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Easy Grape Pecan Chicken Salad Recipe

Easy Grape Pecan Chicken Salad Recipe

A classic American chicken salad made with cooked chicken, seedless grapes, toasted pecans, crunchy celery, and a creamy mayonnaise and Greek yogurt dressing. Makes about 4 servings or 6 smaller sandwich servings.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken Salad
  • 3 cups Cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
  • 1 cup Seedless red or green grapes, halved
  • 1/2 cup Celery, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup Pecans, chopped
Creamy Dressing
  • 3/4 cup Mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste Kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
Optional Additions
  • 1-2 tablespoons Finely minced red onion
  • 1 teaspoon Honey

Method
 

Step-by-Step
  1. If cooking the chicken, poach or bake boneless, skinless chicken breasts until the thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C). Cool completely, then chop or shred the chicken into bite-size pieces; otherwise, use 3 cups of rotisserie or previously cooked chicken.
  2. Toast the chopped pecans in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for 3–5 minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer them to a plate and let them cool completely so they stay crisp in the salad.
  3. Whisk the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt or sour cream, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, kosher salt, black pepper, and optional honey in a large bowl. Continue whisking until the dressing is creamy and evenly combined.
  4. Add the cooked chicken, halved grapes, diced celery, cooled pecans, and optional red onion to the bowl. Fold gently with a spatula until the ingredients are coated, taking care not to crush the grapes.
  5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the chicken salad for at least 30 minutes. After chilling, taste and adjust with more salt, pepper, lemon juice, or mayonnaise as needed before serving.

Notes

For a lighter salad, replace up to half of the mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt. Refrigerate in a covered container and use within 3–4 days. Do not leave chicken salad at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or more than 1 hour when temperatures are above 90°F (32°C).