Easy Rotisserie Chicken Salad Recipe

The perfect, basic rotisserie chicken salad recipe that you can make as is or adapt to create a new take on an old classic. This recipe is easy and delicious no matter what you use!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• You will love that this classic recipe only needs a few simple ingredients.
• You can customize it to fit your family’s taste.
• Mark this under healthy lunch recipes your kids will love.
• Chicken salads are delicious meals that can be made ahead of time, so there isn’t daily meal prep. This is a major plus for busy moms.
• You can use leftover rotisserie chicken to throw this together so nothing goes to waste.
• It is easy to double this recipe so that you have plenty for later.

Tell me about this recipe

• Texture– This salad pairs tender chicken with crunchy fruit, nuts, and veggies for the perfect recipe the entire family will love.
• Taste– If you want a fresh salad recipe that has a tangy dressing and salty chicken, then you will love this chicken salad.
• Ease-The best part of this recipe is how easy it is to throw together in one large bowl. If you grab a store bought rotisserie chicken, all that’s left is to do a bit of chopping and mixing and you have an easy recipe on the table.
• Time– Easy recipes that only require simple ingredients and very little time to fix are exactly the recipes that a busy home cook needs.

Ingredients for this Chicken Salad Sandwich Recipe

• Pulled Rotisserie Chicken– You can cook your own whole chicken or grab one from the grocery store. Pull the chicken off of the bone and loosely chop it for the salad.
• Celery– I use one celery stalk for this recipe and slice it into thin slices. It adds the perfect amount of crunch to this recipe.
• Mayonnaise and Plain Yogurt– A combination of these two is best for this recipe, but you can substitute one for the other if you don’t have both. They create a creamy dressing that is fantastic for this recipe. If you have a great homemade mayonnaise recipe, that would make this chicken salad even healthier.
• Prepared mustard– A tad of this goes a long way and adds a bit of bite to this recipe. I prefer Dijon mustard, but use what you have on hand.
• Onion– I chop a half of a small onion finely for this recipe.
• Seasonings– Salt and pepper round off this easy chicken salad recipe.

Steps for making Classic Chicken Salad

1. Combine chicken, onion, and celery and put in a large bowl.
2. Mix the mayo, yogurt, mustard, and seasonings with the chicken mixture until everything is coated with the creamy dressing.
3. Serve on your bread of choice with a squeeze of lemon and enjoy!

Substitutes for a Whole Chicken in this recipe

• Cooked, diced chicken breasts– If you don’t want to use a rotisserie chicken, season some chicken breasts, cook them, and cut them up!
• Shredded chicken from the grocery store– Our store will have containers full of what they call “picked chicken” and it makes this meal so simple.
• Canned Chicken– You can buy this like you would tuna and use it when you’re in a pinch.

What to serve Chicken Salad on

There are so many ways to serve chicken salad.

• Lettuce– If you are trying to limit the carbohydrates, wrap your chicken salad in a leaf of bib lettuce and you have a healthy meal. Or, pile the sandwich filling on top of a bed of lettuce and add some shredded cheese and fresh veggies.
• Croissants– Add some easy rotisserie chicken salad to a croissant and serve it for lunch or a special occasion, such as a bridal shower.
• Toast– Keep it simple by toasting a slice of bread, add some creamy mayonnaise, black pepper, and a slice of avocado to the bread and top with your chicken salad for a quick meal.
• Saltine Crackers– My kids love piling this healthy chicken salad on top of crackers with a bit of cheddar cheese. It is one of my easy lunch ideas for a family.

Adjustments for Rotisserie Chicken Salad Recipe

This is a classic recipe that can stand on its own.

If you’re wanting to elevate it a bit there are simple ingredients you can add to make it feel new and fresh.

• Green onions– These taste delicious on top of just about everything. Slice some green onions thinly and scatter them on top for a bit of a different flavor.
• Chives– If it is the summertime and you started your herb garden, go outside and cut off some chives to chop and put on your chicken salad.
• Fruit– Don’t be afraid to add some sweet to your salad with fruit. Think of sliced grapes, diced apples, or raisins!
• Sour cream– I like to keep things as natural as possible, but use what you have. Sour cream can step in the place of yogurt without missing a beat.
• Dill Pickles– Slice up some dill pickles and enjoy the briny flavor it adds to this recipe.
• Bacon– Every salad tastes better with crispy bacon crumbled on top.
• Red Onion– Dice this onion up finely and toss it in with the salad to get a bit of a bite when you serve this. We love red onion on just about everything.
• Red Bell Pepper- You can also use a green bell pepper, but adding color is just as good as adding flavor.
• Hard Boiled Egg– Sliced hard boiled eggs give this recipe extra protein and flavor.
• Nothing but the Bagel Seasoning– Grab your bagel seasoning and sprinkle it on this salad for a great texture and delicious addition.

How to store leftover rotisserie chicken salad

This salad will store best in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days, depending upon how fresh the chicken is.

If you cooked your own chicken and made the salad with fresh rotisserie chicken, this will last 4 days in the refrigerator.

For chicken that is older, I would only keep this in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Rotisserie Chicken Salad Recipe