Easy Chicken Salad Recipe - Cathy's Gluten Free

Name: Chicken Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup (125 ml) mayonnaise; 2 teaspoons (10 ml) lemon juice; 2 teaspoons (10 ml) honey; 1 stalk celery (chopped); 2 tablespoons (6.5 g) sweet onion (finely chopped); 2 cups (280 g) cooked chicken or turkey; salt and pepper to taste

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With the tang of lemon, sweetness of honey, crunch of celery, and the creaminess of mayo, this chicken salad is tasty and nutritious. It has only six ingredients plus salt and pepper, so you can easily whip it up in minutes!

clear bowl of chopped chicken and celery with dressing on lavender napkin with wooden spoons

I love this dish because it contains clean, wholesome ingredients. If you start with naturally-raised chicken and make your own mayonnaise, you'll have a simply awesome salad!

What You'll Need

chicken salad ingredients laid out is small bowls with labels

Quality ingredients make the difference between a mediocre salad and an excellent, delicious one.

Chicken - A farm-fresh chicken or turkey will always be best. You might use leftovers from a roast chicken or Thanksgiving turkey, rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, or boneless, skinless breasts or thighs cooked especially for this purpose.
Mayonnaise - The salad is best made with my quick homemade mayonnaise, but you may wish to use store-bought, processed mayonnaise if you already have some on hand.
Lemon juice - Use freshly-squeezed lemon juice. It's much better than the stuff in the bottle.
Honey - I like to use local, raw honey. Source some local honey where you live. Raw honey has some great health benefits.
Celery - Of course, you'll want your celery to be fresh and crisp rather than old and limp. Organic is best, if it's available to you.
Sweet Onion - The same goes for the onion. Fresh and organic is always better. Be sure to choose a sweet onion. Anything hotter will really throw the flavour off.
Salt - There are health benefits to natural sea salt. It is important to taste the salad, add a little salt and taste again. With practice, you'll learn to recognize when there's enough.
Pepper - Freshly ground pepper has the best flavour. Again, use taste as your guide to the amount of pepper your salad needs.

How do you make chicken salad from scratch?

First, whisk the dressing ingredients together in the bottom of a mixing bowl.

whisk in creamy yellow dressing in bottom of glass bowl

Add everything else.

chunks of chicken, chopped celery, and onion sitting in separate sections in bottom of glass bowl

Stir it all together. Taste it and add more salt or pepper, if it needs it.

chicken salad stirred with wooden spoon in glass bowl

Recipe FAQ's

How long will chicken salad keep?

Your chicken salad will keep nicely in the refrigerator for a day or two, assuming your mayonnaise is fresh.

Can you freeze chicken salad with mayonnaise?

I would not recommend freezing chicken salad. You can freeze chopped, leftover chicken or turkey on its own. Then thaw it when you're ready for chicken salad. It's so easy to combine the ingredients for the salad that there's really no need to make it much ahead of serving.

Can I eat cold chicken salad?

Eating chicken salad cold is actually preferred. It's great on sandwiches or as part of another salad.

closeup of chicken salad in clear bowl on lavender napking with wooden spoon

How to Serve Chicken Salad

This chicken salad is delightful on its own, spread between slices of gluten free bread for a great sandwich, or served up in a Chicken Waldorf Salad. Enjoy it on a gluten free pita, wrap it up in a tortilla or a couple of nice, big leaves of bibb or butter lettuce. Use your imagination. The sky is the limit!