Chicken Salad with Pecans (Printable version)

Tender chicken combines with pecans, cranberries, and creamy dressing in a fresh salad.

# What You'll Need:

→ Protein

01 - 2 cups cooked chicken breast, diced (approximately 2 medium breasts)

→ Vegetables & Fruit

02 - 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
03 - 1/4 small red onion, finely diced
04 - 1/2 cup dried cranberries
05 - 1/2 cup seedless red grapes, halved (optional)

→ Nuts

06 - 1/2 cup pecan halves, roughly chopped

→ Dressing

07 - 1/2 cup mayonnaise
08 - 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
09 - 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
10 - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
11 - 1 teaspoon honey
12 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish (optional)

13 - Fresh parsley, chopped

# How to Prepare:

01 - In a large bowl, mix together the diced chicken, celery, red onion, dried cranberries, grapes if using, and chopped pecans.
02 - Whisk mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until smooth.
03 - Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture and gently toss to coat all components evenly.
04 - Taste and modify seasoning with additional salt or pepper if necessary.
05 - Refrigerate the salad for a minimum of 15 minutes before serving to enhance flavor integration.
06 - Serve on a bed of greens, as a sandwich filling, or in lettuce cups. Add chopped fresh parsley as a garnish if desired.

# Expert advice:

01 -
  • It's ready in under an hour and tastes even better the next day when flavors have gotten cozy with each other.
  • The pecans stay genuinely crunchy and the cranberries don't disappear into the dressing the way you might expect.
  • You can throw it on greens, stuff it into a sandwich, or eat it straight from the bowl when nobody's looking.
02 -
  • Don't dress the salad more than a few hours before serving or the celery will go soft and the pecans will lose their crunch to moisture.
  • The dressing makes or breaks this dish—the Greek yogurt and mayo together create something creamier than mayo alone but not as heavy, and skipping either one changes the whole character.
03 -
  • Toasting your pecans dry in a skillet for two minutes before chopping them releases oils and flavor that transform the whole salad into something restaurant-quality.
  • Chop your ingredients by hand instead of pulsing them in a food processor—chicken salad made in a processor turns into paste, and that's not what we're after here.

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