Chicken salad is a classic recipe, but my version has a little something extra to make it the ultimate chicken salad recipe – keep reading below! Diced chicken is tossed with a creamy dressing and dotted with crisp celery, green onion, and fresh grapes. It’s easy, healthy, bright, flavorful, and will make any summer meal a breeze.
When I think of chicken salad, I think of summer’s own version of comfort food. It’s creamy, filling, and loaded with fresh, bright flavors. You get hints of Dijon mustard, juicy grapes, and crispy celery with every bite. And the best part? The cooking is kept to a minimum, making it the perfect throw-together meal.
So what makes my version unique? It’s really all about the herbs (the more herbs the better). And my secret ingredient – tarragon! Tarragon pairs beautifully with the chicken and gives it that wow factor. Trust me, everybody will be coming back for seconds on this one. So hit the market, grab your salad ingredients, and follow along with me in the video below.
Chicken Salad Ingredients
While the ingredients are simple, it’s how their unique flavors meld together that’s key. Here’s what I use:
- Chicken Breasts – I use poached chicken in this recipe, but you could also use leftover rotisserie chicken, or shredded chicken from boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Mayonnaise – You can’t beat this creamy binder to mix all the ingredients together. And while you can use a store-bought version, it’s easy to make mayonnaise at home!
- Dijon Mustard – Just a little Dijon mustard adds great depth of flavor and a little spice.
- Red Grapes – You could use red or green seedless grapes, I just love the contrasting color of red grapes.
- Celery – I love my chicken salads to have that crisp celery crunch.
- Green Onion – Green onions add that savory flavor without being too pungent, which is perfect.
- Toasted Almonds – Toast your sliced almonds to bring out more of the nutty flavor.
- Parsley – One of the best herbs for adding to salads, just finely chop up a few tablespoons.
- Tarragon – The best secret ingredient! You’ll be amazed at how much flavor just a little bit of tarragon adds to the salad.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Poach Chicken
I love to use poached chicken in this recipe as it’s easy, healthy, and flavorful. It also means you don’t have to turn your oven on if it’s a hot sunny day outside. A definite bonus.
If done correctly, poaching can yield one of the most tender pieces of chicken you’ve ever had. To nail this every time, follow the simple steps below.
- Place your chicken breasts into a wide pot or pan, so that they’re not overlapped or crowded.
- Cover the chicken with cold water. Season the water with a bit of salt to give it some flavor.
- Slowly bring the water to a gentle simmer. Then, reduce the heat back to low and cover the pan.
- Let the chicken simmer for about 10 minutes. Remember, patience is key for this low and slow process.
- Check to see the doneness of your chicken. If the internal temperature reads 160°F to 165°F, turn the heat off.
- Let the chicken rest. Just a minute or two of rest time allows the chicken juices to redistribute.
- Chill the chicken in the fridge. This is key as you need cold chicken in this recipe.
How To Make Chicken Salad
Now that you have beautifully tender chicken, it’s time to assemble the salad. And there’s really only three steps:
- Toast: Lightly toast the almonds in a pan on the stove. Let them cool completely to room temperature.
- Slice and Dice: Dice up your chicken breasts into small pieces. Then, quarter the grapes, dice the celery, parsley and tarragon, and slice the green onion.
- Mix: Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix everything together until it’s well combined. Season with a bit of salt and pepper – and you’re done!
Chicken salad is best served when it’s cold. So let the mixture chill in the fridge before serving. This also helps all the flavors meld together for the tastiest salad.
Chicken Salad Variations
Aside from the ingredients listed below, you have a few options to play with when it comes to texture and flavor.
- Vary the nuts. Swap the almonds for pecans or walnuts.
- Mix up the fruit. You can omit the grapes and add diced apples, dried cranberries or dried cherries.
- Change the onions. If green onions aren’t your thing, you can swap them for finely diced red onions.
- Make it creamier. Swap the mayonnaise for greek yogurt or do half and half.
How to Serve It
Most often, I eat this chicken salad by the spoonful straight out of the bowl – because it’s that good! But to turn it into a meal, here’s a few ideas.
- Sandwich: Stuff it between sandwich bread with layers of lettuce, spinach, or tomato slices.
- Lettuce Wrap: For a lighter, low-carb option, use large romaine or butter leaf lettuce leaves to wrap it.
- Extra Green Salad: Dollop a few spoonful on top of a bed of greens such as baby spinach or a spring mix.
STORAGE TIPS
Since this recipe is meant to be chilled, don’t leave it out at room temperature for more than two hours. Otherwise, store it in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
More Classic Salad Recipes
Here are a few light, fresh and healthy salad recipes that I always have on repeat.
- Tuna Salad – Besides chicken salad, this is the recipe I make most often.
- Broccoli Salad – For that crispy crunch, this potluck favorite always wins.
- Greek Salad – This Mediterranean salad is easy, fresh, and light.
- Cucumber Salad – Just a handful of ingredients turn into a super refreshing salad.
- Shrimp Salad – A creamy and bright salad with celery, red onion, and herbs.
- Egg Salad – One of my favorite uses for hard boiled eggs!
- Turkey Salad – A chunky, high-protein salad with leftover turkey meat.
This really is the ultimate chicken salad recipe – and I hope you love it as much as I do! If you make it, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below. Your review will help other readers in the community.
Description
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup sliced raw almonds
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 cup red grapes, quartered
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 3 green onions (green and white parts), sliced
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon
- 1 lemon , juiced (about 3 tablespoons)
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
To Poach the Chicken
- Place the chicken breasts in a wide pot or pan and cover by about an inch with cold water. Season the water with salt. Optionally, you can add aromatics of your choice. Read my poached chicken recipe for more details.
- Turn the heat to medium until it reaches a gentle simmer. Then reduce the heat back to low and cover the pan. Let the chicken simmer for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F to 165°F. Remove the chicken and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Then chill in the fridge.
Chicken Salad Recipe
- Transfer the cooled chicken to a cutting board and dice it into ½-inch pieces. Add it to a large mixing bowl.
- Slice and dice the celery, green onion, grapes, parsley and tarragon. Add those ingredients to the mixing bowl along with the almonds, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Mix everything together until it's well combined. Let it chill in the fridge until you're ready to serve.
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Recipe originally published May 2020, but updated with new information and tips.
Super delicious! We used rotisserie chicken from Costco. We were missing a couple things but it still turned out great. We substituted with apples since we didn’t have any grapes and we didn’t have any tarragon. We love your recipes!
We really enjoyed this. Delicious! This was the first time I’d poached chicken breasts. So easy and they are juicy. Will be using this timesaver quite a bit.
You are my go to for easy, delicious meals. Thank you!
Leone
Sorry, forgot to rate it lol
Glad you enjoyed this chicken salad recipe Leone!
So good, of course! Does this freeze well?
It’s best not to freeze due to the mayonnaise.
This is the BEST chicken salad I’ve ever had!! WOWZA!!
Love this recipe! I have made several times and it’s a hit each time. I did get lazy once and bought a rotisserie chicken. The recipe 100% was not the same. Boiled chicken is the way to go.
My in-laws were visiting for the weekend. I decided to make this recipe for lunch on Saturday. My in-laws plus my husband said this was one of the best chicken salads they’ve ever had. Although, please note that I used the canned white chicken breast from Costco rather than making my own.
Second time making this in as many weeks. My go to, now. The Dijon kick is amazing. Thanks for the recipe!
Glad you’re loving this chicken salad recipe Sara!
Can this be batch frozen?
It’s best not to freeze this salad since it has mayonnaise in it.
I make this over and over – THEE best recipe!
Trying it now; it seems like it will be fantastic!
Thank you for the Recipe ♥️
Hope you enjoy this chicken salad Lisa!
I’ve made this before and loved it!!
I added apple instead of grapes and I had honey roasted almond slices instead of the roasted almonds!!!
I regret I did not purchase fresh tarragon and parsley!
Fresh herbs would be so much better!!!
I did not have to add salt but I did de a smudge of pepper.
Served it in a cracked wheat/ sour dough with havarti cheese! Wow!!!!!
Definitely a hit with leftover rotisserie chicken.
Will keep this in my recipe box♥️
I love downshiftology recipes and this one has become a regular lunch in my household. Delicious flavours and a really satisfying texture. It’s also great on its own, in a sandwich or a wrap. Thank you, Lisa!
You’re more than welcome Sophie! I’m so happy you love this chicken salad, and my other recipes as well. :)
Love this recipe! I halved-ish the mayo just because I’m not a huge mayo fan, and measured the Dijon with my heart, but it was probably about right 😉. I’d probably use a little less onion next time, only because the flavor stands out more without the extra mayo, but honestly, this is better than restaurant quality just the way it is! Literally everything I’ve tried from this site has been SO GOOD. Lisa never steers me wrong!
Thrilled to hear you’re loving this chicken salad, along with many other recipes from Downshiftology Alicia :)
So good! I keep making this over and over! Thank you!
Happy to hear you’re loving this chicken salad recipe Lisa!
My new go-to favorite chicken salad recipe. Absolutely wonderful!! I substituted pecans for the almonds and sweet onions for the green onions. Glad I doubled this so we have plenty to share! Thanks so much.
Oh my goodness! This is so delicious. I followed recipe exactly. Perfection A++++
So glad you’re loving this chicken salad recipe Yvonne!
I’ve made this twice now and it is delicious. I didn’t have any fresh or dried tarragon, but I did have fresh thyme. It was excellent! I’m looking forward to trying it with the tarragon since everyone is raving about the flavor. My husband loved it and that’s a testimonial in itself!!!
How much chicken do I need to serve about 18 people at a babu shower?
Hi Kathleen – I have a scale you can choose in the recipe card actually. So since you’re serving 18 people and this makes about 6 servings, choose the 3X option and it will adjust the ingredients to what you need :)
It looks and sounds delicious.I just have to leave out the scallions or anything in the onion family. Thinking of using grated carrots.
My Market didn’t have red grapes so i used green ones instead and it was Delicious!
Can I use dried tarragon because I don’t have fresh
Yes, you can if you only have dried on hand!
Excellent recipe. I added walnuts instead of almonds and avocado mayo. Thanks for my new favorite lunch!
At what point do I add the sliced almonds?
Add them in when you’re stirring everything together.
I, too, love fresh herbs in my chicken salad. Since I love parsley, terragon and chives in my green goddess dressing, I had to try this recipe.
Delicious! I used toasted pecans, red onion and cut the mayo in half by using plain nonfat Greek yogurt. My family couldn’t get enough!
I’m so happy you and your family loved the recipe, Sandi!
This has become our go-to chicken salad recipe in our home. It’s the best!
Thrilled to hear your household is enjoying this chicken salad recipe!
I loved the poaching instructions. I usually roast a couple of fryer/smaller chickens. Then, use the leftovers from roast chicken dinner for chicken salad and the bones/skin for broth making. But, poaching resulted in the perfect breast meat for the salad and created a lovely broth.
I, too, love fresh herbs in my chicken salad. Since I love parsley, terragon and chives in my green goddess dressing, I had to try this recipe. I made it exactly as written. And, it was good. But, I have to say, I prefer mine with 2 T of dill and 1 T of parsley, like in the “how to feed a loon” recipe. It’s basically the same recipe; but, it uses dill rather than terragon and a bit less parsley. I also don’t always add toasted almonds because they are not needed.
I love the fact that you emphasized the need to chill the chicken and thoroughly cool the almonds before mixing to ensure that you don’t melt the mayo.
The ultimate chicken salad recipie was EXCELLENT. I used Miracle whip instead of mayonaise. I wikl b making this again.
Great recipe! I would recommend only using half a lemon, I thought that was plenty! (can always add more)
I also modified by: used rotisserie chicken, used dried fruit (cherry’s) instead of grapes, used roasted salted mixed nuts (chopped) instead of almond slices and therefor did not need to add any extra salt.
This is the absolute best chicken salad recipe!! I love that you cook and bake healthy! I’m obsessed with overnight oats! Thank you for your channel. It’s my go-to place for new recipes. I tried your Orange Glazed salmon, it was a hit! My guests said it was “restaurant quality”! Thanks again!
👍❤️🤓🎯
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times now and I can definitely verify that the tarragon makes all the difference with this recipe. I forgot to add it the last time I made it and it was good but not fabulous. We also added some home grown bell peppers for a little extra crunch and it was very yummy. Thank you for sharing the recipe it’s now my go to chicken salad recipe.
The tarragon really does make a difference!
Very good although I added the lemon in quarters and stopped at 3/4. I think any more lemon and it would lose the balance of flavors. Otherwise followed the recipe as directed.
Very good! This chicken salad recipe was a huge success!! Very flavorful and satisfying. I will make it a regular in my meal plan.
Happy to hear this has made it into your regular rotation :)
Made it tonight and my husband went back for seconds! I used rotisserie chicken instead of poaching. Will have to try poaching next time!
Glad both you and your husband enjoyed this chicken salad Pam!
Hi Lisa
I’m in the UK and I’ve just come across you by chance on YouTube having searched for overnight oats recipes. So impressed I have just signed up on your website and started following you on FB. No I’m not a stalker just really love what I’m reading!
Thank you
Rhian x
Welcome to the Downshiftology community Rhian! Can’t wait to see what recipes you whip up and share with us :)
I absolutely love this recipe! It is so flavorful and tasted just as fresh the last day as it was on the first day. I put it together with a whole wheat tortilla and some spinach and it makes a great lunch that holds me the afternoon without feeling sluggish. I will now be making extra so I can give some to my mom. Thank you!
This recipe definitely makes for a great lunch in multiple ways, including a wrap!
I made the Ultimate Chicken Salad substituting apple and dried cranberries as l did not have grapes. I also used 1/2 mayonnaise and sour cream as l did not have enough of either one. My guests loved it and kept eating it even though they said they were not hungry. There was just enough left for lunch the next day when it tasted even better. I did have to thin it out with a bit of water due to the dried cranberries absorbing some of the moisture from the dressing. The guests, who are gourmet cooks picked out the tarragon right away, the tarragon was home grown! I am glad that l added tarragon to my herb garden and will use it more in any chicken recipes. Thanks for the recipe.
I bet this tasted amazing with freshly grown tarragon! Happy to hear everyone enjoyed this chicken salad :)
My recipe exactly so it reinforces my family favorite. Watching you prepare it inspires me to be a more precise in prepping the ingredients! Great job!
It’s all about adding in the right ratio of ingredients when it comes to a chicken salad :)
Hi, Ms. Lisa, just a question- can I use dried tarragon instead of fresh? If so, how much should I use? Thank you!
I think fresh is best in this salad recipe. But you could also switch to another fresh tender green herb.
I like chicken salad but utterly hate celery and it seems to be in every recipe. What would you suggest as a substitute. I’m thinking carrots?
Hi Phil – you could certainly swap the celery with carrots or even small diced cucumber!
We put small chips apple 🍎 in ours instead of celery and love it!!
WOW,!!!! That has to be the best chicken salad I have ever had, The tarragon flavour is amazing, Thanks so much for sharing ur recipes, will def be making more of them😃
The tarragon really makes all the difference in this recipe :) Can’t wait to hear about what you make next Michelle!
Great recipe! The print version, however, omits the “Toast the almonds” step, so be sure to read the whole page before following the printed recipe — there are lots of great suggestions for substitutions, too.
Can you use chunk chicken in the can or sheeted chicken in the pouch .
You can if you’d like.
What is serving size? I made this and it is yummy!!
Hi Gina – Each serving is about 3/4 cup.
Are the calories above based on each serving?
Yes, the nutrition info is per serving.
Delish!
I had to comment on this recipe – I made some for myself, because my boyfriend doesn’t like chicken salad. But guess what? He tried some of mine and he loved it so much he asked me to make it for meal prep next Sunday! I personally think this is the best chicken salad I’ve ever had. Bravo!
Happy to hear both of you enjoyed this chicken salad recipe Mia!
Yum. It was fresh and light. Great summer meal on a bed of lettuce. I tried my Kitchen Aid mixer to shred the chicken as you suggested in another post. Fast and easy! I have tried a bunch of your recipes and they are really good. Thank you for sharing your gift with the world.
Happy to hear you loved this chicken salad Michelle!
I loved it and will make again. I am the kind of cook who uses what I have not necessarily all ingredients listed. I used lime and less mayonnaise which I would repeat. I didn’t have grapes and will add them next time. There were so many layers of flavor each bite was a wow! Thank you!
Happy to hear you enjoyed this chicken salad Amy!
A new weekly staple! Made this without going to the store to get a few things I was missing. Also used Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise. AMAZING. Can’t wait to make it again with the onions and tarragon.
This definitely needs to be in your weekly summer rotation :) Glad you enjoyed it Laura!