Hot Chicken Salad Recipe
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This easy Hot Chicken Salad recipe is a classic Southern favorite with a delicious, creamy chicken filling baked with buttery cracker topping. It’s perfect for family meals and potlucks and is always a crowd-pleaser!
Chicken salad is always such a loved dish! This easy hot chicken salad is no exception! It is a family favorite recipe that we’ve enjoyed for generations. Creamy chicken with crunchy bits of celery topped with a scrumptious buttery cracker topping makes a quick and easy supper or a popular potluck dish. You’ll be thrilled with how quickly it’s on the table and love how fast it disappears, too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy recipe. This recipe comes together quickly and bakes in the oven until golden and bubbly.
- Comforting chicken salad recipe. Chicken salad is always delicious, but this hot chicken salad is warm and comforting. Great anytime!
- Make ahead and freezer-friendly. Great for meal prep to serve during a busy week or to take friends and family for a meal.
How to Make Hot Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
- Chicken – This recipe uses cooked chicken. I love to use my shredded chicken recipe or even leftover baked chicken. You can also use rotisserie chicken, homemade or store-bought.
- Celery – Diced celery adds crunch to this hot chicken salad recipe.
- Salt – I use kosher salt. I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you substitute with Morton’s Kosher salt, fine sea salt, or table salt, you will only need half the amount of the salt called for in the recipe.
- Pepper – Black pepper adds flavor to this recipe.
- Lemon juice – Brightens this chicken salad.
- Sour cream – Makes the chicken salad creamy and delicious. You can also substitute with partial or all Greek yogurt if you like.
- Mayonnaise – Like the sour cream, the mayonnaise adds to the creaminess of the hot chicken salad.
- Cheddar cheese – Shredded cheddar cheese is delicious in this recipe.
- Ritz crackers – Crushed buttery crackers are added to the top of this hot chicken salad and then baked for a delicious topping!
- Butter – added to the top of the Ritz cracker topping for baking.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Mix the ingredients. Add all ingredients except the crackers and butter to a large mixing bowl.
Pour into baking dish. Spread the mixture into a baking dish.
Add topping and butter. Distribute the cracker crumbs and butter on top of the casserole.
Bake. Bake in a 350º F oven until golden brown and heated throughout – about 20 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
What to Serve with Hot Chicken Salad
Serve with fruit like grapes or apple slices or another salad like broccoli salad or fruit salad.
Storage Tips
Make ahead. Cool and wrap tightly. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat and serve.
Freeze. Prepare and spread it into a freezer-safe baking dish. Wrap tightly with freezer-safe wrap and store in the freezer for up to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and add the cracker crumbs and butter before baking.
More Chicken Salad Recipes
- Chicken Salad with Grapes
- Avocado Chicken Salad
- Fiesta Chicken Salad
- Rosemary Chicken Salad
- Classic Chicken Salad
Here’s my Hot Chicken Salad recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do.
Hot Chicken Salad Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Mix together all ingredients except butter crackers and butter. Pour into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spread evenly.
- Crush butter crackers and spread over top of chicken salad mixture. Top with pats of butter.
- Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes until lightly browned and heated throughout.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Going to make this today! Thank you!
Hope you enjoy, Judith!
This is exactly what my grandmother used to serve at her club meetings! I can’t eat dairy or gluten, so I exchanged the sour cream for an equal amount of dairy free yogurt, and gluten free crackers and dairy free butter on top, along with dairy free cheese. Thanks for taking me back to grandma’s house!
Brooke, I’m glad this recipe took you back to memories of your grandma’s house. Thanks for telling us how you make this dairy and gluten free.
My husband and I love this recipe. I add some chopped onion and to make it low carb, I use pork panko instead of crackers. So good I am making it tonight!
I’m glad you and your husband like this recipe! Thanks.
My grandmother made a very similar recipe, but added a couple of boiled eggs all cut up. Also instead of sour cream she used cream of chicken soup. I love the idea of slivered almonds though and swapping the soup for sour cream. Instead of crackers, toasted bread crumbs would work. Panko bread crumbs hold their texture so that would also be pretty tasty. I like chunky celery so I used to parboil the celery a bit before adding. Going to revive this dish for my family and see if it just as good as I remember from a couple of decades ago! Thanks!
I see you mention subbing in yogurt instead of mayo. Is it a one to one sub? I can’t do mayo either. So 1/4 cup sour cream and 1 cup yogurt with Mustard?
Yes, Debbie. You would use the same amount of yogurt as the recipe states for mayonnaise. So 1/4 cup sour cream and 1 cup yogurt with bit of mustard. Hope you enjoy!
Can I omit sour cream?
I have been making this for at least 50 years. However, I put it in a pie crust and don’t use crackers. Everybody loves it and asks me for the recipe. Some are surprised about it being a HOT chicken salad, but end up loving it. It is usually requested when I go to a potluck.
This was delicious! Will be making again! Thanks for posting!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this hot chicken salad. One of our favorites!
I made this tonight and it was really good. But I added a pinch of red pepper to give it a little “kick”
Came across this recipe recently and decided to give it a try. Wow! We love it! Other hot chicken salad recipes I’ve found are more like a chicken casserole with cream-of-something soups. Yours is perfect! The only change I made was adding slivered almonds. We will definitely be making this again!