Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad is an easy recipe. Loaded with pieces of tender chicken, cranberries, crunchy pecans, and sweet apples. It’s great as a sandwich, as a salad, on crackers, and fantastic for parties and potlucks.
Chicken, cranberry and pecan salad is such a simple recipe, yet the flavor and textures are amazing.
The addition of celery and pecans makes for a lovely crunch and flavor combined with the creamy chicken.
This is a great salad recipe to serve as a main meal or to have as party food, or appetizers, perhaps with lettuce wraps, crackers, sandwich bread... the list is endless!
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This is always a popular dish at pot lucks and parties, and of course, not forgetting the holiday times, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, when you could also use up some left over turkey. How flexible!
For this easy Chicken Salad, I've added some lovely dried cranberries to add another texture dimension, and of course, we know cranberries are really good for you too!
For the chicken, I have used chicken legs, simply roasted them in the oven with a Piri Piri marinade.
You can, of course, buy ready roasted chicken, or indeed roast chicken yourself with your favorite marinade to add an extra flavor to your salad.
We've found a lovely recipe to make your own Rotisserie chicken if you'd like to do that. It's delicious!
For this recipe, I've used regular pecan nuts. However, I've also thrown in a few of our very own Maple Roasted Pecan Nuts which I had leftover from a Christmas baking session.
Try them too! They're really delicious!
The recipe is incredibly flexible, so feel free to add or omit some items, and also, depending on your budget and how many people you're feeding, you could bulk it out by adding some extra cucumber, cooked pasta etc.
You just make it exactly how you like it most! So please enjoy our Chicken Pecan and Cranberry Salad!
Recipe inspired from Sally's delicious Tasty Chicken Salad.
Ingredients you'll need
- Cooked chicken - any cooked chicken you like. We've used chicken legs and thighs for this recipe as they are sweeter and juicier than breast meat.
- Pecan Nuts - we used regular pecan nuts
- Dried Cranberries - You can also add some raisins, sultanas or chopped dates. It adds a chewy texture and some sweetness.
- Celery - I'm not a fan of celery, however, when it's combined in this salad, I really like it. So if you're not a fan of it either, just try a little and you might be surprised!
- Cucumber - This adds a lovely crisp crunch to the salad and the mayo clings to the cucumber so you get some really lovely flavors in every bite.
- Mayonnaise - we've used a light mayo
- Apple - Granny Smith apples add a little sharpness, but you can use what you have in your pantry already if you prefer.
- Cilantro or coriander and Scallions - these will add a light, refreshing taste to the salad. Be careful not to add too much cilantro as it may overpower the salad. Taste as you go along!
So with all the ingredients combined, this really does make for a wonderful tasting salad, and it's so easy to prepare too.
See the recipe card below for quantities.
To accompany this salad, you can serve this with some lovely warm Aloha Bread Rolls, fresh from the oven, so good!
How To Make Chicken Party Salad
1. Prepare the ingredients by shredding the cooked chicken, and finely chop the onion, scallions, celery, and pecans etc.
For the apple, chop and place in a small bowl, squeeze the lemon juice over and mix so the juice is coating the apple. This will stop the apple from browning and also adds a nice taste to the salad.
2. Add everything to a mixing bowl and combine.
You may need a little more or less mayo, depending on how creamy you like it.
Season with salt and pepper.
3. Refrigerate, preferably overnight so the flavors can develop.
Serve as it is, on sandwich bread, crackers, pitas, and lettuce wraps, the sky's the limit!
Can Chicken Salad be made ahead?
This salad will keep at its best for 3 days if you need to make it ahead.
Make sure it is covered and kept refrigerated. When ready to serve, just give it a stir as some of the liquids may have separated a little.
We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our chicken salad recipe. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!
Recipe Card
Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad is an easy recipe. Loaded with pieces of tender chicken, cranberries, crunchy pecans, and sweet apples. It’s great as a sandwich, as a salad, on crackers, and fantastic for parties and potlucks.
Ingredients
- 4 Cooked Chicken Breasts. or 3 Chicken legs
- 1 Cup Dried Cranberries
- 3 Scallions
- 6 Sticks Celery
- 6 Tablespoons Light Mayo
- 1 Cup Pecans
- 1 Granny Smith Apple, cored and diced.
- ½ Cucumber, Diced.
- Squeeze of Lemon Juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Small bunch Fresh Cilantro, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients by shredding the cooked chicken, and finely chopping the onion, scallions, celery and pecans etc. For the apple, chop and place in a small bowl, squeeze the lemon juice over and mix so the juice is coating the apple. This will stop the apple from browning and also adds a nice taste to the salad.
- Add everything to a mixing bowl and combine. You may need a little more or less mayo, depending on how creamy you like it. Season with salt and pepper.
- Refrigerate, preferably overnight so the flavours can develop.
- Serve as it is, on sandwich bread, crackers, pitas, lettuce wraps, the sky's the limit!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 471Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 176mgSodium: 297mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 3gSugar: 18gProtein: 44g
Delicious Salad Ideas
Here's a selection of easy and delicious salad recipes, perfect for lunch, dinner, parties or indeed anytime!
Pasta Party Salad! It's certainly popular at party time!
Bacon and Tomato Macaroni Salad, an easy pasta salad recipe using bacon, tomato, celery and macaroni with a simple mayonnaise dressing. An ideal pasta side dish.
Delicious cheddar and chive egg salad is a great flavor combination, creamy, cheesy, with egg combined to make a great-tasting salad to eat on its own or in a sandwich.
Creamy Egg and Potato Salad, buttery baby potatoes and egg combined in a creamy mayonnaise and pickle sauce, great tasting and popular at potlucks and parties
Cauliflower and Pea Salad, a delicious popular creamy salad, ideal for a picnic or side dish to any meal. Very easy recipe with a homemade dressing sauce.
A delicious seafood cocktail sauce, mild yet tangy, the perfect accompaniment to prawns, lobster, and ideal for serving as a dipping sauce or to add to a prawn cocktail.
Avocado Egg Salad is a wonderfully easy recipe and very quick to make. Serve as a salad in a bowl or with some crusty bread warm from the oven. Delicious! Great for brunch, lunch or supper or party food!
Goat's Cheese Salad with warm Herb and Walnut Vinaigrette is a wonderful fresh tasting salad and easy to make. Delicious served with some warm bread fresh from the oven too!
Chicken Caesar Salad is a refreshing and wonderful tasting dish, made from scratch and easy too! Options for low calorie if you prefer.
Strawberry and Spinach Salad with a delicious poppyseed dressing is to die for! Great for parties, BBQ's and as a side dish for lunch or dinner
The Best Easy Cucumber Salad. Great Flavors and always a hit! Very refreshing taste and crunch with a sweet and sour pickled juice
Simple Refreshing Salad. Simple ingredients using apple, cucumber, and tomato combined with a lovely easy yogurt dressing makes for a deliciously refreshing salad.
Honey Mustard Chicken Pasta Salad.
A delicious, easy chicken salad with an easy honey mustard dressing. Great for using leftover chicken. Serve as a lunch or dinner, alongside a buffet or BBQ.
Easy Egg and Potato Salad, a delicious creamy salad using eggs, potatoes, celery, onion mustard and mayonnaise. Ideal for potlucks, BBQ's and parties!
Corn and Cucumber Picnic Salad. A very simple yet great tasting salad and perfect for the holidays!
Refreshing Spinach & Grape Salad with a delicious dressing! A wonderful tasting salad high in Vitamins and Minerals. Options to also add Apple and Bacon. Always a nice combination!
Best Ever Pico De Gallo, Salsa Fresca, a delicious Mexican salsa, quick and easy to make with refreshing flavors of lime, jalapenos, tomatoes, and cilantro. Absolutely delicious!
Homemade Creamy Coleslaw, a delicious low-fat salad option to a popular side dish, using fresh ingredients. Ideal for BBQ's, parties and burgers!
Bill's Chicken Salad is a great family recipe, very easy to make and great tasting. Serve in lettuce wraps, sandwiches, on it's own, the sky's the limit!
Tasty Macaroni Ham Salad.
A simple and delicious recipe for macaroni ham salad, quick and easy to make, ideal as a side dish with a BBQ or main meal. Creamy, full of flavor and easily transportable for picnics too!
Deluxe Chicken Salad Wraps. These little wraps are great for parties, lunches, suppers, or any time! It's a great way to use up left over chicken (or turkey), and the recipe is nice and easy, with no fuss. Delicious!
Bacon and Asparagus Pasta Salad is a lovely simple dish, served warm or chilled as a main or side dish. Goes perfect with a BBQ too!
Easy Potluck Pasta Salad is a great potluck salad bowl, with olives, cheese, pepperoni, peppers and much more. Easy to transport, by far the best salad to take to a party!
This Simple Greek Salad is full of flavor. Cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, feta cheese, olives and onion combined with a delicious lemon and herb salad dressing.
Nutty Broccoli Slaw, quick, simple salad with broccoli, ramen noodles, olives, sunflower seeds and almonds, coated in a delicious cider vinegar dressing.
April J Harris
says:Love all the wonderful flavours and textures in this yummy salad, Mary. I like that the meat is cooked in such a flavourful marinade too!
Shawn Janiece Koponen
says:Sounds very similar to what my mother made when I was growing up. So I’m Def going to try yours!
If we were on a tight budget, we would keep it really simple and tastes so good. It sounded weird to friends but they ended up loving it and wanting to know how we made it lol.
Just chicken
Mayo
Nuts of your choice
Green grapes that we sliced in half.
Bam done lol
Liz
says:A lovely salad. Thank you and have a great week.
Lovefoodies
says:Thank you! You too Liz!