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 Dumplings, Chicken Parmesan, and Chicken Fajitas, to name a few!
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!
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Chicken Salad with Grapes Recipe
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.
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!
Here’s my recipe for Chicken Salad with Grapes that I think you’ll love.
Chicken Salad with Grapes Recipe
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
I love a good chunky chicken salad!
I really like chicken salad with fruit in it. It tastes so great on a warm croissant. I use rotisserie chicken when I am in a hurry which makes it easier. Looks delicious!
I also often use rotisserie chicken
this is very similar to one my hubby loves, except I use dried cranberries and add some tarragon and a little ground celery seed.
Oh yeah you are a girl after my own heart. I usually make chicken salad with dried cherries or grapes but never together! Looks look to good.
Yummy! Thank you.
BOILED chicken???? Please, no! Cooked just until done, yes. Boiling just makes chicken tough and tired and takes the flavor out of it.
One of my favorite ways of cooking chicken is to simmer it gently in chicken broth with whatever herbs I want until it is just done. Or even to bring it to a simmer, then let it sit, covered, for maybe 20 minutes. Tender and tasty, then.
LOL! We actually like boiled chicken, but if you don’t you can cook it however you prefer. Roasted chicken would work well in this chicken salad as well.
Hi Robyn, we like boiled chicken also! Mine is never tough. If one lets it boil too long maybe then it would be tough, old, and certainly tired! 🙂
So true, Georgia. 🙂
I love chicken salad. I’ve been buying the chicken salad from WalMart,but now I have several versions of it and won’t need to buy it anymore. I don’t put it on bread or anything else. I eat it the way it is. I will probably make wraps with it, too.
The more technical term is “poaching”, which sounds much more appetizing than boiled. Either way, it’s yummy and how most chicken salad recipes are prepared!
Exactly! Poached chicken is soft sweet, healthy; easy to add flavors’ did I day Healthy! Great easy eay to add delicious protein! Is anyone dumb enough to “boil” chicken until it becomes tough and tasteless?
POACHING! GREAT!
That’s a bit harsh. Inexperienced cooks may overcook chicken until tough. The problem with beginning cooks, I think, is that we’ve all heard that meat gets more tender and retains moisture. It’s not particularly intuitive that chicken doesn’t work that way. Another reason for dry chicken is the use of boneless, skinless chicken breasts – much more likely to dry out than bone-in, skin on.
I’m usually a good cook, but I recently ruined a batch of chicken because I lost track of time, not because I’m “dumb.” Teach our less experienced sisters; don’t ridicule.
I agree with you Cassandra Woodhouse, no need making such an unkind statement. We say ” boil” your chicken down here in the South. 🙂
Can I use can chicken from Sam’s?
I buy the roasted chicken from Costco simply because it is cheaper than me buying and cooking the chicken. But BC (Before Costco) I boiled chicken all the time and it was neither tough nor tasteless.
Even better than canned chicken from SAMS is one of their roasted chickens! I just made it two days ago and one roasted chicken for less than $5, made a large bowl of salad. Made about 12 sandwiches.
I didn’t have grapes, so I used dried cranberries. It was better the second day after they softened up a little.
You could do that, but the inexpensive way is to buy a family pack of breasts, drop them all in the crockpot, drop in some salt and pepper, and add 1/4 cup of water or broth. Cover for 3 hours and it will be ready to chunk up for this recipe or shred, add bbq sauce, and have pulled chicken sandwiches. Much cheaper!
Yep
I use Sam’s chicken most of the time. It is so good. I also add pineapple along with everything else….so good
agree 100%. Would never boil chicken for any recipe.
yum! i’m with your husband- i love chicken salad!
I make mine almost like this except mix in some sour cream with the mayonnaise. I’m with your hubby…love chicken salad too.
Could you use can cbicken breasts for this or does it have to be boiled chicken?
You can use whatever you prefer. No hard and fast rules on this one. 🙂
I use frozen chicken breasts and boil them. Boil more than you need for the salad. The resulting broth (and extra chicken) makes great chicken-rice or chicken-noodle or chicken-vegetable soup!
I use rotisserie chicken from HEB all the time (original, not lemon, etc.). It’s great and saves time. Also, the chicken has a little more flavor.
Looks like a perfect lunch to me!
I like to add apple, frozen peas, edemame and green onion to mine. I also sub most of the mayo with plain yogurt to cut the fat. Making this this weekend. It’s been a while.
I add chopped apple and use 1/2 sour cream & 1/2 Mayo for the dressing Also, if you don’t have time to cook, cool & chop a chicken — use canned chicken breast (drained).
Instead of dried cherries; try substituting craisins and add about 1/4 cup of Honey! Yummy!!
Where do you buy dried cherries, and what are craisins ? My questions is to L. Carson. I have never hard of dried cherries before. The salad sounds wonderful.
They are hard to find. They and craisins would be by the raisins at the grocery store.
Craisins are sweetened, dried cranberries. Craisins is the brand name. Dried cherries are available in BIG cities. Personally, I prefer the Craisins. They’re also yummy in turkey salad.