Ok, I think we can all agree that classic chicken salad will never go out of “style”, eh? In fact, I’m a huge fan of Waldorf Chicken salad, too! Cranberries, apple, and pecans, for those of you who haven’t had the “luxury” of trying this. (If you don’t know me I’m totally saying this in my Robyn Leach voice).
Chicken salad is one of those dishes that has so many dang variations, it’s hard to pick just one that you love. One of my favorite recipes for parties is a hot, buffalo chicken salad (courtesy of Paula Deen y’all) and it’s COVERED in crunchy potato chips.
Another variation on chicken salad is one my grandma Mary used to make. Her secret ingredient: COOL WHIP >> insert “mind blown” emoji here. I know- sounds weird right? She would do half mayo and half cool whip to add just a touch of fluff, and sweetness. Hey, it might sound weird but it totally worked. Oh the things grandma’s can do with Cool Whip (NOT to be confused with Miracle Whip, which I DETEST). . . any hoo. . . this trick would be totally tasty in the recipe I’m going to share with ya’ll today, too! And, to be honest, the only reason why I didn’t do it was because I didn’t have any Cool Whip in the house and I was too lazy to leave and go to the store.
I made this recipe once last year to take on the boat, and apparently I liked it enough to make it again! I also had a ton of fresh green onions from my Pap’s garden, so I decided to incorporate those into this recipe instead of regular red onion, which is what I used in the past. It turned out so fresh and aromatic!
My only warning would be to add the cherries right before serving, or they will turn the dressing pink. Personally, I don’t mind the pink dressing, bc: PINK EVERYTHING but you get it. Also- PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE: DO NOT use canned cherries. gross. the whole point of this chicken salad is to be FRESH, light, somewhat healthy (hey, mayonnaise is keto, right?) canned cherries typically have a very high sugar content and/or are doused in a syrup. This would change the whole flavor dynamic of the dish. Fresh, tart cherries are the way to go here!
Summer Cherry Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lb chicken breasts, shredded may sub rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 1 Tbsp olive oil if cooking your chicken from scratch, if using rotisserie, omit
- 2 large green onions trimmed and chopped, use the bulb and stalks
- 3/4 c mayo
- 1/2 lemon juiced and zested
- 1/4 cup crushed pistachios
- 1 1/4 cups fresh cherries pitted and halved
- 1 Tbsp fresh minced basil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- 1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Set your chicken breasts in a small glass baking dish. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Roast until chicken registers 160 F internally or about 35-40 minutes depending on the thickness of your breasts.
- 2. In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
- 3. In a larger bowl, add the rest of the chicken salad ingredients: chicken, cherries, green onion, pistachios and basil.
- Pour mayo mixture over the chicken salad ingredients and toss until your mixture is well incorporated. Serve on toast or croissant!
Thanks for reading and joining me here in this space, fellow foodies! I always try to make my recipes easy to follow along and recreate at home, because most of the time, simple is best. 🙂
Cheers! Kelli