Summer Chicken Salad


                                                            Photo credit: Southern Living


Well!  I couldn't have been more surprised, but the new to me chicken salad idea was a big hit with my husband.   Yes, it really was and I very nearly had NO leftovers, at all.    It was simple enough to make and didn't involve heating the kitchen up, so a big score on that side, as well.

I'm calling the dish Summer Chicken Salad.



I didn't follow a recipe per se but simply looked at variations of the salad across various websites and then used my own idea of  what I thought John would find acceptable in a salad.  It was delicious and had plenty of flavor.

I served the chicken salad  with lettuce leaves to use as wraps, deviled eggs (a treat for John) and crackers.  In future, I think hot biscuits or Croissants would be excellent alongside this.  I'm in agreement with you all that a cold entrée just needs a hot dish accompaniment.


Summer Chicken Salad

 1 cooked chicken breast, diced
1 cup halved grapes
1/ 2 cup chopped pecan pieces
1 large stalk celery diced
2 or 3 green onions (mine were larger so I used 2), sliced thin including green tops
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken, grapes, pecans, celery and green onion in a serving bowl.  Mix dressing components.  Add to bowl with salad ingredients and mix well.  Chill.

That's how I made my salad.  There were many variations, such as the photo above which uses red and green grapes.  I saw versions with no grapes and raisins, with grapes and dried cranberries, a version with grapes and apple and another with apple and cranberries and no grapes.  The fruit and chicken salad is apparently a popular one!

We really enjoyed this and I expect to serve it again this summer.  Let me know if you've tried it or already make a version of this salad.  Tell us how you typically serve it.  I can use ideas!

8 comments:

Debby in KS said...

I have tasted a variety of this very similar (or identical) to the one you posted. I agree that it is delicious. My friend at church makes them for events & we always eat them all up. I've had the salad on lettuce, croissants, bread, & rolls. A winner every way.
Surprisingly filling, as well.

Lana said...

I have to confess that I do not like sweet with meat so I would be the one to nix this recipe. It always looks good to me but I just don't care for the combination of flavors.

I often do hot bread by making Texas toast on the stove top in a skillet which hardly heats up the kitchen at all.

Becky L said...

Try it with dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and a dash of garlic powder.

Rhonda said...

This one sounds really good because it is similar to how I make chicken salad. I like red grapes, toasted pecans and celery.

Way back when I was in 4-H and did competition demonstrations, I made a chicken salad with white chicken, mayo, green grapes, a diced orange and a sliced banana. It was served with "yesterday's dinner rolls, toasted with a heavy amount of cinnamon and sugar"
That is one of the lines I remember saying. I was about 10 and I guess my mom wrote my script and came up the recipe. I mixed up these prepared Ingredients as I did the demonstration and the salad was always gobbled up by whoever was there.
That was a fun memory but the Fruited Chicken Salad is really good.

terricheney said...

Lana, this does not have a sweet taste. In fact, with the onion and the flavor of the chicken it tastes savory. The grapes are just a different texture than the rest of the ingredients and they were quite sweet when eating them plain.

Rhonda, I love that 'yesterday's dinner rolls' line, lol. I would think orange would be quite nice in the salad but I don't know about banana...I'd have to try that.

Margie from Toronto said...

I make mine with steamed broccoli, chopped walnuts and dried cranberries - I also often add a bit of curry powder to the mayo.

Kay said...

I love this kind of chicken salad. I've added diced apples or craisins or grapes or even firm peaches before. Serve on bread or croissants or in a tomato with crackers or with toasted banana muffins. I do like a little sweetness in my "XX" salad sandwiches. I add sweet relish to tuna & egg salad. Just a small amount to add some flavor. If I'm the only one eating the chicken salad I add pecans or almonds. In egg or tuna I add celery & onion for "crunch."

Tammy said...

I like this version of chicken salad. I might have to follow your recipe and make some for my lunches.
A couple of weeks ago I made avocado ranch chicken salad which Greg really liked.
Bradley, Nick, and Greg all love deviled eggs, so I try to make them whenever I have boiled eggs that aren't being eaten very quickly. Then they are!