These chicken salad recipes include creamy sandwich fillings, crunchy slaw bowls and greens topped with grilled chicken. Some make substantial bowls, while others are light portions or fillings to pair with bread. Open the full recipe to check its yield and ingredients.
- Creamy Chicken Salad Recipes for Sandwiches and Lettuce
- Crunchy Chicken Slaw and Grain Salads
- Chicken Salads with Greens, Corn and Bacon
Most choices below start with fully cooked, chilled chicken. The grilled Caesar option includes cooking the chicken first. Keep dressings and crunchy toppings separate when practical, add avocado near serving, and count the chicken’s original storage time when saving prepared salad.
Creamy Chicken Salad Recipes for Sandwiches and Lettuce
Pick a dressing and mix-in combination, then choose bread or greens separately unless the recipe includes them.
1. Classic Chicken Salad with Dijon and Lemon
Celery gives this chopped-chicken salad crunch, while Dijon and lemon season a mayonnaise or yogurt dressing. The basic version leaves room for optional additions without requiring them. Serve the divided cold portions with bread, crackers or greens according to your meal plans.
2. Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
Dried cranberries, fresh dill and chopped pecans give the cooked chicken a sweet, herbal and crunchy combination. Celery and red onion add texture beneath the lemon mayonnaise dressing. Add the nuts near serving rather than leaving them to soften in the entire batch.
3. Waldorf Chicken Salad
Apple, grapes and toasted walnuts join chilled chicken and celery in a yogurt and mayonnaise dressing. The recipe portions the mixture into lettuce leaves as light servings. Cool the toasted nuts before assembly and add another component if you need a larger meal.
4. Avocado Chicken Salad
Avocado and cilantro are folded into cooked shredded chicken with a lime mayonnaise dressing. This is a compact filling rather than a large mixed-greens bowl. Dice and add the avocado close to serving so it keeps its shape during the final fold.
5. Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches
Grapes, pecans, green onion and celery fill out a lemon-Dijon chicken salad served in fully baked croissants. Dry lettuce leaves provide a layer between the filling and bread. Assemble shortly before eating when possible, keeping the prepared filling cold.
6. Curry Chicken Salad with Pineapple
Yellow curry powder and honey season a mayonnaise dressing around chicken, drained pineapple and celery. Optional cashews add a final crunch. Allow the recipe’s refrigerated resting period and drain the fruit well so the dressing does not become watery.
7. Sweet Pickle Chicken Salad with Egg
Hard-cooked eggs and sweet pickle relish make this finely shredded chicken salad distinct from the fruit and nut versions. A little pickle juice seasons the mayonnaise. The recipe includes an hour of chilling before the cold portions are served.
8. Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
Cooked bacon, cheddar and celery join chilled chicken in a mayonnaise, yogurt and ranch dressing. Serve it as a cold salad or follow the optional tortilla assembly for wraps and pinwheels. The pinwheel version needs an additional chilling stage before slicing.
9. Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad
Plain cottage cheese and Dijon coat chicken with grapes, celery and walnuts. The cheese stays as a stirred ingredient rather than becoming a smooth mayonnaise dressing. Divide onto dry lettuce leaves at serving and keep those leaves separate if packing portions ahead.
10. Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad
Plain Greek yogurt forms the dressing with Dijon and lemon, coating shredded chicken, celery and red onion. There are no fruit or nut additions in the base ingredient list. Keep bread and greens apart until you are ready to build the meal.
Crunchy Chicken Slaw and Grain Salads
These choices use shredded vegetables, herbs or a cooled grain as the main salad base.
11. Thai Peanut Chicken Slaw Salad
Two plain vegetable slaws, carrots and cucumber give this salad its crunch. Prepared peanut dressing is loosened with lime and tossed with cooked chilled chicken. Add chopped peanuts at serving, and keep the dressing separate if preparing the components ahead.
12. Chicken Quinoa Slaw Salad
Cooked cooled quinoa, cooked edamame and shredded chicken turn slaw vegetables into a more substantial bowl. Soy, lime, rice vinegar and chili oil provide the dressing. Include time to cook and cool the grain and edamame if they are not ready already.
13. Chicken Salad with Mandarin and Ginger Dressing
Mandarin segments and nuts contrast with greens, carrots and bell pepper in this chilled chicken salad. Ginger, rice vinegar and soy flavor the sesame-oil dressing. Drain the mandarins, dry the greens and fold the fruit in gently after tossing.
14. Vietnamese-Style Chicken Cabbage Salad
Napa cabbage, carrots, mint and cilantro are tossed with shredded chicken in a lime and fish-sauce dressing. Roasted peanuts finish each portion. Dress the salad shortly before serving to preserve the vegetables’ texture and distribute the fresh herbs throughout the bowl.
Chicken Salads with Greens, Corn and Bacon
These bowls and spoonable salads use different bases and portion sizes, so check the full yield before choosing.
15. Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
This option includes grilling raw chicken before slicing it over romaine with tomato, Parmesan and croutons. Prepared Caesar dressing finishes the bowls. It is useful when you need a chicken-cooking method as well as salad assembly instructions.
16. Greek Chicken Salad with Feta
Cucumber, tomatoes, olives and roasted peppers join cooked chicken on mixed greens, finished with feta and vinaigrette. The recipe makes four side portions rather than four large mains. Pair it with another dish or adjust your meal plan accordingly.
17. BLT Chicken Salad
Ranch-seasoned yogurt and mayonnaise coat rotisserie chicken and part of the cooked bacon. After chilling, drained tomatoes and avocado are folded in, with the remaining bacon on top. That staged assembly helps keep the fresh additions from sitting in the dressing too long.
18. Street Corn Chicken Salad
Drained fire-roasted corn, bell peppers and chicken meet a creamy lime dressing seasoned with chili and cumin. Crumbled Cotija adds a finishing note. This recipe starts with canned corn and cooked chicken; it does not require grilling raw corn or poultry.
Before You Choose Your Recipe
Choose a creamy filling for sandwiches, a slaw bowl for plenty of crunch, or the grilled Caesar when you want to cook chicken for the meal. Check the serving size: a light lettuce portion or side salad may need bread, grains or another dish alongside.
