Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: If you like your savory with a side of sweet, this cranberry chicken salad is sure to satisfy! A creamy chicken salad base is jazzed up with sweet-tart dried cranberries, along with celery and (optional!) pecans for crunch.
How long it takes: 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes of chilling
Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowl
Servings: 4
Maybe Better than The Original?
Before meal prep lunches were officially a thing, there was chicken salad. You’d make a big bowl full of it and have it for lunch all week long.
This cranberry chicken salad is another version of that classic. If you like your chicken salad with diced apple or grapes, then you’re going to love it with dried cranberries too. The sweet and slightly chewy cranberries make every bite a little more delectable! (For more variations on the classic chicken salad, try my Buffalo chicken salad, healthy curried chicken salad, or dill chicken salad.
What makes it special:
- Fantastic mix of textures: Tender chicken, chewy cranberries, crunchy pecans, and crisp celery.
- Flavorful dressing: Mayo, apple cider vinegar, and Dijon are the perfect complement to the other ingredients.
- Versatile serving options: Sandwiches, wraps, toast, a halved avocados, croissants, lettuce wraps, pitas, tortillas, or with crackers.
How to Make Cranberry Chicken Salad
Make the dressing. Whisk together mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. (You’ll be assembling the salad in the bowl too, so you want to make sure it’s big enough for everything!)
Assemble the salad. Add the chicken, celery, cranberries, and green onions to the dressing, and fold to combine. You can stir in the pecans right away or reserve them to add right before serving. (They’ll stay a bit crispier if you wait to stir them in.) Another option is to reserve the pecans to use as a garnish.
Chill. Cover the salad and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The flavors will mix and mingle, making your cranberry chicken salad extra tasty!
Finish. Season to taste, then serve.
Recipe Variations
- Use a different dried fruit. Here in Michigan, dried cherries are super popular. Another good choice is golden raisins. If pecans aren’t your thing, substitute walnuts, almonds, cashews, pepitas, or sunflower seeds.
- Try a different type of nut (or no nuts at all!). Toasted walnuts would also pair well with the flavors in this salad, almonds would be great, or try cashews. For a nut-free option, toasted pepitas or even sunflower seeds would be delicious.
- Use red onion. To lean more towards the savory side, add minced red onion or shallots instead of the green onions. If you like, you can soak them in ice water for 5 to 10 minutes to mellow their flavor a bit. Pat them dry with paper towels before adding them to the salad so they don’t make it watery.
- Swap in water chestnuts for celery. If you like the crunch that celery adds to chicken salad, but you’re not a fan of the flavor, you can use water chestnuts for a similar effect.
- Make it a turkey salad. With the cranberries in this recipe, leftover Thanksgiving turkey makes a fabulous swap for chicken!
Serving Ideas
Green salads. You can serve this salad over a bed of spring greens or spinach, or nestled into a lettuce leaf. Romaine, bibb, red or green leaf lettuce would be good choices.
Bread. Serve your cranberry chicken salad on or alongside a good crusty bread, roll, or croissant. I love these Parker House rolls for making chicken salad sliders! Another option is to serve warm homemade muffins (try apple cider muffins!) or cranberry coffee cake along with your cranberry chicken salad.
Store cranberry chicken salad in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Do not freeze this recipe; salads made with mayo-based dressings do not freeze well.
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Ingredients
For the dressing:
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
For the salad:
- 3 cups cooked chicken breast, finely diced or shredded (about 2 pounds)
- ½ cup finely diced celery (about 2 ribs)
- ½ cup dried cranberries (aka Craisins)
- ¼ cup chopped toasted pecans, optional
- 3 tablespoons sliced green onions (about 2 green onions)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl (large enough to contain the salad), whisk the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper until combined.¾ cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste, ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- Add the chicken, celery, dried cranberries, pecans, and green onion to the bowl. Fold gently with a spatula until every bite is coated with the dressing. If you prefer, leave out the pecans until you're ready to serve the salad (they stay crispier). You can also reserve the pecans to use as a garnish.3 cups cooked chicken breast, finely diced or shredded, ½ cup finely diced celery, ½ cup dried cranberries, ¼ cup chopped toasted pecans, optional, 3 tablespoons sliced green onions
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the flavors develop.
- Taste and adjust seasoning before serving.
Notes
- Cooked chicken: You can purchase rotisserie chicken to use for this salad, or cook chicken using one of these methods: air fryer chicken breasts, poached chicken, Instant Pot chicken breasts, or roasted chicken breasts. I like to cook the chicken a day ahead so it has a chance to chill before I make the salad.
- “Light” cranberry chicken salad: Substitute plain Greek yogurt for half of the mayonnaise (a generous ⅓ cup of each).
- More recipe variations: A popular option is to use dried cherries instead of cranberries (especially if you live in Michigan where cherries are abundant!). Golden raisins are another good option. Other types of nuts can be used; try toasted walnuts, almonds (either slivered or sliced), cashews, or for a nut-free option, use pepitas or sunflower seeds.
- Storage: Cranberry chicken salad can be refrigerated for up to 4 days in a covered container. It does not freeze well.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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