I don’t know how it is in your house, but in our house, chicken salad is beloved and Classic Chicken Salad is our go-to recipe. Classic Chicken Salad works great for our family. My husband turns it into a sandwich and I love to eat it on top of a crispy romaine lettuce salad (because you know I love a good salad) with cucumbers, tomatoes, and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
There are many variations on chicken salad – everything from spicy and lemon and herb to curry and sweet. As chicken salad connoisseurs, we love all of the variations – they’re delicious and believe me, we’ve tried them all! However, Classic Chicken Salad, with just a few ingredients, remains the family favorite disappearing from our refrigerator almost as fast as a bottle of wine.
How to Prepare Classic Chicken Salad
Classic Chicken Salad comes together in three easy steps – prepare and shred the chicken, chop the celery and onion, and mix it up!
Three Ways to Cook the Chicken
The star of Classic Chicken Salad is the chicken itself. There are three ways I recommend cooking the chicken for Classic Chicken Salad.
No-Cook Chicken
If you’re crunched for time or simply just don’t want to cook and prepare chicken for this recipe – no problem! A rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is a fantastic, extremely easy option for preparing Classic Chicken Salad. One rotisserie chicken is all you’ll need.
Sous Vide Chicken
If you’re not familiar with Sous Vide, you’re missing out! This water-bath style of cooking is brought to us by the French and is a home cook’s dream. I used to be partial to using rotisserie chicken for Classic Chicken Salad, but Sous Vide chicken breasts have quickly become my go-to method.
For this option, you simply set the Sous Vide at 140 degrees, and once it’s up to temperature, place the chicken in a zip-top freezer bag, seal it up, and place it in the water bath for two to four hours.
You’ll need to plan slightly ahead to use this option for preparing the chicken but it’s well worth it. You can do this a day or two in advance if needed.
Oven-roasted Chicken
Oven-roasted chicken is a great option when preparing Classic Chicken Salad. It’s sort of a “set it and forget it” method and takes less than an hour.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, season the chicken with salt and pepper, drizzle over two tbsp of olive oil and bake on an un-greased baking sheet for 45 minutes.
Shred the Chicken
Once you’ve prepared your chicken, let it cool before shredding. This makes it easier for you to handle but also ensures you don’t lose any of the juices. Shred the chicken into medium-sized pieces and set it aside in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Chop the Celery and Onions
The celery and onions are key ingredients in Classic Chicken Salad. They add a much-needed crunch throughout the dish and the red onion gives it a bit of a tangy, sharp bite that cuts through the mayonnaise perfectly.
Celery
Cut each stalk down the center lengthwise creating two smaller stalks. Then, cut each smaller stalk down the center lengthwise again. You should end up with four celery stalks about ¼ inch thick. Line them up next to each other, then run your knife through them horizontally, creating small celery squares (aka fine dice).
Red Onion
Peel your onion as you typically would, then slice it in half through the end of the onion, leaving the root intact (this holds the onion together). Now, run your knife horizontally through the cut end of the onion starting at the bottom, working your way to the top, slicing just until you reach the root, but not going through. Now you’re going to do the opposite. Run your knife vertically through the onion in ¼ inch sections left to right. This creates a crosshatch pattern. Once your pattern is created, slice horizontally over the entire onion in ¼ inch sections, which will create fine dice.
Once the celery and onion are diced up, add them to the mixing bowl with the shredded chicken, and stir to combine. It should look like a purple, green, and white confetti mix.
Mix it All Up
To the shredded chicken, celery, and red onions, add the dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Mix it well to evenly distribute the ingredients. Next, add the mayonnaise starting with ¼ cup at a time, mixing vigorously after each addition. The vigorous mixing will ensure you have a homogenous mixture! Continue adding mayonnaise ¼ cup at a time – up to one full cup – until you’ve reached your desired creaminess.
Classic Chicken Salad is very easy to make and is sure to become a year-round staple for your family!
Classic Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 4 C Chicken, cooked and shredded About 2 large chicken breasts, 1 rotisserie chicken, 5 chicken thighs
- 1 C Mayonaise
- 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 3/4 C Celery, Diced About 4 medium celery stalks
- 3/4 C Red Onion, Diced About 1/2 a large red onion or one full medium red onion
- 1 Tsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Cook the chicken according to your preferred method, let it cool completely, then shred it up with your hands and/or two forks.
- Dice up the celery and red onion.
- Once the chicken is shredded and the celery and onion are diced, add them to a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine until the celery, red onion, and shredded chicken are evenly distributed. It should look like a purple, green, and white confetti mix.
- Add the salt and pepper and combine again to ensure the seasoning is evenly distributed.
- Add in the mayonnaise starting with ¼ cup (a heaping spoonful) followed by the dijon mustard. Stir it up well to fully combine.
- Continue adding mayonnaise ¼ cup (a heaping spoonful) at a time until the mixture has reached your desired creaminess. If you do not add the full Cup of mayonnaise, it's ok! During this process, mix with some vigor! You want the mayonnaise and dijon to marry up the chicken, celery, and red onion to create a homogenous blend.
- Once fully mixed, give it a taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Place in a food storage container and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Add a portion (about 1/2 cup) to the top of a mixed-greens or crunchy romaine salad.
- Serve as a sandwich on delicious multi-grain bread with a slice of tomato.
- Add a teaspoon-sized portion to the end of an endive leaf, arranged on a platter.
- Add a 1/4 cup-sized portion to the middle of butter lettuce leaves.
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