Simple Chicken Salad

• You will need:
  • 1 can of premium chicken breast (12 1/2 oz.)
  • 1/2 of an 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons of mayo
  • 1/8 cup of pickle relish
  • 1/8 cup of finely diced white onion
  • Pinch of Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup of purple seedless grapes, halved
  • Chopped pecans or sliced almonds for topping

Chicken salad is one of those foods that are so versatile. You can spread it on sliced bread or a croissant, stuff it in a garden tomato, top it on a salad, or use it for a veggie or cracker dip. It’s a great food to bring to a party or church function for a snack, and you can make it ahead of time, without sacrificing the quality or taste!

The bottom line is, who doesn’t love a good chicken salad? What most people don’t love is the hassle of putting it together. I say, it doesn’t have to be complicated! I’ve been using this foolproof recipe for years and it always gets praises.

Here’s how you make it.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the chicken, cream cheese, mayo, relish, and onion. You can also add a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper now, but you may want to add more at the end to your liking.

Using a hand mixer, mix all the ingredients until just combined and cream cheese is evenly distributed (no clumps). FYI – if you like chunky chicken in your chicken salad, this is probably not the recipe for you. 🙂

Now, using a rubber spatula (not the mixer), you can fold in the grape halves. If you’ve never tried grapes in chicken salad, please don’t skip this step. Give it a try – you will love it! And if you don’t love it, they won’t be that hard to pick out. 🙂

And….done!

I had some whole wheat pita pockets, which were perfect stuffed with this creamy goodness! If you’re making this for yourself and you love nuts, you can fold those into the chicken salad as well, but I like using the nuts for a topping. It makes the dish more inclusive for people who either don’t like nuts or can’t have them for medical reasons.

By the way, if you’re not a fan of canned chicken, you can also use the same amount of shredded rotisserie chicken or chicken that you baked and shredded yourself ahead of time.

I hope you love this go-to recipe as much as I do. Please let me know if you try it!