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Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad is a high protein salad filled with sweet and savory flavors and lots of texture and crunch. It is a great salad to meal prep and have throughout the week.
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My New Favorite Lunch: Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
I have three basic criterias that makes a lunch become one of my top favorites:
- It has to be easy to prep and keep me full through dinnertime.
- It has to have lots of flavors, texture, and crunch.
- It has to be versatile.
Lucky for me (and you) this cranberry pecan chicken salad has all three and more. When I prep this chicken salad, I can have it for lunch all week. It’s the perfect meal prep dish because if you’re already making shredded chicken, you can use have in this chicken salad and it just makes a lot so you can have it for lunch throughout the week. You can also easily change up what is added to this chicken salad (like swapping with shredded turkey) without totally ruining it. It’s really whatever you love!
For me, salads have to have a lot of texture and crunch otherwise I just feel like it’s slimy and boring. This chicken salad with cranberries and pecan have the right amount of crispy tang from the granny smith apples. It lend a balance to the fresh crispiness of the celery and the bite from the shallots. Then toss in some nutty flavors from the pecan and sweet tartness of the dried cranberries and this salad is truly a dream come true. The lean shredded chicken amps up the protein in this dish to keep you full and satiated.
I like serving this open-faced on top of some toasted bread or a croissant half with a side of garlic fries or Cajun fries. Of course potato chips are a classic choice as well. You can also scoop a large amount and put it on top of a chopped salad for double the salad. You know what I did that was also so freaking good? I used corn tortilla chips as the vessel to eat this chicken salad. Give it a try!
How to Make Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
- Shred the chicken. If you’re using a rotisserie chicken, shred by hand and measure out 3 cups or 375 grams of chicken and add it to a large bowl.
- Chop all the other ingredients. Chop the celery, Granny smith apple, and shallots and add it to the shredded chicken along with dried cranberries and chopped pecans.
- Toss in mayo and plain Greek yogurt. Add 1/2 cup of mayo and 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt to the large bowl and mix everything up until ingredients are evenly coated and distributed throughout.
- Chill and/or serve at room temperature. At this point, you can serve as is at room temperature or cover and put in the refrigerator to chill and eat later.
Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 g) shredded chicken
- 130 grams chopped celery, this was about 3 stalks of celery for me
- 160 grams diced Granny smith apple, this was 1 large apple for me
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped
- 1 ½ cups (164 g) chopped pecans
- 1 cup (121 g) dried cranberries
- ½ cup (112 g) mayonnaise
- ¼ cup (50 g) plain Greek yogurt
- Ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add shredded chicken to a large bowl then add all the other ingredients on top.
- Using a large spoon or spatula, toss the ingredients together until everything is evenly distributed and coated in the mayo and Greek yogurt.
- Serve at room temperature or cover and put in the refrigerator for 1 hour to chill.
Nutrition
FAQs
Typically I buy a rotisserie chicken and shred the chicken by hand. I have also made this salad by putting 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts into the Instant Pot and cooked it on high pressure for 15 minutes and shredded it with 2 forks when they’re done.
You can truly add any other toppings or ingredients you think would be good in a chicken salad. Raisins, dried apricots, chopped walnuts, and grapes are additions I’ve seen people use. You can also substitute shredded turkey for the chicken.
Cover and store the chicken salad in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Before eating, give it a good mix and that’s it!
My sister sent me this recipe and she was right, I loved it. All my favorites in chicken salad.
The instructions were so clear that even a novice cook like me nailed it on the first try!
Great way to use up leftover chicken – turned out amazing!
I love my mom’s chicken salad recipe wirh grapes but was intrigued to try this one. Sorry mom, this is better! the tart cranberries are genius.
This is definitely the best chicken salad I’ve ever made, the crunchy pecans and dried cranberries are delicious additions. A great lunch to have on hand.