This Chicken Salad is packed with sweet apples and crunchy celery. It is great for barbecues, picnics and quick lunches during the week. Whip this together in just 15 minutes!
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🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Great way to use up leftover chicken. This is the perfect recipe if you have chicken left over from dinner last night or extra rotisserie chicken you need to use up.
- Quick and easy recipe. The chicken salad comes together in just about 15 minutes! It's the perfect lunch for busy days.
- Super versatile. You can eat this salad as is, throw it into a wrap or put it on a bed of lettuce.
🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken- this recipe calls for cooked chicken. Use leftover chicken breasts, thighs or rotisserie chicken. If you don't have cooked chicken ready to go, cook some breasts or thighs in the oven or on the stove seasoning it with just salt and pepper.
- Apple- use a crunchy apple here like Honeycrisp. Pears or grapes would be a great substitute for the apple.
- Celery- adds more crunch to the chicken salad.
See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.
📖Variations
- Add nuts for some extra crunch and texture. Almonds, pecans and walnuts are all great options.
- Diced red onion or green onions would both be great options.
- Use Greek yogurt instead of mayo for a tangier taste.
🔪Instructions
- Begin by chopping the cooked chicken, celery and apple and add them to a large bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix to combine. Serve and enjoy!
💭Recipe FAQS
When making chicken salad or any salad with apples, you should reach for a crunchy apple that takes a little longer to turn brown. I recommend Pink Lady, Fuji and Honeycrisp.
This chicken salad recipe can be frozen however, I wouldn't recommend it. Mayonnaise doesn't stand up very well to freezing and will separate when thawed. If you want to freeze this salad do so before adding the mayo.
Yes. If you don't like mayo or prefer not to use it, you can replace it with Greek yogurt or sour cream.
👩🏻🍳Chef Tips
- Store the chicken salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Use plain precooked chicken that isn't coated in any sauce or very strong seasonings.
- Adjust the amount of mayo to your taste. Some people prefer a lot of mayo in their chicken salad and some prefer just a little bit.
🥗Serving
Serve this as an appetizer at parties or as a meal by adding it to wraps or your favorite sandwich bread.
Add this chicken salad to my Roasted Sweet Potato Salad or alongside these Air Fryer Frozen Seasoned Fries.
More Salad Recipes
🍳Recipe
Chicken Salad with Apples
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 apple, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Begin by chopping or shredding the cooked chicken. Cut the celery and apple into ½-inch pieces. Add everything to a large bowl.
- Add the dijon mustard, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and lemon juice to the bowl.
- Mix everything together until well combined. Serve immediately on your favorite bread, over lettuce or as is.
Notes
- Store the chicken salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Use plain precooked chicken that isn't coated in any sauce or very strong seasonings.
- Adjust the amount of mayo to your taste. Some people prefer a lot of mayo in their chicken salad and some prefer just a little bit.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Roger says
I made this today exactly according to recipe. Very good,
Sarah Holt says
Hi Roger, really happy you enjoyed this!
Jason says
Nice easy and excellent.
Sarah Holt says
Hi Jason, so glad you enjoyed it!