Chicken Salad with Grapes
Tired of the same old lunch? Try this Chicken Salad with Grapes recipe jazzed up with dried cherries, grapes, and pecans. It’s absolutely irresistible!
If you haven’t tried a Fruity Chicken Salad, you’ll love the pop of sweetness, plus crunch from the nuts and tart chewiness from the cherries!
Why You Must Make
I hate to brag, but this is one fabulous chicken salad recipe. There’s nothing complicated about it. The prep entails a bit of chopping and stirring, but it’s the proportions that are key.
- It’s super easy to make!
- The addition of sour cream and lemon juice for balance makes for a delicious recipe.
- The add-ins including fruit and nuts can be tweaked according to your preferences.
I always prefer a smidgen of sour cream to cut the mayo in these sorts of salads. And a little acidity from the lemon juice helps balance the flavors. The add-ins are up to you. Leave out the nuts if that’s not your thing. I’d have to remove the pecans and cherries if serving this to my family, but this batch of chicken salad with grapes was for me!
Ingredient Notes
You Might Have in Your Kitchen: Mayonnaise (I use Hellmann’s or Duke’s/affiliate link), Salt, Black Pepper
You Might Need:
- Sour Cream – Use full fat.
- Lemon Juice (affiliate link)- Freshly squeezed is superior to bottles. Link is to my favorite hand-held juicer.
- Chopped Chicken Breast – Use leftover grilled or baked chicken or use meat from a rotisserie chicken.
- Celery – Dice into small pieces.
- Pecans – Chop. If they’ve been in your pantry for months, gently heat in a dry skillet to bring out their essential oils.
- Green or Red Seedless Grapes – Cut in half or quarters, especially if serving to children, to minimize choking..
- Dried Cherries (affiliate link) – You can always substitute raisins, but I love the addition of cherries. I buy them at Trader Joe’s, but you can also buy the same ones on Amazon.
Expert Tips
- PRO-Tip: If you’re following a low-carb diet, this can be eaten as a salad over lettuce.
- Use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or roast up a few chicken breasts to slice or shred.
- Add ingredients that will contrast with the flavor and texture of the chicken—crunchy nuts, fruit, crisp vegetables like diced/minced celery, chewy dried cherries or raisins.
- It’s easy to swap out the pecans for walnuts, the dried cherries for raisins, etc.
- PRO-Tip: Toast your nuts briefly in the oven or in a saute pan to enhance their flavor by warming their essential oils.
- PRO-Tip: Use a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten the flavor and help balance the richness of the dressing. A touch of curry powder is a tasty option, too.
- PRO-Tip: Instead of straight mayonnaise in the dressing, use a touch of sour cream or even plain yogurt to balance the flavor.
- If you’re making sandwiches ahead of time, put lettuce on the bottom to keep the dressing from making a soggy bun.
- Offer mini croissants, soft rolls, or sliced bread along with this Chicken Salad with Grapes and Nuts to make sandwiches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since chicken salad has a rich, creamy dressing, it goes best with lighter sides like a green salad, fruit salad, crudite tray, or chips. Even a pasta salad, coleslaw or broccoli salad makes a delicious pairing.
Start with cooked and cooled chicken whether you grill, roast, or poach it or use a rotisserie chicken. Next, remove the meat from the bone if needed, then chop or shred it into bite-sized pieces depending on your preference.
As long as it hasn’t been left out at room temperature for over 2 hours, it’s safe to keep any leftover chicken salad covered in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
You can also freeze chicken salad, but remove the grapes first. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and stir well before serving to incorporate any juices that have separated from the dressing. You may add in some fresh grapes at this time if desired.
You May Also Like:
- Asian Chicken Cranberry Salad from Reluctant Entertainer
- Lobster Salad from Savory Experiments
- Brie, Jam and Salami Sandwich
- Open Faced Salmon Sandwiches
- Croque Monsieur
- Tuna Cranberry Pecan Salad Sandwich
- Ditch the bun and serve a Chicken Stuffed Avocado! (keto-friendly)
- More Easy Chicken Recipes
- More Sandwich Recipes
Fruity Chicken Salad
A classic chicken salad jazzed up with dried cherries, grapes and pecans
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise (I use Hellmann's)
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper (⅛-¼ teaspoon)
- 1 pound cooked chicken breast, chopped
- ¼ cup diced celery
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup halved grapes (red or green seedless)
- ⅓ cup dried cherries
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, and lemon juice. Add pepper to taste.
- Stir in chicken, celery, pecans, and dried cherries.
- Serve over lettuce (bib lettuce makes a nice lettuce cup) or on a bun or croissant.
Notes
Chicken salad will actually taste even better if made the day before and refrigerated. Even making it early in the morning to serve later in the day will allow the flavors to meld and develop.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 510Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 803mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 37g
25 Comments on “Chicken Salad with Grapes”
Looks crazy delicious! I love fruit with meat, especially mango, chicken & avocado. Heavenly taste combination that is. Looking forward to trying your recipe, the warmer day today, had me whipping up big bowls of salad and sandwiches. Wish I’d seen this earlier. Ah well, spring is in the air, Ill make soon. 🙂
Lizzy,
What great looking sandwich. I don’t think I’ve ever had chicken salad. I know that sounds strange but I’m not a fan of mayo. Your sandwich looks so good that I’ll have to give it a try.
Annamaria
Hi Liz, great salad, love that you added grapes and dried cherries. Happy Sunday to you!
I love grapes! Why haven’t I thought of adding them to salads?
This looks like the perfect lunch! I love the addition of dried cherries, pecans and grapes in here! It sounds fantastic!
Back in the Philippines we make our chicken salad loaded with fruits so I know this is an instant favorite for me – love the sweetness from the fruits and the savory flavors from the rest! Great looking and tasty salad – thanks for sharing and pinned, too! 🙂
This look just beautiful Lizzy!!!
I think I’d have to go with a bun as well.. how yummy to bite into that! I love the idea of a bit of fruit mixed in to freshen things up:)
I cant wait to try this Liz!
Yes, indeed, keep the pecans in this perfect chicken salad =) I’ll have to experiment sometime with the sour cream / mayo balance…both wonderful condiments =)
This sounds delicious.
I am very certain I would love this beautiful fruity chicken salad. It is lovely!
This looks and sounds really good, a lot like my recipe, although I have used various fruits, cherries have not been one of them, so I will do that next time. Matt is a huge fan of chicken salad so I make it often for him and it goes nicely in a lettuce wrap! 🙂 Yours looks wonderful.
There’s nothing better than chicken salad on a croissant. Love your addition of grapes and my favorite dried cherries!
This chicken salad looks yummy. I have had chicken salad with fruit in before and love the sweet taste of the fruit with taste of the chicken.
I know lots of people don’t enjoy fruit with meat but I’m not in that group. I make a similar salad and there’s never any left. Now I’ll try yours!
I do enjoy my fruits in chicken and pork so this salad is calling my name, particularly the dried cherries. Awesome recipe Liz.
wow that sandwich looks too good to be true, Liz.
Sounds good! And I just happened to throw an extra chicken breast on the grill yesterday:@)
Greetings from Prague! Apologies that I haven’t been stopping by, Liz, we’ve been on the most fabulous adventures… love the sound of this salad… could do with a bite of it right now XX Happy cooking.