This cranberry chicken pecan salad is easy to make and tastes freaking delicious. It’s got a balance of sweet from the cranberries mixed with tang from the dijon mustard and a slight bite from the green onions. And don’t forget a crunch from the pecans! This is a great option for lunch or dinner, and is naturally both gluten free and dairy free.
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Chicken salads are such a great meal option when you’re busy. Take some pre-cooked chicken, throw some fun ingredients in, and you have a meal.
This cranberry pecan chicken salad is no different, but boy are you going to be glad you made it.
You know when some chicken salads taste only like mayo? Or are overly sweet? Not this one. The flavors are really well balanced so you actually taste what’s in it – nothing overpowering.
If you crave chicken salads, or just happen to have a bunch of leftover chicken on hand, you’re also going to check out my cashew grape chicken salad and my pear hazelnut chicken salad. Both have great flavor and are different twists on the typical chicken salad recipe.
But for now, let’s talk about this cranberry pecan chicken salad.
The secret to great chicken salad
Want a flavorful chicken salad? It starts with the chicken! Use chicken that was salted or seasoned either before or during the cooking process.
I have used my brined smoked chicken in this recipe and it tastes great. You could also use a rotisserie chicken, some chicken you’ve lightly seasoned then baked, or pre-seasoned chicken from a store. As long as the seasoning isn’t overpowering, it should be just fine to use in this chicken salad.
Ingredients for an easy cranberry chicken salad
(Note: the full ingredients list, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.)
- Chicken breast – should be cooked, shredded, and as I mentioned above, previously seasoned. You could use dark meat chicken in this recipe though I’ve found it can be a little oily.
- Dried cranberries – I like to use low-sugar cranberries or ones with just a juice concentrate for a sweetener. Tailor your sweetness preferences here.
- Pecans – I will buy pecan pieces and just use those in this salad to eliminate a step, but if you have pecan halves you can roughly chop them.
- Celery – Make sure you clean and dry the celery. This will eliminate any gritty dirt but also giving it a once over with a towel will make sure any excess water doesn’t get into the chicken salad and wet it down.
- Mayonnaise – my preferred mayo is Primal Kitchen, which is what I use in this recipe. Different mayos will absolutely work but might have a slightly different flavor profile (especially something like Miracle Whip).
- Dijon mustard – dijon mustard is great because it balances the tartness of yellow mustard with the sweetness of honey mustard. You can substitute either in this recipe if you like a slightly more tart or sweeter chicken salad, though I would suggest starting out by halving the amount, tasting it, then adding more if desired.
- Green onions – use just the green parts only. While there aren’t many green onions in this recipe, they really do give a great additional flavor to this chicken salad. Don’t skip out on these!
- Salt and pepper – add these at the end and taste to see if you need more. Start sparingly because you can always add more in but you can’t take any away once they’re in the salad!
How to make chicken salad with cranberries and pecans
(Note: please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the complete written instructions.)
There’s really not much to making this pecan and cranberry chicken salad. Just make sure all the necessary ingredients are chopped, diced, shredded, etc. Place them in a bowl and stir them up a bit.
Then you combine the mayo and mustard in a bowl. Finally, you add the mayo mixture to the chicken mixture and stir to combine. Voila – done!
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