Cranberry Chicken Salad

This cranberry chicken salad is made with shredded rotisserie chicken, diced celery, snipped chives, bits of red onion, roasted pecans, and tart, dried cranberries. A simple mayonnaise honey dijon dressing brings it all together.

It is an easy and versatile recipe. Check the recipe notes for recipe variations (like adding crispy bacon)!

5 from 8 votes

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Prep Time: 20

Total Time: 20

Servings: to 8 Servings

Calories: 529kcal

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

For the Chicken Salad:

1-½ pounds cooked and shredded chicken meat
1 cup diced celery about 2 stalks
1 cup chopped roasted pecans
1 cup dried cranberries
⅓ cup finely chopped red onion
⅓ cup chopped fresh chives

For the Salad Dressing:

¾ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper or black

Instructions

In a large salad bowl, add the chicken, celery, pecans, cranberries, onion and chives and toss to combine.
To make the salad dressing, add the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, salt and pepper in a dish and whisk together. Mix the salad dressing with the chicken salad mixture and blend well.
Serve on salad greens garnished with fresh chives or on a croissant as a chicken salad sandwich.

Notes

Any cooked chicken will work for this salad. I used part of a rotisserie chicken. You can use chicken thighs, legs, or chicken breast meat (chopped or shredded). You can also substitute the chicken for leftover turkey.
Serve on a bed of greens as a salad or heaped into a sliced croissant for a sandwich.
This is also delicious as appetizers on crunchy crackers or in a lettuce wrap.

Recipe Variations

A few suggestions for flavorful add-ins:

Bacon crumbles
Grapes (halved)
Chopped apples
Diced radish
Green onions

Nutrition