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Melissa Jo's Chicken Salad

There are many variations and options when it comes to the best chicken salad recipe. In my opinion this is the best chicken salad I have ever had in my life! I've tried chicken salads at nearly every deli and restaurant that I've been to and there are some really good ones out there, but the combination of flavors that I have created for my own personal chicken salad is simply perfect! For starters, I have used rotisserie chicken in my chicken salad in the past and you can certainly do the same with my recipe, however I am not a fan of the texture and flavor of the chicken salad afterwards. With that being said I start off by boiling chicken breasts with a few aromatics and seasoning and shred it up myself. Once it's shredded I immediately add my creamy ingredients and seasonings, so the heat assists the creamy ingredients and seasonings soaking into the chicken. Finally we're going to finely chop celery, carrots, and red onion, and pop it in the chicken salad along with my secret ingredient Ocean Spray craisins! In this recipe blog I will also give you the perfect lunch wrap made with browned tortilla, arugula, tomato, and the best hot sauce, topped with the best chicken salad! Will Bethenny Frankel approve? Are you ready? Let's make it!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Brunch, Lunch, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 6 people
Calories 507 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • of a white onion
  • 3 garlic cloves smashed
  • 2 tbsp chicken bouillon seasoning
  • 1.5 lbs chicken breasts
  • 1 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¼ tsp celery salt
  • Start with 1 tsp salt add more to taste after that
  • Start with 1 tsp cracked black pepper add more to taste after that
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • ½ cup diced red onion
  • 1 cup Ocean Spray craisins
  • For serving: tortillas, arugula, sliced tomato, and hot sauce (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Fill a pot with water and throw in the white onion hunk, smashed garlic cloves, and chicken bouillon seasoning. Bring the pot to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, add in the chicken breasts and boil the chicken on high for 3 minutes, then lower it to a simmer and let that cook for another 10 - 15 or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Once the chicken is fully cooked, shred it up and add it into a large bowl.
  • In the large bowl with the shredded chicken, add in mayonnaise, sour cream, celery salt, salt, and cracked black pepper. Mix that together until combined. Then, add in the celery, carrots, red onion, and craisins. Fold that all together until everything is incorporated. After everything is combined, taste it to see if it needs any more salt or pepper. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.
  • (This step is optional) To serve my chicken salad, I heated up a pan with some butter and fried a tortilla for a few minutes on each side until it was lightly browned. Then, I topped it with arugula, sliced tomato, my chicken salad, and drizzled some hot sauce over the top. It was so delicious! Enjoy!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 507kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 26gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 17gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 899mgPotassium: 607mgFiber: 2gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 3818IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 53mgIron: 1mg
Keyword affordable, carrots, celery, chicken salad, craisins, creamy, easy, flavorful, fresh ingredients, healthy, hot sauce, lunch, mayo, meal prep, onion, quick, sandwich, snack, spring, summer, wrap
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