It seems like a week doesn’t go by that I’m not eating chicken salad at least for lunch or dinner {or sometimes both} these days. Over the years I’ve probably made this super simple recipe for chicken salad at least 500 times.
I like it not only because it nutritious, tastes great and fills me up, but also because I never have to run to the store for any special ingredients, I always seem to have the ingredients on hand. ALWAYS. And as an added bonus, this recipe only runs about 565 calories {a fact I didn’t even know until I tallied up all the ingredients just now}.
And when I mentioned it fills me up, most times when I make this, I make it for lunch, eat half of it, pop it in the fridge and then eat the rest for dinner. So I guess if you were counting calories, it could be considered a low calorie meal.
Chicken and apples… and a few extra things thrown in, who knew it would become my favorite go to meal?
Here’s the recipe, I hope you like it as much as I do.
And if you have a favorite quick and easy go to meal you’re making all the time… I’d love to hear about it.
Peace Out.
~Mavis
My Favorite Chicken Salad Recipe – Made with Costco Canned Chicken
Ingredients
12.5 oz can Costco chicken breast, drained
1 Fuji apple, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons sweet relish
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
Place all the ingredients in a bowl, mix them up and serve on a bed of lettuce, on toasted bread or just eat it out of the bowl {my favorite way}.
Katie says
My husband and I love chicken salad. I will try this recipe for sure! We have a restaurant here (it is a chain BUT it’s really good) that serves like 20 different kinds of chicken salad. One of my favorites is a savory salad with cayenne.
Nan says
I’ve never bought canned chicken in my life but I might try making chicken salad from it. I buy whole chicken breasts and steam them, cut off the meat and then add my other ingredients- a lot more work but it makes a lot and I get some good chicken broth to freeze. I always add celery and onions too.
Jennifer says
We add apple, craisins, mayo and curry powder to our chicken salad…and sometimes dill and celery seed 🙂 It’s tasty. Looking forward to trying your recipe!
Mavis Butterfield says
Hey… curry! I’m going to try that. Thanks.
Laura says
Try curry with cashews. It’s really good. Make sure you put a little ground ginger in with the curry. It’s good.
Barbara says
try a dash of Old Bay Seasoning…also good on tuna salad.
Erin says
I love the Costco chicken, but my family hates it. I use it in taco soup and in a more dill pickly salad. I found it when I tried Whole 30 and it is definitely a keeper. I am bookmarking this recipe to try next. Thanks for sharing!
Jennifer says
I like mine with Kraft poppyseed dressing and pecans and apples. Its sweet, but not overly so. I’ve never used canned chicken either.
Monica B says
Question, this looks SOOOO GOOD, but I hate mayo. Like I hate any type of mayo and I have tried them all plus the miracle whips and alike. Is there something I could use in its place? There has been some creamy pasta salads I have used sour cream in it’s place with mixed results. If there are none, I will just envy the pictures 🙂
Amanda says
I don’t know how you feel about plain yogurt, but I have replaced mayo with that quite often with excellent results. Just a thought!
Jennifer says
I’ve used sour cream – it is a little more sour, but if you season it well,I don’t think it would be noticeable.
Becky Williams says
Hi Monica. If you don’t mind me popping in. If you do not like mayo, just use any type of salad dressing that you like. Even a really good balsamic would be good. I like Catalina too. It doesn’t have to be a creamy dressing.
Monica B says
Thanks so much ladies! I will for sure try the plain yogurt and play around some more with the sour cream and try it with a non creamy dressing as well. 🙂
Elaine McCarty says
I’ve used plain greek yogurt to replace sour cream, or half the mayo in a recipe, since I’m not crazy about the results with all gr. yogurt.
Linda Sand says
My favorites are canned chicken with raisins, slivered almonds, and mayo.
I also like to make a dill dip with half sour cream and half mayo with dill weed and onion powder for the sauce on a chicken salad which is really good with grated carrots among the things in it.
Pat says
My daughter uses greek yogurt! Sometimes she uses a little Mayo with it. Tastes real good!! She uses greek yogurt in other salads also.
Mavis Butterfield says
Mrs. HB loves the Greek yogurt too.
Mimi says
I have a fear of canned chicken but I will be brave and give it a try!
Angie says
I was hoping you’d share this recipe, thanks.
Would love your fried rice recipe too!
Marian Braithwaite says
I can/bottle my own chicken when it comes on sale at our local store. I like that I can control the ingredients. You can actually can it without added salt and it makes its own broth. My married kids always “borrow” from my pantry. Those that live further away now have their own pressure canners and do their own.
Marcia says
I made this for dinner tonight. My husband and I both loved it. I am going to add a 1/2 cup of brown rice next time.
Jeanie H says
This is the best chicken salad recipe and I’ve been making chicken salad for 40 years! The grainy mustard and pickle relish are fabulous additions to basic ingredients! Bravo Mavis!
Elaine McCarty says
I make nearly the same chicken salad, but have never made it with canned chicken. Yesterday, someone gave me a can of chicken, so I’m making your recipe. I also put chopped celery in mine most of the time.
I love your blog, Mavis!
Cathy Lielausis says
I made this today with garlic and onion mustard. It was mega-delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Kirsten says
Can’t wait to try this…Thank you for sharing!
Diana says
I love chicken salad. It’s always the one thing I try in any deli/restaurant to see if theirs is any good. If it is, then I figure their other food must be ok, too, lol.
My ‘go to’ recipe uses a spice packet from a company called Savvy Gourmand. It’s their Pineapple Pecan Chicken Salad packet. It’s mostly used for a party dip, but you can modify it a little to use as a chicken salad for sandwiches. It has sour cream, cream cheese, Hellmans mayo and pineapple in the recipe, along with canned chicken, but I use baked chicken breasts instead and add more pecans to the finished product. I’m thinking of adding apples and grapes to my next version. It is absolutely DELISH! And it makes a ton. I end up eating it for over a week, lol.
Diane says
This looks so good! I will definitely be making it! My go to recipe for something quick and yummy isn’t a specific recipe – I guess at the amounts and it always works out. It’s a tuna pasta salad, and I’ve been making it for years.
1 can tuna in water, drained (I only use Starkist)
1/2 box of rotini pasta, cooked and drained
Kraft Lite House Italian dressing, or your favorite Italian dressing
Kraft Parmesan and Romano Cheese ( I do not like the generic brands)
Mix the cooked rotini and the tuna, add your dressing to your liking, then sprinkle plenty of the parmesan/romano cheese all over. Stir together and taste – add more dressing and/or cheese to satisfy your tastebuds. 🙂
That’s it! I love this fresh, and it will keep in the fridge for several days. I prefer to slightly heat the refrigerated salad, but whatever gets your going will work!
You can add veggies if you like too