Savory Chicken Salad Quick and Easy
A savory chicken salad is the only chicken salad my family will eat. No fruit, no nuts!
We are not fans of the typically sweet, fruity, nutty chicken salad. Nor do we like boiled eggs and sweet pickle relish in our chicken salad.
So I’ve always just made my own version. Which we think is the best chicken salad ever!
The crunch in our savory chicken salad comes from celery. If you’re not a celery fan, this chicken salad is not for you.
With that said, I am supremely confident if you give this easy chicken salad recipe a whirl, you won’t be disappointed. Man, it makes a great chicken salad sandwich!
How To Make Chicken Salad Video
How To Make A Savory Chicken Salad
Debone a whole cooked chicken. Store-bought rotisserie chicken is perfect for this chicken salad.
Or make this Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken. You can also poach or roast a couple of chicken breasts.
I despise shredding meat. The easiest way I’ve found to shred chicken is with an electric mixer.
In a large bowl, combine the chicken, celery, mayo, black pepper, salt, celery salt, dried dill, and dried parsley.
Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.
Serve on your favorite sandwich bread, crackers or just a bed of lettuce.
If you’re like us and prefer a less sweet chicken salad you are going to love this great recipe.
This makes a perfect chicken salad sandwich and is a great addition to all of your chicken salad recipes.
UPDATE: Several readers stated this is too salty.
I just made this with 1/2 teaspoon celery salt and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. When I asked my husband what he thought he said: “It needs salt”.
So start with 1/2 the celery salt and kosher salt called for in the recipe and then adjust to your taste.
Also, this recipe uses kosher salt, not table salt. There is a difference. A teaspoon of flaky kosher salt delivers less salty flavor than a teaspoon of table salt, which is more compact.
More Delicious Recipes
- Smoked Chicken Salad
- Macaroni Salad
- Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad
- Shrimp Salad Recipe
- Pan-Seared Salmon Salad with Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette
Savory Chicken Salad Recipe
Savory Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken, chopped or minced
- 3/4 cup celery, diced small
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley optional
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor add a mix of breast and thigh meat, pulse a few times until the meat is chopped fine.
- Measure 3 cups of chopped chicken into a large bowl. Add the finely chopped celery. If desired add 2 or 3 diced green onions.
- In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, celery salt, dried dill, dried parsley, kosher salt, and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the chicken and celery and stir to combine thoroughly.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. This would be a great easy recipe for summer.
Thanks, Lindsay! I hope you enjoy it.
For us onion lovers, I added some fine chopped red onions to this recipe! Adjust amount to your liking. Yummy!
Did the recipe just a min ago…didn’t have dill, so tried dill rellish…. tastes pretty good! Easy recipe too! Added some onion like one of the other commenters… just popped it in the fridge to let the flavors come together a couple hours and plan to make this into a sandwich. Thanks for this!
I love chicken salad and this sandwich looks amazing! I will take one to go please.
Leigh, I love chicken salad, but for some reason I never make it myself. I’m looking forward to trying your recipe! Thanks so much for sharing it with us at Brag About It! Have a super rest of the week!
Thank you, Laurie!
This is a lovely recipe, Leigh. I like all kinds of chicken salads, but I prefer the ones that are not too sweet so this is perfect for me. Scheduled to pin and will share on the new look Hearth and Soul Facebook page. Thank you for being a part of Hearth and Soul.
Thank you, April!
My husband and daughter LOVE this recipe! I too cut back on both salts and add some onion because they are onion lovers. This is my go to chicken salad recipe! Thanks.
Yum!! I’m always looking for lunch ideas – this would be perfect 🙂 Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday this week! I’ll be featuring your recipe at our next party 🙂
Thank you so much, Emily! Looking forward to next week! 🙂
I haven’t had a good chicken salad sandwich in a long time. Your recipe is going on my to make list! I’ll be featuring this at this week’s Brag About It Party. Thanks for sharing at the party!
Thank you so much, Beverly!
Your Chicken Salad looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday! Hope you are having a great week and come back to see us real soon.
Miz Helen
I made this & love it! But I would use maybe half the amount of salt called for. I’m salt lover and this was too salty.
Thanks, Gloria! We’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe. Salt tip noted. 🙂
I agree on the salty issue ! As I was adding the celery salt … I thoughtb. “Uh oh !!!” Would eliminate the Kosher salt next time … Otherwise …GREAT RECIPE … Thanks !
I made this yesterday – LOVE IT!! It’s exactly how I like it!!! I didn’t have any celery salt so I left that out and it’s fine. Love it!!! Thank you!
I’m so glad you like it!!!! Thank you so much for coming by to let us know 🙂
My recipe is a lot like this one. The difference is instead of dried parsley I use dried basil and I use celery seed instead of celery salt.
this is a real chicken salad recipe WITHOUT FRUIT OR NUTS. I will make but with less celery.
Loved it!!! So good!!! Thank you!!!
About how many sandwiches does this make?
Hi, Alyssa! I would say about 4 healthy stuffed sandwiches. Thanks for coming by!
This is great. That is my
Dad’s chicken salad recipe. It is great that you posted it. Sometimes I add a tbsp of minced shallot and or green pepper if I have some around. I think that this is what chicken salad is “supposed” to taste like.👍
We’re glad you liked it, Coena. Thanks!
My husband and daughter LOVE this recipe! I too cut back on both salts and add some onion because they are onion lovers. This is my go to chicken salad recipe! Thanks.
I worked in a grocery store deli over 20 years ago and we made something similar. I just made this but added red onion and a splash of Frank’s Red Hot. Just like I remember!
I have made this 3 times and I love it! Didn’t think I would like it without a sweet factor but the dill and celery salt is perfect. Thanks for sharing and showing me another way.
Hi, Diane. We are so happy to hear you like the recipe! Thank you so much for coming by and sharing with us.
I like the recipe very much but I use dill relish in place of dill salt .I actually use twice the amount of celery that you use . I like it real crunchy .Thanks for sharing .
Can you use miracle whip instead of mayo
You can but the salad will be more sweet than savory.
Hi! How long could you keep this in an airtight container?
About 3-5 days.
First time I used the celery salt and the kosher salt, and it about knocked us out… all we could taste was salt.. but this time I just used celery seed and kosher salt, (not quite 1/2 tsp) and it was the best chicken salad I have ever put in my mouth!! Hubby approved!
Really tasty chicken salad! Just made it for second time! I used 1/2 tsp celery salt and cut back on kosher salt as well. Added basil And a squeeze of fresh lemon.
I add a squirt of brown mustard and 2 shakes of worstershire sauce, less salt and it was very good on pumpernickel rolls
I, too, found it much too salty. I made a double batch, using 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and omitted the celery salt, and I still found it too salty. And I’m the one the kids say should cut back on salt consumption! So go easy on the salt if you try this. Otherwise, a good recipe.
I’ve been making chicken salad for family and friends for years and this recipe is basically the same as mine however my family isn’t a big mayo fan so I use half mayo and half sour cream. We love green onions in our and I do add cashews, the ones I use are organic whole roasted from Walmart so I’m stingy with the salt. We love to take it in a cooler on road trips with a loaf of good bread and make a yummy sandwich in the car!
Hello! I made this the other day and it’s fantastic!! It’s just the way I like it!!! I didn’t have any celery salt, so I skipped it and it turned out great. It’s fantastic!!! Thank you very much!
This was a delicious recipe! Made as written + some dill relish & a splash of dill pickle juice to replace the dry dill! Will definitely be making this again!
Thanks so much! Glad you liked it!
Which mayo do you use?
We are a Duke’s mayo kind of family 🙂
I love this recipe. I don’t use the kosher salt. I just use the celery salt. That is the only change I made based on reading some of the reviews. It was so good last week so I made it again for this week.