How To Make Chicken Salad - Top Recipes

Chicken salad is a salad which uses chicken as its main ingredient.  The ways of making it are endless.  I have added many of the more common ingredients in mine such as mayonnaise, mustards, hard-boiled eggs, celery, etc..  In this way it is somewhat similar to tuna salad.   Indeed, any tuna salad can become chicken salad, if the tuna is replaced by chicken. Chicken salad is delicious as a topping for many finger foods such as crackers, lettuce, tomato, avocado.  One of its major advantages is that it can use leftover chicken.  It also works well with canned chicken. It can also be served European style, complimented by any number of dressings, pastas, noodles or rice. According to Wikipedia,  the American form of chicken salad was first served by Town Meats in Wakefield, Rhode Island, in 1863. The original owner, Liam Gray, mixed his leftover chicken with mayonnaise, tarragon, and grapes. This became such a popular item that the meat market was converted to a delicatessen which still stands to this day.

Basic Chicken Salad

* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken meat
* 1 stalk celery, chopped

DIRECTIONS:  In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, lemon juice, and pepper. Toss with chicken and celery.

Notes:
Optional 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds:  Place almonds in a frying pan. Toast over medium-high heat, shaking frequently. Watch carefully, as they burn easily.

Recipe is delicious!

BONUS Top 20 'How To' Chicken Salad Recipes

Chicken Salad Recipes  southernfood.about.com
Chicken Salad Recipe : Food Network Kitchens : Food Network  
How To Make Chicken Salad - Top Recipes www.squidoo.com.
Cooks.com - Recipes - Chicken Salad Sandwich
Chicken Salad | The Pioneer Woman Cooks | Ree Drummond

chicken salad | Jamie Oliver | Food | Recipes (UK)
cranberry-walnut chicken salad | smitten kitchen
Chicken Salad Recipe | MyRecipes.com
Chicken Salad Recipe | Simply Recipes
Easy Chicken Salad in baked puff form

DOLE Chicken Salads
How To Make Chicken Salad  www.hiddenvalley.com
 How To Make Chicken Salad - Go Now  www.howtomakechickensalad.com/ 
 Simple salads - 9 Skinny Chicken Salad Recipes - Health.com
 Chicken Salad Recipes - BHG.com

 Chicken Salad with Grapes and Walnuts Recipe at Epicurious.com
Greek Grilled Chicken Salad | How Sweet It Is www.howsweeteats.com/2011/06/greek-grilled-chicken-salad/
 Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A® Chicken Salad Sandwich
 Subway Orchard Chicken Salad | CopyKat Recipes | Restaurant ... 

Oriental Chicken Salad

This recipe is delicious, but it does take a little work.

Ye Oriental Dressing

* 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
* 2 ½  tablespoons honey
* 1/4 cup mayonnaise
* 1 teaspoon Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
* 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Salad

* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/2 cup flour
* 1/2 cup cornflake crumbs
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1 skinless chicken breast half
* 2 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
* 3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
* 1 cup red cabbage
* 1/2 carrot, julienned or shredded
* 1 green onion, chopped
* 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
* 1/3 cup chow mein noodles

Directions
Preheat oil in deep fryer or deep pan over medium heat. (to about 350 degrees.
Blend together all ingredients for dressing in a small bowl.
Put dressing in refrigerator to chill while you prepare the salad.
In a small, shallow bowl beat egg, add milk, and mix well.
In another bowl, combine flour with corn flake crumbs, salt and pepper.
Cut chicken breast into 4 or 5 long strips.
Dip each strip of chicken first into egg mixture then into the flour mixture, coating each piece completely.
Fry each chicken finger for 5 minutes or until coating has darkened to brown.
Prepare salad by tossing the chopped romaine with the chopped red cabbage, Napa cabbage, carrots, Sliced green onion.
Place mixture on top of the lettuce.
Sprinkle almonds over the salad, then the chow mein noodles.
Cut the chicken into small bite-size chunks.  Place the chicken onto the salad forming a pile in the middle.
Serve with salad dressing drizzled over it or on the side.


Note:  similar recipe with notes can be found:  Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad: from recipezaar.com -.  This recipe tastes a little like the Applebee's oriental chicken salad.

Ramen Noodle Chicken Salad

The Stuff

2 pkgs. Top Ramen chicken flavored noodles
3 chicken breasts, cooked
3 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
3 tbsp. toasted sliced almonds
6 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. lemon juice
½ cup chopped onions (green onion tops preferred

Optional:  1/2 c. each red, green, and/or yellow sweet peppers
1 sm. can sliced water chestnuts, drain

How T0:

Remove soup packets and set aside. Crunch up dry noodles and place in large bowl. Add cabbage, peppers, onions, and chicken (chopped). Mix in another small bowl sugar, lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper and contents of the two small soup packets. Mix well. Add sesame seeds and pour dressing over all. Mix thoroughly and cover.

Let it set for 24 to 36 hours before serving, tossing it several times. Scatter toasted almonds on top before serving. Do not cook noodles.

Serves: 10 to 12.

Grape and Almond Chicken Salad

2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts; cooked and cubed
1 1/2 c mayonnaise
1/2 c sour cream
1 c green grapes; halved
1 1/4 c toasted almonds
White pepper
salt

Cut cooked chicken breast meat into 1/2 inch cubes and set aside. Blend mayo and sour cream in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Add cubed chicken meat, grapes and almonds and mix lightly, coating chicken. Stir gently until blended. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Delicious with lettuce or  bread.

Note: I like my salad a wee bit juicy, but if you prefer a dryer salad, use less mayonnaise.
Optional:  Equal amounts of salad dressing can be used instead of mayonnaise
 

A Waldorf Chicken Salad

(A Waldorf Salad is a salad of diced apples, celery, and walnuts mixed with mayonnaise  --  with a chicken salad it is deliciously yummy)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (One clove minced is best)
1 Piece ginger (quarter size) -- minced
1/3 cup rice vinegar
salt to taste
¼  teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/2 pound smoked chicken breast
2 Granny Smith Apples -- cored
2 cups red seedless grapes
1 Head Boston lettuce (medium size) -- Washed, Torn In Pieces
1 bunch Fresh Chives -- snipped
1 cup walnuts -- toasted and chopped

Directions:

In a mixing bowl combine the mayonnaise, oils, garlic, ginger, and vinegar, and season with salt to taste and crushed red pepper.

Remove skin and fat from chicken breast and cut it into bite sized pieces and add to the dressing.

Dice the apples into 3/8inch cubes; wash and dry the grapes and toss the ingredients together; adjust the seasoning. Serve over Boston lettuce garnished with chives and walnuts.

Pasta Chicken Salad

* 1 C Uncooked Macaroni
* 3/4 C Mayo
* 1 Tbs. Onion-Finely Chopped
* 1/2 Tsp. Salt
* 1 1/2 C Cooked Chicken, Chopped
* 1 C Chopped Cucumber
* 1/4 Tsp. Pepper



Directions

1. Cook and drain Macaroni,
2. Combine Mayo, Onion, Salt, Pepper
3. Mix Well
4. Add Warm Macaroni, Chicken, And Cucumbers
5. Mix Gently
6. Chill, Covered For 2 Hrs.

Martha's Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe

(Please refer to link for more information on recipe.  I do not use the sherry, nor some of the more exotic ingredients.  I like my chicke salad more basic.)

Ingredients

1/2 lb. white chicken meat, cooked and shredded
1/4 cup soy sauce (use wheat-free soy sauce for gluten-free version)
1 teaspoon sherry
1 Tablespoon sugar

High smoke point cooking oil, such as grapeseed oil, corn oil, or peanut oil
2 oz. bean threads (one bunch)
4 green onions, shredded lengthwise
1 small head of lettuce (romaine works), shredded
2 Tablespoons chopped toasted almonds
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Sauce:
2 Tbsp sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
3 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
3 Tbsp vinegar
Method

1 Using two forks, shred the cooked chicken (if you don't have any already cooked, poach chicken pieces in simmering water until no longer pink inside). Mix soy sauce, sherry and sugar in a bowl and add the chicken. Let soak for 10 minutes. Remove chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Fry the shredded chicken in a little cooking oil on medium high heat to make it a little crispy and to bake in the seasoning. Set aside.

2 Put 3/4 inch of high smoke point cooking oil (such as grapeseed oil, or peanut oil) into a small saucepan. Heat on high heat until when you flick a drop or two of water into the oil it sizzles. Take one bunch of the dried bean threads and gently break them up a bit. Test the oil by putting one bean thread into the oil. If the oil is hot enough, the bean thread will almost immediately sizzle and puff up. That's when you know the oil is hot enough. Working with a few bean threads at a time, put them in the hot oil. As soon as they puff up, remove them carefully with tongs and place them on a paper towel to cool. The paper towel helps remove any excess oil. Set aside.

3 Cut your green onions, shredding them lengthwise as shown. Toast your chopped almonds, or chop your toasted almonds; toast your sesame seeds. (Heat a thin skillet to medium high heat, add the seeds - or nuts, don't do them both together - stir frequently until they begin to brown, remove from heat, they will continue to cook. Let cool to room temp.)

4 Mix all of the sauce ingredients together, in the order listed. Just before serving the salad, mix all of the salad ingredients together - lettuce, chicken, bean threads, almonds, sesame seeds, and sauce.

Wendy's Mandarin Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing

(This recipe imitates Wendy's Mandarin Chicken Salad.  Please check the link for more information.  I usually tweak recipes for my liking, and sometimes they are quite different.  I think you will enjoy this one as it is!)

* SESAME DRESSING:
* 1/2 C. corn syrup
* 3 T. white distilled vinegar
* 2 T. pineapple juice
* 4 tsp. granulated sugar
* 1 T. light brown sugar
* 1 T. rice wine vinegar
* 1 T. soy sauce
* 1 tsp. sesame oil
* 1/4 tsp. ground mustard
* 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
* 1/8 tsp. salt
* 1/8 tsp. paprika
* dash garlic powder
* dash ground black pepper
* 1/2 C. vegetable oil
* 1/2 tsp. sesame seeds
* ****
* MANDARIN CHICKEN SALAD
* 4 chicken breast fillets
* 1 large head iceberg lettuce, chopped
* 4 C. red leaf lettuce, chopped
* 1 1/3 C. canned mandarin orange wedges
* 1 C. rice noodles
* 1C. roasted sliced almonds

Preparation:
Prepare dressing by combining all dressing ingredients except vegetable oil and sesame seeds in a blender on high speed. Slowly add oil to mixture (to create an emulsion). Add sesame seeds and blend for just a couple seconds. Pour dressing into a covered container (such as a dressing cruet) and chill until needed.

Rub each chicken breast fillet with oil, then lightly salt and pepper each piece. Grill on medium/high heat until done. Chill chicken breasts in refrigerator until cold.

When chicken is cold, build each salad by first arranging about 4 cups of iceberg lettuce in the bottom of a large salad bowl or on a plate. Next, arrange a cup of red leaf lettuce on the iceberg lettuce.

Dice each chicken breast into bite-size pieces and sprinkle the pieces from each one over each salad. Arrange about 1/3 cup of mandarin orange wedges on each salad. Next, sprinkle about 1/4 cup of rice noodles and 1/4 cup of roasted sliced almonds on top of each salad. Add desired amount of sesame dressing and serve.

Cashew Chicken Salad

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup mayonnaise
½ cup minced green onions
½ cup finely chopped cashews
24 slices of fresh white bread
Sprig of Parsley

Directions

Combine the chicken, mayonnaise, green onions, and cashews. Mix well. Spread the mixture in the middle of 12 slices of the bread. Top with the remaining slices. Using a biscuit cutter or rim of a glass, cut circles out of the bread. Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Top with a sprig of parsley

Note:  a great sandwich Chicken Salad

Basil Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
Aproximately 8-10 ounces grilled Chicken Breast, diced
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup Red Grapes, halved
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped sweet onion
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Combine all ingredients and chill thoroughly. Recipe makes 4 servings.

How To Make Turkey Salad

2 hard-cooked, chopped eggs
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 1/2 c. finely chopped leftover turkey
1/2 c. sliced green onion
2 tsp. prepared mustard
2 tbsp. sweet pickle relish

Combine turkey, celery, green onions, lemon juice and pepper in a mixing bowl.
Add eggs, mayonnaise, pickle relish and mustard. Stir well.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
Spread between slices of bread and serve.

Additional  Links:

By eHow Food & Drink Editor
Cooks.com - Recipes - Turkey Salad
Turkey Salad Sandwich - Sandwiches
Turkey Salad Recipes - Turkey Recipes for Salads
Eatturkey.com - Turkey Salad Turkey Recipes