This Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad is creamy, crunchy and sweet at the same time! A delicious, make ahead lunch, snack or light dinner. Pile on rolls, make a wrap, add a scoop to your salad or serve on apple slices for a tart bite!
Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
This Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad has everything you want in a chicken salad recipe. It’s creamy, crunchy, tangy and sweet at the same time. A make ahead recipe that you can serve for holidays, parties or for a luncheon.
- Make Ahead Recipe: You can make this chicken salad up to 2 days ahead of time, with a couple of adjustments to the recipe. We like to stir in the pecans right before serving so that they stay crunchy.
- Easy To Make: This chicken salad only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish, a great way to use up leftover chicken.
- Versatile: You can easily swap out the ingredients here and add what you like or have on hand. See the post below for ideas.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cooked Chicken: A great way to use up leftover chicken, or you can use a rotisserie chicken. Diced or shredded work, however you like it.
- Pecans: Chopped pecans.
- Dried Cranberries: Dried cranberries are sweet and tart, adding a wonderful balance to this creamy chicken salad.
- Celery: Crunchy, diced celery.
- Mayonnaise: We like to use regular mayonnaise but you can substitute low fat as well.
- Dijon Mustard: Pretty much any mustard will work in this recipe, we like the flavor of dijon but whole grain, country style, or yellow mustard all work, too.
- Red Wine Vinegar: Adds a tangy flavor and helps to loosen the dressing.
- Parsley: For a fresh, bright flavor.
How To Make Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
It’s so easy to make this chicken salad, you’ll wonder why you don’t make it all the time. It keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days and can be used in so many different ways.
- Make The Dressing: Start by making the dressing in the bottom of a large bowl by combining the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper and whisking until smooth.
- Add The Chicken Salad Ingredients: Add diced chicken, pecans, celery, dried cranberries and parsley to the bowl and toss with the dressing.
- Chill And Serve: Cover and chill the chicken salad for at least 30 minutes before serving. Overnight or up to 2 days is also good. If you’re making this recipe ahead of time, add the pecans right before serving.
Variations
There’s so many different ingredients that you can add to this cranberry pecan chicken salad. Pretty much any nuts you like, or even some fruits and vegetables.
- Nuts: Walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, peanuts or almonds are all great choices.
- Fruits: Sliced grapes, diced apples, even berries can be added to chicken salad.
- Instead of Dried Cranberries: Add raisins, dried apricots or dried figs.
- Turkey: You can also use leftover turkey instead of chicken.
Looking For More Chicken Salad Recipes?
- Chicken Salad with Grapes and Walnuts
- Caramelized Onion Chicken Salad
- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
- Chicken Caesar Bruschetta
Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: No Cook
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeCranberry Pecan Chicken Salad is tangy, crunchy and creamy all at once! There’s so many ways to enjoy this delicious chicken salad, in wraps, on a salad or mounded onto thin apple slices for a delicious snack or appetizer.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked diced chicken
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced pecans
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (can substitute raisins)
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Mix the mayonnaise, dijon, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl until smooth.
- Add the chicken, celery, pecans, dried cranberries and parsley into the bowl and toss together with the dressing until combined.
- Taste the chicken salad for seasonings and adjust if needed. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Stir the chicken salad before serving.
Recipe Notes
The chicken salad can be made and eaten right away, but if you have time to let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours the flavors will come together better! If you do have time and can let it sit, just stir in the chopped pecans right before serving.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stir
- Cuisine: American
