Chicken Salad with Grapes

Chicken Salad with Grapes is such an easy and healthy sandwich recipe to make for potlucks, parties, a quick lunch, or backyard barbecues.  It is the best homemade chicken salad recipe that is made with shredded rotisserie chicken, toasted pecans, seedless grapes, and a mixture of mayonnaise and hummus.

Want a few other healthy and easy picnic food ideas?  You might also enjoy this Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad, Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad, Italian Dressing Pasta Salad, and this Mexican Street Corn Salad.

Chicken Salad Recipe – Easy + Homemade

There are so many different theories when it comes to making a homemade chicken salad recipe.

Some grew up with apples, others with grapes, cranberries, or even raisins.

People make it with mayonnaise and mustard, while others add a pinch of curry powder.

But at the end of the day, one thing remains the same… a chicken salad sandwich always has a place at the potluck or picnic table!

Best Chicken Salad with Grapes!

My husband grew up making curried chicken salad sandwiches while my way of making it includes a blend of crunchy pecans and seedless grapes.

Eventually I will end up posting all of the different variations we make at home, but for today… we’re going traditional and making a healthy chicken salad with grapes!

Below you will learn what chicken salad ingredients you will need, the best chicken to use, how to make chicken salad with grapes, what makes this recipe healthy, different ways to serve chicken salad, and a few tips and answers to your frequently asked questions.

Chicken Salad Ingredients

There are a few basic ingredients that you will need for this chicken salad recipe, many of which you probably already have on hand.

Ingredients in Chicken Salad:

• Cooked Chicken
• Mayonnaise – You can use a Paleo-approved mayonnaise that is made with avocado oil if you prefer.
• Hummus – Feel free to substitute more mayonnaise if you do not like hummus.
• Salt and pepper – Adjust to your taste preference.
• Mustard – Dijon or yellow mustard work great.
• Celery – Finely chopped is the way to go!
• Pecans – Make sure you toast them!  Also, feel free to use toasted almonds, walnuts, or cashews instead.
• Dill – The secret ingredients to making this chicken salad so flavorful!
• Grapes – Be sure to get the seedless grapes.   Red or green grapes will work equally as well.

Best Chicken for a Chicken Salad Sandwich

You might be wondering, “What kind of chicken should I use in a chicken salad recipe?”

The easiest and best kind of chicken to get when making a homemade chicken salad is a rotisserie chicken.

Using a rotisserie chicken will not only save you a lot of time, but it is also loaded with flavor since you will use both dark and white meat.

One rotisserie chicken will generally give you between 4 and 5 cups of shredded chicken.

Cook’s Tip: Opt for a natural, or traditional, flavored chicken so as not to have any conflicting flavors.

However, if you have extra chicken breasts on hand you can also cook and shred some Instant Pot Chicken or Crock-Pot Chicken for this chicken salad recipe.

How to Make Chicken Salad with Grapes?

These are the steps you will follow when making a chicken salad with grapes:

1. Combine cooked, shredded chicken in a large bowl with mayonnaise, hummus, mustard, salt and pepper.  Stir until chicken is well coated.
2. Add celery, toasted pecans, grapes, and dill.  Stir until ingredients are well combined.
3. Chill chicken salad for at least 2 hours before serving.
4. Serve chicken salad as a sandwich, in a lettuce wrap, or with crackers and enjoy!

A Healthier Chicken Salad

In order to make this chicken salad recipe a little healthier for you, hummus is used in place of some of the mayonnaise.  (It also adds INCREDIBLE flavor to the recipe!)

Additionally, less mayonnaise and hummus are used overall in the recipe compared to other, traditional chicken salad recipes.

If you want to make this recipe even healthier, opt for a Paleo-approved, avocado oil-based mayonnaise.

On the other hand, if you do not want to use hummus, you can always replace the hummus with more mayonnaise.

How to Serve Chicken Salad?

Chicken salad goes beyond just your typical sandwich and can be served in a variety of ways:

• Sandwich Bread:  The most iconic (and in my opinion, the best!) way to serve chicken salad.  Honey wheat, store bought gluten-free bread, your own gluten-free sandwich bread recipe, or traditional white sandwich bread all pair amazingly well with homemade chicken salad.
• Lettuce Wrap: If you’re on a low-carb or keto diet, opt for a Bibb or butter leaf lettuce wrap.
• Croissant:  Take it up a notch and serve your chicken salad like Jason’s Deli does — on a buttery croissant!
• Crackers: Serving it up at a party or picnic?  Sturdy crackers are great for scooping out a big bite of chicken salad.

How Long Does Chicken Salad Last?

Chicken salad will last up to 3-5 days when refrigerated immediately after making.  Please note, this is 3-5 days starting the day the chicken is cooked, not the day the chicken salad is made.

Since chicken salad is made with temperature sensitive ingredients (i.e. mayonnaise) do not let it sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours at a party or potluck.  If the ambient temperature is greater than 85-90 degrees do not let it sit out for more than 1 hour.

Can You Freeze Chicken Salad?

Since mayonnaise generally separates after freezing and then thawing, I would not recommend freezing your chicken salad.

How to Make Chicken Salad Keto and Low-Carb?

To make your chicken salad low-carb and keto compliant, leave out the grapes (you can replace with more nuts if you’d like!) and serve it in a lettuce wrap or on Parmesan cheese whisps.

More Rotisserie Chicken Recipes:

• Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Easy Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
• Baked Chicken Taquitos Recipe
• More healthy chicken recipes.

4.5 from 4 votes

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Chicken Salad with Grapes

Chicken Salad with Grapes is such an easy and healthy sandwich recipe to make for potlucks, parties, a quick lunch, or backyard barbecues that is made with shredded rotisserie chicken, pecans, grapes, and mayonnaise.

Course Dinner, lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken salad, chicken salad sandwich, chicken salad with grapes

Prep Time 30 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 227 kcal

Author London

Ingredients

• 4 ½ cups chicken cooked, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• ⅓ cup hummus plain or garlic
• ½ - ¾ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 ½ Tbsp. dill finely chopped
• ½ cup celery finely diced
• ¾ cup pecans toasted
• 1 cup grapes cut into bite-sized pieces.

Instructions

1. In a large bowl add chicken, mayonnaise, hummus, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste . Stir until chicken is well coated.
2. Add dill, celery, pecans, and grapes. Stir until just combined so as not to break apart the grapes.
3. Chill chicken salad for at least 2 hours before serving.
4. Serve chicken salad as a sandwich, in a lettuce wrap, or with crackers. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

• Chicken salad nutritional information is calculated without sandwich bread, lettuce wrap, or crackers.
• You can use an avocado oil-based mayonnaise.
• To make your chicken salad low-carb and keto compliant, leave out the grapes (you can replace with more nuts if you'd like!) and serve it in a lettuce wrap or on Parmesan cheese whisps.

Nutrition Facts

Chicken Salad with Grapes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 227 Calories from Fat 171

% Daily Value*

Fat 19g29%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Cholesterol 27mg9%

Sodium 260mg11%

Potassium 192mg5%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 4g4%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 295IU6%

Vitamin C 3.6mg4%

Calcium 25mg3%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.