This Chicken Salad with Grapes Recipe makes a quick, delicious meal! It also has roasted nuts for the best chicken salad recipe and makes a great chicken salad sandwich too! Perfect for serving for lunch, supper, or entertaining too!

Looking for more delicious chicken recipes? You’ll love Chicken and DumplingsChicken Parmesan, and Chicken Fajitas, to name a few!

Closeup photograph of chicken salad made with grapes, raisins, celery and pecans in a blue bowl.

Chicken salad has to be one of the most perfect dishes for an easy meal at home or to take to a picnic or potluck. This recipe is absolutely full of amazing flavor, is simple to make, and is positively the best chicken salad I’ve ever eaten!

I think this chicken salad recipe is such a delicious one because the generous amount of chicken is combined with fruit and toasted pecans for a savory crunch and flavor that’s a hit every time! It’s a recipe that I turn to time and time again for family meals, picnics, and parties. And you have to try this for the best chicken salad sandwich ever!

Chicken Salad with Grapes Recipe

Photograph of chicken with grapes in a blue bowl on a wooden background.

This makes a great salad for lunch and a light supper and takes hardly any time to mix all together. I love to keep a container of it in the refrigerator for super quick lunches. It’s great on its own, makes the best sandwich, and is delicious to fill wraps. I also love to make it to serve large gatherings of people at potlucks, picnics, or even tailgating! It is always a hit!

I think everyone enjoys this recipe because of the addition of fresh grapes. They add a burst of sweetness to the salad for the perfect blend of savory and sweet!

How to Make the Best Chicken Salad

You’ll need the following to make this delicious salad:

Ingredients

Chicken. You’ll need four cups of cooked chicken that you shred or chop, depending on the texture that you prefer. You can easily shred the chicken in your stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer if you want. Shredding with two forks also works great.

For the chicken, you can use baked chicken or roasted chicken that you cook ahead or make Instant Pot chicken. You can even use rotisserie chicken if you wish.

Celery. Chopped celery adds the perfect amount of crunch and freshness.

Grapes. Halved seedless grapes add a touch of sweetness. I love to use red seedless grapes as they add another bit of color to the salad.

Dried Cranberries. Sweet and yet a little tart, the dried cranberries are a delicious addition as well.

Roasted Pecans. Chopped roasted pecans are a great addition. Omit them if allergic to nuts or if you are serving at an event and do not know if there are nut allergies.

Mayonnaise or Greek Yogurt. You can use all mayo or all Greek Yogurt in your salad or even a little bit of each. Greek Yogurt will help to lighten up the recipe, but it is definitely a matter of preference.

Seasonings. Salt and pepper are the perfect seasonings for it.

Celery leaves. Chopped celery leaves add so much flavor, but if you don’t have them, omit them.

Step-by-Step Instructions

This is incredibly simple to make yet so scrumptious.

  • Add the chopped chicken and all of the other ingredients to a large bowl. If using chopped celery leaves, add these as well.
  • Stir together until just combined.
  • Serve in your favorite way, and enjoy!

How Long Does Chicken Salad Last?

Refrigerator – This recipe keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store in an airtight container. Refrigerate right after serving.

Left Out at Room Temperature – For food safety, I like to stick to what the FDA advises… “the two-hour rule,”….which applies since this recipe has chicken and mayonnaise; you should not leave this out at room temperature for any longer than two hours.

Left Out at Picnic or Potluck – If you are serving this at a summer event and the temperature is warmer, you should be extra careful to refrigerate as soon as possible. Again, I look to the FDA for their safety rule. If the outside temperature is above 90 degrees, the “two-hour rule” becomes ONE hour.

Chicken Salad on a croissant surrounded by red grapes.

Ways to Serve

  • Wrap. Stuff and slice in half for a simple wrap.
  • Croissant. Toast a croissant and then fill it with the chicken salad.
  • Bibb Lettuce. Make lettuce cups by washing and drying leaves of Bibb lettuce and placing them onto a plate. Then, fill with scoops of chicken salad and serve.

Tip – How Much Chicken Salad to Serve Per Person

If you are making for serving a large group for a party or event, you’ll want to increase the amount that you make. Here is the rule of thumb that I use for how much to prepare per person.

  • Sandwiches and wraps = 4 – 6 ounces per person
  • Lettuce cups = 4 – 6 ounces per person
  • Main dish = 8 ounces per person

More Chicken Salad Recipes We Love

To say that we enjoy chicken salad in our family is an understatement! My husband is especially a fan, and it’s always a hit around my house!

Photograph of chicken salad with grapes, celery and raisins in a blue bowl on a wooden background.

Here’s my recipe for Chicken Salad with Grapes that I think you’ll love.

Chicken Salad with Grapes Recipe

4.96 from 145 votes
Chicken Salad with Grapes Recipe – This chicken salad recipe makes a delicious, quick meal. Made with chicken, grapes, and roasted nuts, it is always a favorite!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients 

  • 4 cups cooked, chopped chicken
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup roasted pecans, chopped
  • 1 cup mayonnaise, or Greek Yogurt
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • celery leaves, chopped (optional)

Instructions 

  • Add chopped chicken to a large bowl along with celery, grapes, dried cranberries, chopped pecans, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. If using chopped celery leaves, add these as well.
  • Stir together until just combined. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Lighten Up!

To lighten up the recipe, you can use Greek yogurt in place of the mayonnaise. 
I used plain Greek Yogurt for the nutrition calculations. 

How Long Does Chicken Salad Last?

Refrigerator – This recipe keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store in an airtight container. Refrigerate right after serving.
Left Out at Room Temperature – For food safety, I like to stick to what the FDA advises… “the two-hour rule,”….which applies since this recipe has chicken and mayonnaise; you should not leave this out at room temperature for any longer than two hours.
Left Out at Picnic or Potluck – If you are serving this at a summer event and the temperature is warmer, you should be extra careful to refrigerate it as soon as possible. The FDA food safety rule notes if the outside temperature is above 90 degrees, the “two-hour rule” becomes ONE hour.

Nutrition

Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 279mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 0.6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Enjoy!
Robyn xo

Collage photograph of closeup favorite chicken salad with grapes, roasted nuts, and celery in a blue bowl.

Welcome to Add A Pinch

About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

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Recipe Review




422 Comments

  1. When we do our chicken salad, we use half mayonnaise and half sour cream. The sour cream cuts the mayonnaise and is delicious.
    Love your cookbook!

  2. 5 stars
    Well of course I made this after tasting it at the girls weekend!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!! AND I got Dukes mayonnaise ? .. which made me smile also! BEST
    CHICKEN salad ever!!

    1. I’m so glad to see you made it Cindy! Glad you found that mayo!!! 😉 Happy you enjoyed it! Love hearing from you – hope all is great with you!!! xo

    2. Hi Kathleen! It’s definitely delicious with Duke’s mayo if you can find it in your area, but it’s great made with other mayos too! I hope you enjoy it! Thanks! xo

  3. 5 stars
    I was craving a chicken salad so i made this for me to take to work. well i never EVEN had a chance to take it to work.. My teen daughter loved it, then my mom tried it and kept putting the cover back on only to take it off to have a few more bites, then my daughters boyfriend had some then had 3 servings and finished off hat i made!! this recipe is going into my keeper binder. Thank you for such a good recipe.

    1. I’m so happy you – and all your family – enjoyed it so much! It is a regular dish around my house! We all love it! Thanks so much for letting me know how much you liked it! xo

  4. This recipe has an overwhelming amount of mayo. You may consider halving it, and adding more later if you really just cant get enough mayo.

    1. Hi Charles,
      You can add more or less mayo to your particular taste. You can also use Greek yogurt if you wish. Thanks so much!

  5. 5 stars
    Wow! This was perfect and I would not change a thing! Made it as part of the food items to bring in the New year 2017. Thanks for the share.

  6. Just googled “Chicken Salad With Grapes Recipe” and look at whose came up first!!! Love it!!
    I will be making this tonight or tomorrow one. I know it will be great!!
    Merry Christmas to the Stone’s!

    1. Hey Mandy! That’s great to know! I hope ya’ll enjoy it – we love this! So happy to hear from you!
      Merry Christmas to all of you too!

  7. I make one similar to this. Add tri-colored pasta and a little finely chopped onion. (I don’t do the dried cherries) to make it a more complete lunch item. One of my families favorite summer
    Lunch items.