Robyn Stone
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!
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 roasted 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 just have to try this for the best chicken salad sandwich ever!
Chicken Salad with Grapes Recipe
This makes a great salad for lunch, 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 and 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 the 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
Ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious salad:
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 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 just omit.
How Long Does Chicken Salad Last?
In the Refrigerator? This recipe keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Simply 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.
How to Serve:
- Wrap. Stuff and slice in half for a simple wrap.
- Croissant. Toast a croissant and then fill.
- Bibb Lettuce. Make a lettuce cups by washing and drying leaves of Bibb lettuce and placing onto a plate. Then fill with scoops and serve.
How Much to Serve Per Person:
If you are making for serving a large group, at 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
Other Chicken Salad Recipes We Love:
To say that we enjoy chicken salad in our family is an understatement! My husband is especially a fan – from this all-time favorite and other recipes listed – 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 cherries
- 1/2 cup roasted pecans chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise or Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- celery leaves chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Add chopped chicken to a large bowl along with celery, grapes, dried cherries, chopped pecans, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. If using chopped celery leaves, add these as well. Stir together until just combined.
Notes
To lighten up the recipe, you can use Greek yogurt in place of the mayonnaise. I used plain Greek Yogurt for the nutrition calculations.Â
Nutrition Information
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
This is really good. I burned the nuts but it gave it a smoky flavor. I will be making this a lot, especially when/if we get to have guests again.
This was my first attempt at chicken salad, my wife and son both said this is a keeper recipe. Thank you!
Can I freeze this?
I would not recommend it, Jeanne. Some of the ingredients do not freeze well. For example, the ingredients in the mayonnaise tend to separate when frozen.
Has anyone made this with Mayo and then with yogurt? What are the thoughts on both?
I just threw this together and it’s absolutely delicious. Just toasted pecans and red grapes in mine. I am a weirdo who doesn’t like fruit unless it’s by itself, but this is making my mouth happy! Thanks so much for posting the beautiful pictures that encouraged me to try it!
Kristen, I’m glad you tried this and loved it. I think my husband could eat it at least once a week.
I made this one day years ago with all the nuts, for my daughter and her boyfriend. He fell in love with it. My daughter still asks for it but we ended up just omitting the nuts altogether and she still loves it. We moved states so she is not near her boyfriend to share with him but she teases him when I make it by sending him a pic!
Thanks for the story, Kim. That’s funny. Maybe her boyfriend needs to learn to make this chicken salad. Then he can send her pics..
Super good! I made this but didn’t have pecans so I used a bag of dried cranberries and slivered almonds. I also added about a tablespoon of curry powder. It added another dimension of flavors.
It sounds good with the cranberries and almonds, Nikki. Thanks!
I forgot to rate it! 5 stars!
JUST LIKE THE RESTAURANTS!!! This is so delicious! I used slivered almonds instead of pecans and I added some spinach and maaaybe half a teaspoon of sugar… shh! So yummy!
I like this chicken salad with slivered almonds sometimes, too, Maggie. Thanks.
I added two ingredients to this recipe…2T. of poppy seeds and 3 T. of maple syrup, both mixed into the mayonnaise. The flavor boost from the maple syrup is incredible! Everyone wants to know the secret ingredient….which you can keep secret or share.
Thanks, Kristie. That sounds amazing!