Are you ready for Chicken Salad with Red Grapes and Walnuts? This salad makes such a nice, refreshing summer meal or slider. We actually eat it year-round!
Chicken Salad with Grapes and Nuts Recipe
To me, nothing says summer is better than cool and creamy chicken salad. I love this version for two reasons: the combination of the sweet grapes with the savory chicken is delicious and I also like the added crunch from the celery and walnuts.
This salad is great to serve at brunch or a luncheon. We also love having a bowl of chicken salad in the fridge during the summer when it’s nice to be able to eat something on the lighter side that’s also chilled.
Things to Love
- It’s refreshing.
- It keeps well in the fridge – makes it easy to grab when you need lunch or a snack.
- It’s delicious on buns, bread, or wrapped in a lettuce leaf as a low-carb option.
- The grapes really compliment the chicken, while the celery and walnuts add great crunch.
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken. You’ll need four cups of cooked, chopped chicken. Use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery to keep it super easy and fast.
- Celery, red grapes, toasted walnuts, scallions. These ingredients give great crunch and texture to the chicken salad. Don’t skip the crunch! You can substitute green grapes and toasted pecans if you prefer.
- Plain Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, honey. This lower-fat chicken salad dressing is totally forgiving. You can use all plain Greek yogurt or all mayonnaise to make this dressing, or a combination of both. No lemon juice on hand? Substitute cider vinegar.
How to Make Chicken Salad in 3 Easy Steps
- Make the dressing by combining the mayonnaise, plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice and zest, and honey; season to taste with salt and pepper.
- In a mixing bowl, place the cooked, chopped chicken, red grapes, celery, scallions and walnuts; pour the dressing over the top, tossing all to combine.
- Place the chicken salad onto buns or into lettuce leaves and serve!
Is this a low-carb recipe?
It can be! If you are eating low-carb, a lettuce leaf filled with Chicken Salad with Red Grapes and Walnuts is just delish. Pay attention to your other ingredients and swap them out if you can find a lower carb option.
How long will chicken salad last in the fridge?
I’d say up to 3 days, max. Store it in an airtight container and give it a quick stir each time you get ready to serve some up.
Is this recipe still tasty without the nuts?
The walnuts give extra crunch and texture, but if you worry about a nut allergy in your group, you can leave them out. Or, if you don’t have walnuts on hand, you can substitute pecans or even almonds. You could also increase the amount of celery for more crunch and texture if you have to leave out the nuts.
Can I use cooked chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts?
Yesssss! I’ve gotten to where I actually PREFER using chicken thighs in many of my recipes that call for cooked chicken meat. I’m finding the dark meat to be much more flavorful and moist, as well as quicker cooking because it’s a smaller cut of poultry.
Can chicken salad be made with shredded cooked chicken instead of chopped cooked chicken?
Good question. If you prefer the texture of shredded chicken over chunks of chopped chicken, that works just fine, especially if you are going to use the chicken salad with croissants or wrapped up in a lettuce leaf.
Can I make chicken salad with rotisserie chicken?
Yep. If you are short on time a rotisserie chicken makes this salad even more quick and easy.
Can I freeze chicken salad?
No. Upon thawing, the chicken salad would be a soggy mess. However, you can freeze chopped chicken so that when you’re ready to make chicken salad, all you have to do is thaw it and stir in the other ingredients and dressing.
More Summer Salad Recipes to Enjoy –
- Creamy Chipotle Pasta Salad with Shredded Chicken and Smoked Gouda
- Summer Corn Salad
- Tortellini Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Corn and Basil
- Crunchy Corn Salad
- Sweet Corn and Baby Pea Salad with Jicama
- Delta Cornbread Salad
- Grandma Lucille’s German Potato Salad
- Classic Macaroni Salad
- Ham Salad
- Mexican Panzanella Salad with Steak and Shrimp
- Instant Pot Potato Salad
- Orzo Pasta Salad with Grilled Steak
- Broccoli Potato Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
- BLT Pasta Salad (Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Pasta Salad)
Printable Chicken Salad with Red Grapes and Walnuts Recipe
Chicken Salad with Red Grapes and Walnuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt, may substitute sour cream
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbs. agave nectar or honey
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cups diced cooked chicken
- 1 cup seedless red grapes, sliced in half lengthwise
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 3 ribs celery, diced
- ½ cup walnut pieces, toasted
- Green leaf lettuce, washed and patted dry
- mini croissants, slider buns, or cocktail buns
Instructions
- Make a dressing from the yogurt, mayo, lemon zest, lemon juice, and agave nectar; season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Stir in chicken, grapes, scallions, celery, and walnuts.
- Serve chicken salad wrapped in lettuce leaves, on croissants or slider buns, as desired.
- Serves 8
Notes
- Chicken salad will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- You may substitute green grapes for red grapes and also pecans or almonds for the walnuts.
- If you prefer, you can use chopped chicken thighs instead of chopped chicken breasts for this chicken salad.
Nutrition
Originally published on August 27, 2015, with updates made on April 18, 2023.
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