Chicken Salad for Sandwiches
When you need a quick and tasty lunch, this Chicken Salad for Sandwiches is the perfect ready-to-eat meal you can make ahead and enjoy all week long. Just grab it from the fridge and assemble your sandwich in minutes. It’s loaded with pecans, grapes, apples, and creamy mayo, and is a favorite for school lunches, office meals, road trips, and everything in between!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Chicken Salad for Sandwiches
- Serves: 2 sandwiches
- Main Ingredients: cooked chicken, grapes, pecans, mayo, apple, each of salt and pepper
- Why You'll Love It: Loaded with pecans, grapes, apples, and mayo, this delicious chicken salad for sandwiches recipe is a quick, easy, and game-changing lunch.
Crunchy, Creamy, Delicious Chicken Salad
I’ve previously shared my ham salad sandwich recipe, but today we’re focusing on chicken. Now, how many of you have tried Arby’s chicken salad sandwich? It is really good. I know some of you are thinking, “A chicken salad sandwich from a fast food place?” Trust me, Arby’s is good, but it doesn’t hold a candle to our recipe!
Our chicken salad for sandwiches is a quick and easy lunchtime option. But it’s also absolutely delicious! It includes an enticing combination of shredded chicken, grapes, diced apple, and pecans. Add in some creamy mayo, layer on some greens, and you have yourself an unbeatable sandwich. I’ve included lots of substitutions and additions below so you can truly make this classic chicken salad recipe your own.
Looking for more chicken salad ideas? My Chinese Chicken Salad and Granny Jordan’s Chicken Casserole / Salad are just as tasty!
Ingredients
- Apple
- Grapes
- Pecans
- Chicken (make sure this is cooked before you start!)
- Mayonnaise
- Salt & pepper
My Favorite Add-Ins for Chicken Salad
- Add different nuts: Cashews, sliced almonds, or walnuts would also go great with this salad.
- Boost your protein: Slice up some hard-boiled eggs and fold them in for an extra protein punch.
- Swap the grapes: Try dried cranberries or raisins instead for a different kind of sweetness.
- Extra flavoring: Add 1 teaspoon of onion powder or garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup of Dijon mustard, or Morton’s seasoning salt.
- Fresh herbs: 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped dill, chives, parsley, or green onion is always a great addition. You can also add 1 tablespoon of dill pickle relish.
- More veggies: Add 1/2 red onion and 2 celery stalks, both finely chopped, for an extra crunch.
- Swap the mayo: Substitute ranch dressing or your favorite salad dressing (check out my chipotle ranch dressing).
- Add toppings: Layer more vegetables on your sandwich, like fresh tomato slices, cucumber, or a spread of avocado. Don’t forget the cheese, either!
How To Make Chicken Salad For Sandwiches
1. Prepare
Let’s start by coarsely chopping your pecans, grapes, and apples.
If your cooked chicken is in large pieces, give that a little chopping, too.
2. Combine
Now, in a large mixing bowl, add your chopped ingredients. Then add your mayonnaise.
Note: From here, you can place your chicken salad in the fridge if you’re preparing it ahead of time. Otherwise, let’s continue on!
Stir that up and add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Assemble
Get your bread of choice. I placed a few pieces of lettuce to line my wheat bread, then piled it high.
Now doesn’t that look scrumptious? Enjoy your delicious chicken salad!
Storage
If you’re making this ahead of time, you can store the chicken salad in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a couple of days. I recommend waiting to assemble your sandwiches until you’re ready to eat them, though, as the bread will likely get a little soggy. Just keep the chicken salad and bread separate until it’s time to dig in, and you’ll be good to go!
Chicken Salad for Sandwiches FAQs
Any, really! This chicken salad recipe is a great way to use up any leftover chicken. I used leftover smoked chicken, but you might like to use leftover rotisserie chicken, canned chicken, roasted chicken, or shredded poached chicken breast. Another option is to swap the chicken for turkey.
Besides sandwiches, there are plenty of ways to enjoy this chicken salad! Try tossing it with lettuce to make a delicious salad. You can also serve it on my homemade dinner rolls, wrapped in a tortilla, or in lettuce wraps.
Chicken salad is pretty darn easy to make, but there are a few things that can go wrong. If you overcook the chicken, it’ll turn out tough and rubbery, and nobody wants that. I like to poach it to keep it nice and moist, or just grab a rotisserie chicken and call it a day.
And whatever you do, don’t mix warm chicken with the mayo! It’s not just a food safety thing. It’ll make your dressing greasy and sad. Let it cool down in the fridge first. When it comes to the mayo, less is more. Add it little by little until everything is just coated, then squeeze in some lemon juice, a splash of apple cider vinegar, or even some pickle juice to really make the flavors pop!
Made any fun additions or substitutions to your chicken salad? I’d love to know! Drop a comment below and leave a star rating while you’re at it 😉
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked chicken chopped
- ½ cup grapes
- ½ cup pecans
- ½ cup mayo
- 1 small apple
- ¼ tsp each of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Coarsely chop the apple, grapes, and pecans. Place in a bowl with the chicken, mayo, salt, and pepper. Stir until combined.1 cup cooked chicken, ½ cup grapes, ½ cup pecans, ½ cup mayo, 1 small apple, ¼ tsp each of salt and pepper
- Serve on a bed of lettuce or on lettuce-lined bread.
Funny, we have canned chicken, used to get a whole cannec chicken bones and all at the grocery store just like tinned Salmon or Tuna. Now we get flakes of chicken and canned breast meat. Maybe not fresh but sure helps when you crave chicken salad at midnight.
Yes it does Eva! I have never seen it in stores with the bones in it, that is interesting. I bet it also tasted better.
Hey Christy, you made me think of the first time I had chicken salad, I was 19, and on an adventure in 1973 or thereabouts, bought one at a truckstop on the reccomendation of my room mate and adventure leader. I loved it first taste, it had chicken, chopped walnuts and celery. It was on thick slices of fresh baked bread, and served with crispy French Fries. Only the second time I ate fries, and thinking back about the second time I everhad real honest to God chicken. My mother never bought chicken we lived in town so we couldn’t raise our own, and knew no one who did. I had lots of fried “chicken” but they were grouse, prairie chickens or pahtridges as my momma called them when she was being funny. First time I saw an actual chicken I was 6 and at my grandmother’s for my great grandmother’s funeral. Grammy was raising a couple of chickens for fresh eggs and “some decent chicken, since you couldn’t get any in the stores round here” she would have been in her late 60’s.
So much of what everyone ate then depended upon where they lived. It is so funny to think of that now when everything we could want is usually right there for us to choose from.
That little hand brought tears to my eyes. I miss my children because they’re grown and my grand babies cause my old baby chose to live 4 hours away. I could just kiss those little hands all day. Then eat them up! ( Southern thing y’all. Christy will understand.). We eat our babies up! LOLLOl
I completely understand Susan!! I miss those hands being that little some days.
When mine is done i put it together like a BLT I put bacon and lettuce on top I just don’t use tomatoes
Oh my goodness, I bet that is good!!
I add finely grated cabbage(about 1/4 small head) and finely chopped apple in my chicken salad with salad pickles,chicken,mayo,salt & pepper….delish!!
I bet that is fabulous Janet!!
Christy; I love Arbys chicken salad sandwich! When I first tried their chicken salad sandwich, I said wow this is awesome, that a fast food place makes a sandwich this delicious! And the sandwich is x large and and the filling has all the grapes,nuts,etc. and a very generous amount of filling! Love it! And I love that using your recipe,I can make it myself! Thank you for another great recipe!