Our classic Chicken Salad recipe is the perfect cold summer salad to serve at a barbecue, potluck, or just for lunch. Our homemade chicken salad dressing spiced with a hint of fresh dill and lemon makes this creamy salad perfect as a wrap, sandwich, or just all by itself!
Easy Homemade Chicken Salad
Everytime I go out to lunch with my girlfriends and I see chicken salad on the menu, I have to try it. Each place makes their chicken salad so differently, and I’m always looking for the best one. But, I have yet to find one that’s as good as this recipe! I’m not kidding when I say that this is the best homemade chicken salad recipe ever!
It only takes 10 minutes to put together and it can be served with pita chips, veggies, over a bed of lettuce or on bread for a traditional chicken salad sandwich. It makes for great leftovers, and usually one batch will provide a few days worth of lunches! The combination of ingredients and addition of dill is seriously to die for.
Why We Love This Classic Chicken Salad Recipe
- Quick and easy to make
- Healthy lunch or snack
- Can be served in a variety of ways
- Low carb option (serve on or over lettuce)
- Makes the perfect chicken salad sandwich
- Tons of flavor
- Great way to use up leftover chicken
- Perfect for summer picnics or barbecue
- Great as leftovers for 3-5 days
- Can be frozen for up to 3 months
Ingredients/Shopping List
- 2½ cups precooked chicken
- ½ cup red onion
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh dill minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp lemon pepper
- ½ -1 tsp salt
- Optional garnish: minced fresh dill, sliced green onion
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How to Make Chicken Salad at Home
This recipe will come together in just 2 super easy steps and only takes about 10 minutes to prep. It’s best served cold and is delicious as leftovers for the next few days, too!
Place shredded chicken, chopped red onion and celery in a large bowl.
Pro-tip: If you are using canned chicken, make sure to drain it really well. After draining, you can even place it on a paper towel and pat it dry to make sure that it doesn’t have extra water or oils. This will keep the chicken salad from getting too soggy or runny!
Stir together with the mayonnaise, plain Greek yogurt, fresh dill, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic powder, lemon pepper until they are thoroughly combined.
Plate and serve with dill and green onion as optional garnish.
Variations / Options / Add-ins
- PRECOOKED CHICKEN: Any chicken will work but make sure whatever chicken you use isn’t greasy or saucy, since this recipe already has enough liquid. I love using rotisserie chicken. If using canned chicken, be sure to drain it well first.
- ONION: You can choose which type of onion you want to use. I really like red onions for this salad.
- GREEK YOGURT: You can replace this with sour cream if you don’t have any plain Greek yogurt.
- FRESH DILL: Fresh dill will taste the best but dried can be used in a pinch if necessary. Because dried dill is more concentrated in flavor, reduce it to just 1 teaspoon instead.
- LEMON & LIME JUICE: Either fresh or from concentrate is fine. You can also use just lime juice, or just lemon juice, if you don’t have both.
- SALT: I recommend adding salt to taste, but depending on if your cooked chicken has been salted, increase or decrease the amount of salt that you add in here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cover your chicken salad in an airtight container, and then refrigerate it for up to 3-5 days. You can also freeze this in an airtight container for a few months, no more than 3. Thaw in the refrigerator.
This chicken salad is so good that you will just want to eat it completely plain. However, it’s absolutely lovely to eat in other ways. The most common way of using a chicken salad is in a sandwich.
Choose your favorite type of bread, like a croissant or white sandwich bread, and use the chicken salad as the filling.
You can also do variations on the sandwich, like doing a melt by adding cheese, butter, and the grill, or making a wrap with a tortilla, or grilling a quesadilla by adding melted cheese or putting the salad in a pita. Either way, it is excellent to pair with any type of bread.
You can also just add it to a bed of lettuce, and make a chicken salad salad. But whatever you decide to do, it will be delicious!
This is a pretty basic salad, but some other common ingredients you will find in other chicken salads include cranberries, almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, potatoes, grapes, or apples. Feel free to add any of those to this salad.
Other Easy Salad Recipes
Fruit Salad Recipe | Easy Cucumber Salad | Caprese Skewers | Strawberry Pretzel Salad | BLT Pasta Salad | Watergate Salad | Broccoli Salad | Orange Creamsicle Salad | Caprese Pasta Salad | Classic Chicken Salad Recipe
Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2½ cups precooked chicken shredded or diced
- ½ cup red onion (about ½ onion), diced
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 celery stalks chopped (~¾ cup)
- 1 tbsp fresh dill minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (about half of one small lemon)
- 1 tbsp lime juice (about half a lime)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp lemon pepper
- ½ -1 tsp salt to taste
- Optional garnish: minced fresh dill, sliced green onions
Instructions
- Place chicken, red onion, mayonnaise, plain Greek yogurt, celery, fresh dill, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic powder, lemon pepper and salt in a large bowl and stir until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Plate and serve with fresh dill and sliced green onions as garnishes, optional. Best when served cold.
