more time. Dice the chicken with a knife If time is an issue or you want to keep your hands clean.
TIP: Making rice, quinoa, or boiling pasta later? Save the water the chicken was boiled in and use that as a weak broth to flavor other things later.
Like chicken salad recipes? Check out my cold Curry Chicken Salad with Cashews recipe.
Cold Chicken Salad Recipe FAQ
Mostly, chicken salad is served cold. The flavors meld together when they have time to sit together for a couple hours in the refrigerator. Having said that, there are no hard rules. Eat chicken salad warm or hot if that's what tastes good to you!
This cold chicken salad recipe has no eggs but I would not hesitate to (and have in the past) put chopped hard boiled eggs in it.
The beauty in this chicken salad recipe is that you can add eggs, change the chicken to just eggs, change the chicken to tuna, or change the chicken to tofu or boiled potatoes and it's all delicious.
I love red onions in a simple chicken salad because of their beautiful color. Having said that, any onion will work because there's not a lot of it in it. Don't buy a special onion, use what you have. This chicken salad recipe can be made with white, yellow, sweet, green, red onions, shallots or sliced chives.
Yup! If the chicken is fully cooked when you first make it then you can definitely eat cold chicken.
Serving Suggestion
Serve this Cold Chicken Salad recipe with complementary cold dishes like:
You May Also Like
Like cold salads? Try these similar recipes:
Things In My Kitchen:
- 3 quart mixing bowl - I love these flat bottomed & wide brimmed mixing bowls for combining ingredients with veggies for roasting and for making salads. The 2 quart and 3 quart are my "go to" bowls for almost everything.
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The Best Cold Chicken Salad Recipe
EatSimpleFood.com
This simple cold chicken salad recipe includes crunchy celery, tangy pickles, diced red onions, mayonnaise, mustard, and parsley or dill.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 5
- Category: Main Dish / Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 5 medium pickles, diced
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 3-4 tablespoon fresh parsley or dill, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a little salt. Add chicken to boiling water for ~ 5-8 minutes (depending on thickness) or until juices run clear.
- Remove from heat, drain, and allow to cool. Basically, you need to cool these guys down before making the salad.
- Dice or pull apart the chicken breast and place in a large bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients to bowl and stir.
- Add more mayonnaise, salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve with crackers, on sandwiches, or over crispy romaine lettuce. Be happy. Beckie
Notes
TIP: Making rice later? Save the water you boiled the chicken in and use that as a weak broth to flavor other things.
I adore this salad ! So tasty ! I felt genuine pride when I served my parents this yummy dish !!
Thank you Eden!