Chicken Salad with Grapes
Chicken Salad with Grapes is a creamy, fresh meal idea that’ll become a regular in your recipe book. Easy to make and crazy good!
Why We Love Chicken Salad with Grapes
- Have you ever had chicken salad with grapes? It’s great for a light lunch and makes a stellar brunch addition. I also like it for potlucks and cookouts since it’s so easy to make a big batch.
- The pops of fresh grapes, crunch celery, and tangy red onion make this chicken salad a flavor party for your mouth.
- I may or may not eat this stuff by the spoonful while standing in front of the fridge. It’s that good. If you don’t judge me, I won’t judge when you do it too.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Chicken Salad
CHICKEN: You’ll need 2 ½ cups of cooked chicken breasts for this salad. If you want to keep things REALLY easy, you can grab a rotisserie chicken from the store, shred all the meat, and discard the skin. Chickens from the store usually work out to around 3 cups when shredded/diced, but a little extra isn’t a big deal.
ADD-INS: Gussy up this salad with some grapes, toasted chopped pecans, Honeycrisp apple, celery, dried cranberries, and a little red onion. I like using red grapes, but you could just use green grapes or a combination of both. If you prefer your chicken salad with walnuts go ahead and swap out the pecans.
CHICKEN SALAD DRESSING: The dressing is made with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, fresh parsley, lemon juice and zest, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika (sweet if you have it), salt, and pepper. Creamy, slightly tangy, and really good with the other ingredients.
How to Make Chicken Salad with Grapes
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1 Add all the dressing ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined.
STEP 2 Add the chicken, celery, onion, grapes, and pecans to the same bowl. Use a spoon to stir until everything is coated in the dressing.
STEP 3 You can eat this chicken salad right away, or cover it with plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for later. I like to let it rest so the flavors can marry together even more. Enjoy as is or turn the chicken salad into a sandwich.
Tips & Tricks
- If you want to cut the strong onion flavor, rinse the diced red onion under cold water for a few minutes and then dry it with a paper towel. You can also swap in thinly sliced green onions instead of red onions if you prefer.
- To toast the pecans: Add them pecans to a dry skillet. Place over medium heat and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently until fragrant and toasted. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.
- This chicken salad will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- If your salad gets a little “dry” add in 1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise or sour cream and stir to refresh it.
Chicken Salad with Grapes Recipe FAQ
Can you freeze chicken salad with grapes?
You can freeze chicken salad, but you’ll want to leave the grapes out. They take a long time to defrost and you’ll have frozen grapes in your salad. No thank you.
Instead, mix everything up as directed without the grapes and freeze. Then when you’re ready to eat, thaw the chicken salad in the fridge overnight. Cut up the grapes and stir them into the salad. Boom. You’re done.
What goes good with chicken salad?
This salad is pretty great all by itself. I like to make sandwiches on croissants or serve it on lettuce leaves like a chicken lettuce wrap for a low-carb option.
If you want to add a few things to go alongside some strawberry caprese salad, ham & cheese roll ups, and deviled eggs would be a great way to fill out your spread.
Other Chicken Recipes You May Like
- Walnut & Cranberry Chicken Salad
- Classic Chicken Salad Recipe
- Bacon Avocado Chicken Wraps
- Easy Seasoned Chicken Tacos
- Chicken Cobb Salad
- Shrimp Salad
Chicken Salad with Grapes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups cooked chicken breast small diced
- 1 cup Honeycrisp apple small diced
- ¾ cup red grapes cut in half
- ½ cup celery small diced
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup toasted pecans finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons red onion or green onion peeled and minced
- Croissants or bread slices for serving
- Romaine lettuce leaves for serving
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mayo, Dijon, parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper until evenly combined.
- Add the chicken, apple, grapes, celery, cranberries, pecans, and onion to the bowl with the dressing. Gently stir everything together until well coated.
- Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve. Enjoy as is or turn the chicken salad into a sandwich with a couple of leaves of Romaine lettuce.
Notes
- Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Do not freeze.
- You can substitute a rotisserie chicken from the store. Remove the skin and shred the meat.
- To toast the pecans: Add them pecans to a dry skillet. Place over medium heat and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently until fragrant and toasted. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.