Hot Chicken Salad
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This creamy Southern chicken casserole (a.k.a a hot chicken salad) includes tender chicken, celery, and boiled eggs baked with a crunchy potato chip topping.
I’m bringing you a little treasure today in the form of my Granny Jordan’s old-fashioned Southern chicken casserole recipe. Back in the day, this baked chicken salad was regularly seen at lunch, brunch, dinner, potlucks, church picnics, and tailgating parties. It’s typically served as a savory dip-style casserole with bread or Ritz crackers for dipping, but more on that below.
This is such a quick and easy hot chicken salad recipe. All we need to do is mix our ingredients together, which are mayo, cream of chicken soup, shredded chicken, celery, onion, and boiled eggs. We add this to a casserole dish, top it with lots of crunchy and salty potato chips, and bake! That’s it! It will be ready in just 20 minutes.
This chicken casserole is so creamy, thanks to the mayo and cream of chicken soup. But it’s also super flavorful and texturized, as you have the crunch of the celery and potato chips combined with the tender chicken and eggs. Basically, it’s a taste sensation and you need to bake it immediately. Yes, really!
Recipe Ingredients
- Ritz crackers and lettuce (for serving)
- Mayo
- Onion
- Boiled eggs
- Celery
- Chicken
- Cream of chicken soup
- Potato chips
How to Make Hot Chicken Salad
Chop up your boiled eggs…
As well as your celery and onion.
Chuck all of those ingredients into a large bowl.
Then add the cream of chicken soup, cooked chicken, and mayonnaise.
Give it a good stir and it’ll look a little bit like this.
Spread the chicken mixture into an 8×8 casserole dish.
Top with crushed potato chips.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes and your hot chicken salad is ready to serve. How easy was that?
Serve hot on a bed of lettuce with Ritz crackers.
I also have to admit I love to serve this baked chicken salad cold like this Southern chicken salad for sandwiches.
It’s delicious either way. Enjoy!
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them in the microwave, oven, or air fryer. I don’t recommend freezing the casserole as creamy sauces don’t thaw well.
Recipe Notes
Here are some variations to make this hot chicken salad recipe work for you:
- Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. You can mix this into the chicken casserole or add it on top along with the potato chips. Alternatively, add cheddar cheese to the casserole and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
- For extra flavor, add 1 jar of diced pimientos (drained).
- For extra crunch, add 1 cup of sliced/slivered almonds.
- Use any kind of cooked chicken, like rotisserie chicken, canned chicken, or shredded boneless skinless chicken breast.
- Add more veggies, like 1 can of water chestnuts, 1 cup of chopped red bell pepper, or 1 cup of sliced mushrooms.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or green onion.
- Add diced cooked bacon for added flavor.
- Substitute the potato chips for toasted breadcrumbs, french fried onions, or crushed cornflakes.
- Add a tablespoon of bottled or fresh lemon juice for a pleasant tang.
Recipe FAQs
How do you serve a hot chicken salad?
I like to serve my hot chicken salad casserole on a bed of lettuce with Ritz crackers, cornbread, homemade buttermilk biscuits, or bread. But it also tastes delicious as a main dish with cooked rice and a side of fresh green beans.
Check out these other chicken casserole recipes:
Chicken Tortilla Casserole (Cooked in the Microwave)
Cheesy Chicken and Corn Casserole
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Casserole With Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cooked chicken
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 2 chopped boiled eggs
- 3/4 cup diced celery
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1/3 cup cracker crumbs (optional)
- 1 cup potato chips
- Ritz crackers and lettuce for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Mix chicken, mayo, soup, eggs, celery, onion, and cracker crumbs in a medium bowl.1 cooked chicken, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 2 chopped boiled eggs, 3/4 cup diced celery, 1/2 onion, diced, 1/3 cup cracker crumbs (optional)
- Spread into an 8x8 baking dish and top with crushed potato chips.1 cup potato chips
- Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
- Serve hot or cold over a bed of lettuce with Ritz crackers.Ritz crackers and lettuce for serving (optional)
I’m quoting myself today!
Each day when you wake up you have a choice. You can have a good day or you can have a bad day. So you might as well have a good one.
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I am going to make this, this week! Your grandmothers picture didn’t come thru for me.
I hope you enjoy it Sue!!
Christy, you should frame her handwritten recipe and place in your kitchen. Looks great and protects it.
Great idea Kathy!!
So I am just wondering if you have printed your Granny Jordan’s cookbook for us to purchase or is it just for family…in which case, will you adopt me as your sister…lol
Thank you for sharing,
Lori L
in Oklahoma
Christy,
This is such a sweet, tender-hearted post. I have several handwritten recipes that I got from my Mother; she has been gone 19 years, but it is as if she still lives because of the wonderful memories stored in my heart. I framed some of those recipes, after I made copies, and they hang in my kitchen. She was a wonderful cook, that made practically everything from scratch and we all ate every morsel of whatever she cooked.
I want to tell you what a great time I had at your first cooking class. The food was great, the fellowship was wonderful and the fun was the greatest. You are such a great inspiration, and so down to earth. Getting to know you face to face was a treat for me, and I came away from the event feeling like I had known you all my life.
Take care and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Thank you so much JoAnn, I am so glad that you enjoyed this post and the cooking class!! I hope you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving as well!
Thank you for hand written recipes reminder of those index card boxes too! There is something about hand written recipes that always shout: HOME. I received a recipe card box with an index card from every aunt, cousin, gal pal at my wedding shower…it was such a great idea….it taught me how to cook because I figured it they could cook, so could I…and some of those recipes were so good, they are now permanently etched in my 68 year old brain!
I love this ! I have made this with added rice to make for a complete meal. I use about 2-3 cups of chicken total, for those who asked how much to use, and abt the same amt of rice. I sautee the onion and celery together first and then throw the whole kabam in a bowl and dump into a 9×13 pan and bake. Yum. You can leave out the eggs if desired–but if eating it without rice and cold, leave ’em in !
This story reminds me of my husband’s grandmother. Her name was Audrey and when the first grandkids came along, they called her “Maudie” (Mama Audie) and it stuck. She too, was such a caring, beautiful person. She always introduced me as her granddaughter. Some people would look at me like, granddaughter from where?? She was such a giving person and took care of others all her life. She had a big, hardy laugh that I loved. I have many of her recipes, some handwritten and I cherish them. She even made a handwritten cookbook and made copies for all the girls in the family and gave it to us for Christmas one year. That was the best Christmas present that I have ever received!
The original recipe card looked just like my grandmother had written it. We have several of hers that look that exact way. Their hand writing even looks the same!