Rotisserie Chicken Salad makes an easy and flavorful lunch or meal prep for the entire week. Rotisserie chicken, celery, onions, walnuts, and cranberries are tossed in a creamy homemade herb dressing.
You’ll love this rotisserie chicken salad recipe because it’s easy to whip up for a quick lunch, dinner, or meal prep for the week.
This chicken salad is filled with fresh veggies like celery and red onion. Walnuts and dried cranberries are also added for crunch and flavor.
Ranch Seasoning is my secret ingredient to add tons of flavor to the dressing, which includes herbs like dill and parsley, as well as garlic. I like to make my ranch seasoning from scratch, but you’re welcome to use a store bought version as well.
For this recipe, you’ll be shredding a whole rotisserie chicken, then adding a few simple ingredients to make enough chicken salad to enjoy all week long.
My local grocer sells hot and fresh rotisserie chicken in the deli. Using a cooked rotisserie chicken is a quick an easy way to add protein to your diet and make a filling meal in less time.
How to Make Rotisserie Chicken Salad
First, gather your ingredients.
For this recipe, you’ll need a whole, cooked, rotisserie chicken. You usually find these at your local deli or grocery store. Or, you can cook one yourself.
You’ll also need mayonnaise, celery, red onion, dijon mustard, ranch seasoning, walnuts, and dried cranberries.
Walnuts and cranberries are optional, but provide great texture and flavor to your chicken salad. You can use any type of nuts or dried fruits you have on hand. Or, try adding fresh grapes sliced in half.
First, remove and shred as much meat as you can get from your rotisserie chicken. This will be between 3 1/2-4 cups of meat, depending on the size of your chicken.
If you don’t have a rotisserie chicken, you can also prepare about 16 ounces of any chicken meat you have on hand – breasts or thighs are fine.
Next, add your shredded chicken to a bowl, along with the rest of your ingredients. Stir to coat, adding more mayonnaise as needed.
Refrigerate your chicken salad until ready to enjoy. Your chicken salad should stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, when stored in a tightly sealed container.
Chicken Salad Variations
Chicken Salad VariationsThis creamy chicken salad recipe is incredibly easy to customize with your favorite ingredients. Don’t have Ranch Seasoning on hand? You can make your own, or use your favorite seasoning blend. Italian Seasoning, Everyday Seasoning, or Cajun Seasoning would also make great choices.
If swapping your seasoning blend, I’d recommend starting with a smaller amount than noted in the recipe card, then tasting and adding more as needed.
I love adding walnuts and dried cranberries to my chicken salad, but you’re welcome to use other mix-ins to add crunch and flavor. Almonds, pecans, or pistachios can be substituted for the walnuts. Raisins or fresh grapes also make a great addition to any chicken salad recipe.
Or, try dicing an apple to add to your next batch of chicken salad.
What do you like to add to your chicken salad? Share in the comments below!
Rotisserie Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cooked rotisserie chicken *
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 ribs of celery diced
- 1/2 small red onion diced
- 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Remove the meat from your rotisserie chicken and shred into bite size pieces.
- In a large bowl, add your shredded chicken meat and remaining ingredients. Stir to incorporate, adding more mayonnaise as needed.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve over a bed of lettuce or on lightly toasted bread as a sandwich.
Equipment
Notes
- *1 rotisserie chicken can be substituted with 14-16 ounces of any cooked chicken meat.
- Walnuts and cranberries are optional, and can be substituted with almonds, pistachios, pecans, raisins, fresh grapes, or diced apple.
- Chicken salad will keep for up to five days in the refrigerator, stored in a tightly sealed container.
- For a lower calorie variation, try replacing some or all of the mayonnaise with plain greek yogurt.
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