Chicken Salad with Grapes (2024)

Who doesn’t love a fresh and easy chicken salad with grapes recipe? With the perfect blend of creamy and crunchy, this lunchtime staple can be enjoyed on its own, over greens or sandwiched between two slices of crusty bread. While you can buy premade varieties at the store, nothing tops the flavor of a homemade chicken salad recipe with grapes. It’s also a yummy leftover chicken recipe.

We love creative chicken salad recipes like curried chicken salad and Asian-inspired sesame chicken salad, but there’s something classic about chicken salad recipes with grapes. The combination of creamy dressing, juicy grapes, nutty pecans and crunchy celery never gets old! It’s the type of make-ahead lunch that can be enjoyed daily without ever becoming boring.

Ingredients for Chicken Salad with Grapes

• Rotisserie chicken: Shredded rotisserie chicken is convenient for making this homemade chicken salad with grapes recipe. Rotisserie chicken uses leftovers well and provides a good balance of white and dark meat chicken. We recommend shredding (instead of cubing) the chicken so the dressing is able to cling to more nooks and crannies.
• Mayonnaise: Mayonnaise forms the base of our creamy chicken salad dressing. Not a mayo fan? You can make chicken salad without mayo by swapping in plain Greek yogurt or using mashed avocado to make avocado chicken salad.
• Sour cream and lemon juice: These dressing ingredients add a tangy kick to this chunky chicken salad recipe with grapes.
• Grapes: Grapes add juicy texture and complex flavor to chicken salad recipes. We use colorful red grapes but feel free to use green grapes if you have them on hand. Halving the grapes makes them easier to eat, especially for children.
• Pecans: Chopped nuts add a textured pop to chicken salad recipes with grapes. Toasted pecans can be used to add depth.
• Celery and onion: These fresh crunchy veggies make chicken salad taste light and refreshing. The sweet onion is optional, as not everyone enjoys the flavor of raw onions.
• Lettuce or bread: We’ll offer some suggestions for serving the chicken salad with grapes recipe below, but the most classic options involve lettuce or bread.

Directions

Step 1: Make the dressing

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In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Step 2: Mix the chicken salad

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Add the chicken, grapes, pecans, celery and, if desired, onion.

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Mix lightly to coat.

If desired, serve with lettuce leaves or whole wheat bread.

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Ways to Serve Chicken Salad with Grapes

• Chicken salad lettuce cups: Serve chicken salad recipes with grapes on a bed of greens, or scoop the salad into lettuce leaves to make cups. Either romaine or Bibb lettuce is a particularly good choice, but most head lettuce varieties work.
• Chicken salad sandwich or panini: Scoop the chicken salad with grapes recipe onto dinner rolls for chicken salad party sandwiches, or stuff the salad between two slices of bread to make a quick lunch. Bonus points if you use one of our homemade bread recipes! For a toasty chicken salad panini, press the sandwich on a panini press.
• Chicken salad croissant: Make chicken salad croissants by serving the chicken salad recipe with grapes on split croissant rolls.
• Chicken salad pita: Line pita pocket halves with lettuce and scoop in a generous serving of salad to make pita pocket chicken salad.
• Chicken salad wrap: Roll chicken salad recipes with grapes inside whole-wheat tortillas, as with Asian chicken salad wraps.
• Chicken salad dip: Serve a chicken salad recipe with grapes as a snacky dip alongside buttery Ritz crackers.

Recipe Variations

• Add mix-ins: Add more texture and flavor to your chicken salad with grapes recipe by adding diced avocado, dried cranberries for cranberry chicken salad or even crumbled bacon to give the recipe a BLT chicken salad vibe.
• Change up the fruit: Instead of grapes, add fresh blueberries, chopped apples, pears or cherries. Sliced strawberries are a lovely addition to strawberry chicken salad.
• Use another nut: If you’re out of pecans, toss in chopped cashews, walnuts or almonds for a salty crunch.
• Include herbs: Fresh herbs like parsley or dill pair well with chicken, or use fresh tarragon to make tarragon chicken salad.

How to Store Chicken Salad with Grapes

Store the chicken salad with grapes recipe in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you have extra rotisserie chicken, store it in a separate airtight container in the fridge. Leftover rotisserie chicken lasts for up to four days, so you have plenty of time to make more chicken salad—or use it up in these rotisserie chicken recipes.

How long does chicken salad with grapes last?

A chicken salad recipe with grapes lasts up to four days when kept in an airtight container in the fridge. If you serve it at a potluck or other gathering, make sure it doesn’t sit out at room temperature for longer than two hours for food safety reasons.

Chicken Salad with Grapes Tips

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What kind of chicken should you use to make chicken salad with grapes?

Rotisserie chicken is our go-to choice for chicken salad recipes with grapes because it’s quick and easy. Plus, mixing white and dark meat chicken creates a variety of flavors and textures in the salad.

Alternatively, you can start with raw chicken breasts or thighs if you forget to grab a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store. Choose your favorite way to cook chicken, then pick a method for how to shred chicken, whether it’s with a fork, a stand mixer or your hands. You can also use canned chicken in a pinch.

How can you make chicken salad with grapes healthier?

You can make this chicken salad with grapes recipe fit into your healthy-eating plan by making a few tasty tweaks. Whether chicken salad is healthy or not depends entirely on the ingredients used, so consider using lean, white breast meat instead of dark meat chicken. To cut back on the fat and calories from mayonnaise, incorporate mashed avocado, plain Greek yogurt or vegan mayonnaise.

When choosing the crunchy ingredients to add to chicken salad, opt for fresh chopped veggies like onions, green bell peppers or carrots. Nuts can be a heart-healthy addition, but they may have more fat than you’d like for a lunchtime serving. Finally, serve your chicken salad in a lettuce wedge or over a mixed greens salad for more nutrients without the extra carbs.

What are good side dishes for chicken salad sandwiches?

Serve chicken salad sandwiches with make-ahead salad recipes like pasta salad, potato salad or coleslaw. Chicken salad sandwiches also pair well with classic sandwich side dishes like air-fryer potato chips or air-fryer sweet potato fries.