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
Do you think this could be frozen for later?
It will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, Nancy, but I have not frozen it before. Thanks! xo
Also good with chopped granny smith apple too! and walnuts instead of pecans. Called Brandywine Chicken Salad here in Delaware. Yummy.
Delicious, Susan! Thanks so much! xo
This was light refreshing great flavor and love the different texture.
So glad you enjoyed it, Cassandra! Thanks!
I made this recipe last night for my friend and two roommates and it was a hit! I used an olive-oil based mayo to cut down a bit on calories. Also could not find plain or roasted pecans at my grocery store, but used candied ones, still super yummy! Thanks for the recipe, I’ll be having great leftovers this afternoon.
So glad you like it, Katie! One of our favorites! Thanks! xo
I made your recipe several times – it is excellent for a brown bagging lunch! A friend “stole” the idea and added thinly sliced raw jalapeno to her version. So, not to be outdone, I made a huge bowl, kept the original ingredients, added her jalalpeno (small) and some Chayote in matchstick pieces. I lined the bowl with spinach leaves. This mountain of chicken salad went to an office luncheon with a side of Pita chips for dipping. 38 officee staff rate this recipe double thumbs up! Thanks for the inspiration. When I have the gift of extra fish, I plan to try a small scale version subbing the free protein for chicken
Sounds delicious!
Sounds delicious! I just happen to have some leftover rotisserie chicken, grapes, and celery that all need to be used up before they go bad. Low on mayo, but I’ve got Greek yogurt! No dried cherries, but a couple apples that need to get eaten, as well. This recipe couldn’t have come at a more perfect time! And who doesn’t love chicken salad? Thanks for the inspiration! 🙂
It sounds like you have everything you need! I hope you love it, Amanda! xo
I added chopped baby spinach to add some greens! (Didn’t have celery on hand) Came out great. Thanks for the recipe!
So happy you liked it, Lisa! Thanks! xo
OMG!! I have made your recipe at least 40 times. The toasted nuts add a wonderful texture and flavor. I use Costco’s rotisserie chicken (breast meat) and replaced the dried cherries with craisons. The grapes and dried fruit along with the celery makes for a pretty presentation. Make it for parties, lady’s lunches and of course for my family. Thanks!
I’m so thrilled that you enjoy it so much, Marilee! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me! xo
The recipe AS IS sounds scrumptious, don’t know why people don’t try it the way you offered it without tweaking it! Try it first, then tweak it if you want to, but leave your original recipe alone.
I’m so happy you enjoy this, Lorrie! Thanks so much! xo
I used can chicken mmmm