Southern Chicken Salad is a recipe that I swiped from my mom. It is the fanciest chicken salad that I have ever made :D. And so good! I could and have eaten this salad for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Tips For Making Southern Chicken Salad
- I almost always skip the dry onion soup but, when I do I add 2 tsp. garlic powder and 1 tsp. salt to the marinade. You may need more or less salt depending on how salty the chicken broth is.
- The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar but, 1/4 cup is plenty! The red grapes are mildly sweet and also the dressing so that is why I like to reduce the sugar a tad. If a spicy chicken salad is what makes you grin then you need to check out my Tex-Mex Chicken Salad Wraps!
- Don’t forget to toast those pecans! It really makes a difference! 🙂
- I didn’t use the cheese for this recipe but, it’s delish when I do!
Ways To Eat Chicken Salad
- On crackers
- In a croissant roll
- On a green salad – my favorite!
- In a wrap
- Lettuce wraps
- Straight out of the bowl 🙂
- As a sandwich
- On pita chips – So good!
Southern Chicken Salad
Servings 12
Ingredients
- 3 lbs . chicken breast , or 1 whole chicken
- 1 can chicken broth
- 1 pkg. golden onion dry soup
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon dry yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 cup celery , chopped very fine
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup toasted pecans , chopped
- 1 cup red seedless grapes , sliced
- 3/4 cup mayo or plain greek yogurt
Instructions
- Cook chicken in chicken broth and onion soup for 30 to 45 minutes or until completely done. If boiling a whole chicken, add more broth or water as needed.
- Remove chicken from broth.
- Debone and shred.
- Soak shredded chicken overnight in the sugar, olive oil, vinegar, dry mustard and poppy seeds.
- Mix in the celery, cheese, pecans, grapes, and mayo or greek yogurt.
- Store in refrigerator up to 1 week.