Rotisserie Chicken Salad - Easy Chicken Salad Recipe with Apples (2024)

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Looking for a delightful twist to classic chicken salad? This easy cranberry chicken salad recipe is full of tender chicken breasts, crunchy pecans, tart cranberries and a sweet, tart dressing.

When there are croissants on the kitchen counter, my family knows one thing. We’re having chicken salad sandwiches!

I’ve been using this creamy chicken salad recipe for years. It’s a quick lunch or a quick snack, something that’s great to have in the fridge for a high protein (and tasty) option!

This easy chicken salad is wonderful for special occasions. I like using it for bridal showers, baby showers and brunch! To save time, you can use pre-cooked chicken, like a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, or drained, canned chicken. You can also use leftover chicken. Cubed or shredded!

The tangy dressing is special with because of a few special additions. Honey and champagne vinegar! The same additions I use for this very special lettuce salad.

Recipe Substitutions:

• For the Champagne Vinegar: Substitute lemon juice, lime juice, white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
• For the Mayo: Substitute plain Greek yogurt to make this a more healthy recipe.
• ​For the pecans: Substitute walnuts.
• For the sweet cranberries: Substitute diced dried cherries, dried apricots or raisins.
• For the chicken: Substitute leftover diced turkey.

Recipe Additions:

This is a simple recipe! There are several additions that are wonderful with it, including:

• crunchy celery
• a few tablespoons of leftover cranberry sauce
• green onions, fresh thyme or rosemary

How much chicken salad per person?

I plan on about 3/4 cup of chicken salad per person, assuming there is a side dish served as well. You may want to plan for less (1/2 cup) or more (up to 1 cup) depending on what else is being served!

Serving Suggestions: What to Serve with Chicken Salad

Storing Leftover Chicken Salad

Chicken salad will last for 3-4 days in your refrigerator in an airtight container.

Keep in mind, as each day passes, the quality of the chicken salad will deteriorate! This is especially true for the crunchy ingredients like apples and nuts. They will soften over time.

Rotisserie Chicken Salad

Yield: Serves 5

Prep Time: 10 minutes

See Also

Chicken Salad Sandwich Recipe — Salt & BakerMake Ahead Veggie Breakfast Casserole Recipe | Little Spice JarEasy Chicken Divan RecipeSkillet Turkey Pot Pie with Biscuit Topping Recipe

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

A delicious twist on traditional chicken salad, with diced chicken breast, granny smith apples, pecans, cranberries, gorgonzola and a honey champagne dressing.

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced cooked chicken breast
• 1 cup diced Granny Smith apple
• 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• ½ cup gorgonzola cheese crumbles (sub feta or goat cheese crumbles if you prefer)
• ½ cup candied or glazed pecans
• ¼ red onion, finely minced

For the dressing:

• ½ cup light mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Combine chicken, apple, cheese, cranberries, pecans and onion in a medium sized mixing bowl. Toss to combine.
2. In a smaller bowl, combine mayo, honey, vinegar, sugar, and salt and pepper. Mix well to combine with fork or whisk.
3. Pour mayo dressing over chicken mixture. Stir to combine. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve, serve cold.

Nutrition Information

Yield 6Serving Size 1
Amount Per ServingCalories 291Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 51mgSodium 419mgCarbohydrates 35gFiber 2gSugar 30gProtein 17g

The nutrition for this recipe is calculated by an app and may be incorrect.

Did you make this recipe?

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originally published on Jul 27, 2015 (last updated Jul 11, 2023)

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