A classic chicken salad recipe with grapes, mandarin oranges, almonds, and just the right touch of mayonnaise. This is good in a sandwich, in a tortilla wrap, or on tender lettuce leaves for a healthier option! Originally published April 12, 2017.
Table of Contents
- Chicken salad time!
- Chicken salad ingredients
- How to make chicken salad with grapes (& mandarin oranges!)
- How to serve chicken salad with grapes
- How to store chicken salad with grapes and oranges
- More recipes that use rotisserie chicken
- More recipes to serve at a bridal or baby shower
- Chicken Salad Recipe with Grapes Recipe
Charlotte and I couldn’t find Truman yesterday. Our house isn’t that big, so I was just on the edge of starting to worry that he wasn’t answering our calls when I remembered to check the laundry room.
And there he was, fast asleep. I had sent him to a timeout for eating frosting off the kitchen floor, and he decided to say forget you Mom, I’m taking a nap. (I know he intended to take a nap because the lights were off. Although, he may have just been checking to see if something was glowing up. Truman is obsessed with going in the dark laundry room to see if his toys/any random object “glows up.” (Glows in the dark.)
By the way, if you make any comments about the state of my floor, I will pull my newborn baby card on you. Don’t make me get serious here, people.
Just look at the stress I have to deal with every day. (Isn’t she the best??)
Chicken salad time!
I loooove chicken salad. This is my favorite version. A quick little soak in some lemon juice and spices makes the rotisserie chicken super flavorful. The crunch comes from delicious slivered almonds and not chunks of celery. (Well, I mean. A little celery crunch. But nothing crazy.) This is a super easy salad and such a crowd-pleaser for baby showers and potlucks!
Chicken salad ingredients
It seems like no two chicken salad recipes are ever the same. Sure, most include chicken and probably some mayo, but this one… this one is a game-changer. Plus, it uses rotisserie chicken, which means it’s super fast (and easy!).
Here’s a quick shopping list to help you gather your ingredients. See the recipe card below for the full ingredients and instructions!
- rotisserie chicken
- celery
- lemon juice
- onion powder
- kosher salt
- Montreal steak seasoning
- red grapes
- canned mandarin oranges
- slivered almonds
- mayonnaise
- croissants, tortillas, or bread (for serving)
How to make chicken salad with grapes (& mandarin oranges!)
Let´s make some chicken salad. First, shred the chicken and dice the celery—make sure to dice it well, no one wants oversized celery chunks!
On the left: how to not chop your celery. On the right: how to chop your celery. I love the flavor of celery but hate huge chunks in my chicken salad. Solution? Chop it up real good.
In a large bowl, combine the chicken, celery, lemon juice, onion powder, salt, and steak seasoning. Mix well, cover, and let it chill in the fridge for at least two hours—overnight is even better.
After the chill, you can now add the grapes, mandarin oranges, almonds, and mayo. Stir until everything is well combined. You can serve it right away or let it chill a bit longer to enhance the flavors.
Scoop the chicken salad onto split croissants and serve.
How to serve chicken salad with grapes
There are plenty of delicious ways to serve chicken salad with grapes! Here are a few ideas:
- On croissants or French bread – my favorite way. The buttery texture of a croissant or soft French bread is perfect with the creamy chicken salad.
- With crackers or pita chips – serve it as a dip!
- In lettuce cups – for a lighter, low-carb option, scoop the chicken salad into crisp romaine or butter lettuce leaves.
- Stuffed in a tomato or avocado – hollow out a tomato or avocado and fill it with chicken salad.
- With a spoon! – honestly, it’s so good you can eat it straight from the bowl. No judgment here
How to store chicken salad with grapes and oranges
To store this chicken salad, transfer leftovers to an airtight container to keep it fresh and prevent it from absorbing any fridge odors. Place it in the refrigerator within two hours of making it, and it should stay good for about three to four days. Before serving, give it a good stir, as the fruit may release some juice over time. If the texture seems too watery, you can mix in a little extra mayo to refresh it. Freezing isn’t recommended since mayo-based salads tend to separate and become watery once thawed. And remember, if it ever smells or looks off, it’s best to toss it.
More recipes that use rotisserie chicken
Easy Rotisserie Chicken Nachos >> cheesy chicken nachos in 20 minutes flat
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup with Egg Noodles >> is there anything more comforting than homemade chicken noodle soup??
10-Minute Enchilada Chicken Quesadillas >> Mexican food heaven
Chicken Crepes with Jalapeño Cheese >> I grew up eating these amazing crepes. They may not look like much, but they are absolutely to-die-for
Super Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup >> don’t sleep on this recipe, IT’S SO GOOD
One-Pan Rotisserie Chicken Fried Rice from Street Smart Nutrition
Easy Greek-Inspired Rotisserie Chicken Bowls from The Defined Dish
Chicken Milano – Chicken and Ham Casserole from Beyer Eats Drinks
More recipes to serve at a bridal or baby shower
Chicago Style Fruit Pizza >> classic sugar cookie crust with cream cheese frosting and all the delicious fruit
Overnight Asparagus Egg Casserole >> easy to throw together ahead of time and impress the socks off your guests
Cherry Tomato, Leek, and Spinach Quiche >> for your vegetarian guests
Caprese Salad Skewers Appetizer >> always a hit at parties
Easy Cucumber Lime Punch >> the literal definition of refreshing
Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries (Strawberry Blossoms) >> takes about 10 minutes to put together and are so elegant
Ham and Cheese Roll Ups from Simply Joy
Turkey Bacon Cheddar Sliders from Plowing Through Life
Brie, Apple, and Honey Crostini from Two Peas & Their Pod
If you would like some Easter ideas for this weekend, check out all my Easter-ish recipes here on the blog. I also have an Easter Pinterest board you could take a look at!
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Chicken Salad Recipe with Grapes
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup celery, diced small
- 1/2 lemon Lemon Juice, about 2 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
- 1 & 1/2 cups red grapes, halved
- 1 (15-oz) can mandarin oranges, drained
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 6 large croissants, or 8-10 of the mini kind
Instructions
- Shred the chicken and dice the celery. Do a good job dicing the celery! Boo on big celery chunks!
- Add the chicken, celery, lemon juice, onion powder, salt, and steak seasoning to a large bowl. Combine well, cover, and chill in the fridge for a few hours. At least 2. Overnight works great too.
- Add grapes, mandarin oranges, almonds, and mayonnaise. Stir well. At this point you can serve it or chill overnight.
- Divide between the split croissants and serve!
Made the Chicken Salad with Mandarine Oranges. Wonderful! My very slight changes: used fresh mandarin orange sections (great!), a bit of minced red onion instead of the powder, and only a half teaspoon of the steak seasoning and about 3/4 cup of light mayonnaise, since we like it a little “wetter”. I will make this again, but will reduce the salt maybe to 1/4 teaspoon, since the steak seasoning also contains salt and it was a bit too salty for our taste. But a wonderful treat with our leftover roasted chicken.
I love your tweaks Susan! Thanks so much for sharing. I haven’t made this in way too long, I need to do it! Love the idea of fresh red onion.
This is the BEST chicken salad I’ve ever had. Thank you for the recipe (I omitted the steak seasoning and lemon juice though). YUMMERS!
I’m so glad you loved it Carol! Hard to beat a good chicken salad some days, right? :) Thanks for reviewing!
I haven’t made this… YET. My mom was a chef for some of the fanciest restaurants in our town & she cooked for some of the dinkiest places in town, my mama just COOKED. You name it & she could throw down in the kitchen, make it & knock your socks off. We live in a tiny off the map town in Kentucky & while my mom cooked for the “fanciest” cafe we had, she had people come in from Texas, Ohio, Florida, Indiana & a few other places near & far to buy tubs of her chicken salad & her chocolate pies. My mama passed away when I was 3 months pregnant, that was a little over 10 years ago, & I’m just getting into cooking & following in her footsteps. Just to put it bluntly, we’re poor & struggling & it’s hard not having the right ingredients or tools to cook with. But I do want to follow in my mother’s footsteps & cook. This chicken salad recipe is the closest I’ve seen to what she made 20 years ago. Just seeing the recipe made me nostalgic of my childhood & brought a tear to my eye, as soon as I’m able to buy some groceries I want to make this! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!!
This is the sweetest story about your mom Courtney! Thank you so much for sharing! She sounds like one heck of a cook and an amazing mom. That is so cool that people came from all over for her food. Way to go getting in the kitchen to keep the memories alive! You will have to let me know if the chicken salad is anything like hers! Thanks for sharing your memories!
My whole family loved this recipe. I love that I can make it up ahead of time so it’s ready to go on our busy days.
Make ahead recipes are the best, right? It’s hard to go wrong with chicken salad. Thanks Nadine!
Chicken Surprise is my favorite- it’s a recipe that my Grandmother made for my Bridal Shower. She uses french dressing for the sauce and cooked long grain rice that has been browned then cooked in chicken broth- So yummy!! I am going to try the grapes in the recipe as an added extra flavor…. Thank you, Happy cooking!
I once couldn’t find my son when he was a few months under a year. I was searching everywhere and I finally found him hiding behind a huge watermelon I had on top of our chest freezer. It didn’t even cross my mind to look up above ground level, lol! Parenting is so hard! I love chicken salad too and I am even more in love with your version!! Love the fruit!!
i’m 33 and i still love to check and see if something “glows up”! (totally stealing that phrasing btw. hope truman doesn’t mind.) i keep all my little things that glow on my desk in my bedroom so i can see them when i go to bed. :) i also may have bought my partner a tshirt that glows up for his birthday this year in february.
speaking of, how is that little baby so big already?! time is really flying.
anyway, totally gonna add this to my brand new lunch bookmarks folder. (i decided it’s finally time i stop eating cold pizza and whatever other leftover bits are in the fridge throughout the day as “lunch” while standing in front of it. …that’s my plan, anyhow, haha.)
Haha! I love that you have stuff on your desk that glows up to keep you company at night. (and yes, I have stolen this phrase from Truman as well.) And glow up t shirts are legit.
Cold pizza for fridge is my mantra. Said pre-3rd-kid-Karen. These days…..oh man.