Classic Chicken Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does a chicken salad contain? ›

Classic Chicken Salad Ingredients

Mayonnaise: I use light mayo to reduce the calories, but feel free to use your favorite mayo. Celery: Chop celery for some crunch and veggies. Red Onion: Swap red onion for scallions or chives. Chicken Broth: If the chicken salad is a little dry, stir in two tablespoons of broth.

It's tempting to stir up a big batch so that we can enjoy leftovers for a few days. But how long is it safe to keep chicken salad on hand? The short answer is to store chicken salad in a sealed container in the fridge or cooler for no more than four days.

Still, even though chicken salad is high in protein, one dish alone isn't super impactful for weight loss. Instead, eating an overall healthy diet that is within your daily calorie needs and is rich in lean protein, healthy fats, fiber, and nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables is best for weight loss.

When our Original Chick, Stacy, set out in search of the perfect chicken salad, she found that the only two key components anyone could agree on were chicken and mayonnaise. From there, she developed recipes to please every palate, everything from the traditional to the savory, fruity, and spicy.

The best Classic Chicken Salad recipe is flavorful with simple ingredients. Chicken, celery, mayonnaise, green onions, and a little lemon juice make this salad taste like heaven. Feel free to add in whatever you want but this is great just as it is!

Citrus juice and zest

Citrus juice does wonders to brighten the flavor of foods — including lackluster chicken salad. The acidity in citrus juice balances out the fat in the mayonnaise dressing while adding a tangy pop of flavor. The extra moisture from the juice can also help to make the salad tastier.

Excess moisture: One of the primary reasons for a soggy chicken salad is excess moisture. This can occur if the chicken or other ingredients in the salad contain excess liquid or if the salad is not drained properly.

Southern style chicken salad is usually made with eggs, relish, red onion, celery, mustard, mayo and spices.

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.

Why does chicken salad have so many carbs? ›

The average chicken salad without added fruit contains 1-3g total carbs and as few as 0g net carbs. However, they can still contain added sugar or even corn syrup in their dressings — and those with added fruits will contain even more carbs.