Perfect for meal prep this easy cranberry chicken salad recipe uses rotisserie chicken. Serve on a bed of lettuce or use it for sandwich filling.
If you like this recipe, check out my Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders next!
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If you’re like me you often look for your next favorite chicken salad recipe. This one is mine. It’s loaded with sweet cranberries, toasty pine nuts and a couple of “secret” ingredients. It’s currently my favorite version of chicken salad and hopefully will be yours too.
I think the best chicken salad recipe goes light on mayo, so all the flavors can shine through. It’s a hearty, spreadable salad. Perfect for filling lettuce cups or buttery croissants. You could even plop some on top of tart apple slices in the cooler months.
More of my delicious recipes
Ingredients for the best cranberry chicken salad recipe
- Chicken Breast – I like using pulled chicken from my grocery store deli. Or buy a rotisserie chicken and use the breast and/or chicken thighs. Or if you’d like to use tender chicken breast, I have an easy recipe for how to make frozen chicken in the crock pot.
- Dried Cranberries – A generous amount of cranberries provides lots of flavor and sweetness.
- Pine Nuts – Crunchy pecans are often used with cranberries, but I like the sophisticated and slightly smoky flavor toasted pine nuts add instead.
- Real Mayo – The base for this dressing, just enough to bind the ingredients together. Use good mayonnaise or even a homemade mayonnaise recipe.
- Worcestershire Sauce – Adds another layer of smoky flavor which pairs really nicely with the sweetened cranberries.
- Celery – Love the fresh flavor that crunchy celery adds to this salad.
- Parsley – Adds fresh herby flavor plus some vibrant green color to the salad.
- Garlic Powder – Another layer of flavor to make this a really stand-out salad.
- Salt – Helps to balance out the sweet flavor of this chicken salad.
Instructions for delicious cranberry chicken salad
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and salt until smooth.
- Add the chicken, dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts, chopped celery and parsley. Stir until well combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour or overnight before serving.
- For measurements of these simple ingredients keep scrolling to the bottom of this post for my free printable recipe card.
Helpful tips
- Add a little olive oil to the pan to help toast your pine nuts. In a small skillet over medium heat, add about a teaspoon of olive oil to the pine nuts. This will make your kitchen smell good and help the pine nuts to brown more evenly.
- This chicken salad is better the next day. Make this salad the night before an event to let the flavors have time to harmonize together.
- If you like more dressing on your salad do it! Add an extra tablespoon or two of mayonnaise and a little fresh lemon juice to my recipe.
Serving suggestions
I love good old fashioned chicken salad sandwiches served with a pile of potato chips! Or on a buffet set out with a tray of romaine lettuce leaves or artisan lettuce cups. Then serve a trio of salads – chicken salad, egg salad and tuna salad. Here’s some of my recipes for inspiration –
- Mexican Tuna Salad
- Deviled Eggs with Relish
- Benedictine Sandwich
- Clubhouse Sandwich
- Deviled Strawberries
Storage directions
Place any leftover chicken salad in an airtight container. It will stay fresh in your refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Kitchen tools
- A small non-stick frying pan for toasting the pine nuts
- My favorite set of magnetic measuring spoons for measuring ingredients
- A set of durable airtight containers for storing leftovers or for food prep
Cranberry Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups rotisserie chicken chopped
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup pine nuts toasted
- 2 ribs celery finely chopped
- 2 tbsp parsley finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and salt until smooth.
- Add the chicken, dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts, chopped celery and parsley. Stir until well combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour or overnight before serving.
Nutrition
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