Chicken Salad with Grapes and Almonds
This creamy chicken salad with grapes is simple to make and loaded with fresh grapes, crisp almonds and flavorful chives.
What I love about this chicken salad with grapes and almonds
Chicken salad is a favorite of mine. I’ve played around with so many different renditions of it – classic chicken salad, Sriracha chicken salad, curry chicken salad. I even shared a mayo-free version a while back. And, I love each and everyone equally, in different ways.
Just like this one. While it’s very similar to the my deli-style cranberry chicken salad, it has a flavor profile of its own, and I love that swapping out different ingredients makes a completely new salad. This version came about last year when I had a get together with some of my friends and all of our kids. I think it was back in August, but last week, I made it again for a picnic at the zoo.
I’m going to tell you a little secret: most traditional chicken salads are dairy free. But, since the “swap it out for Greek yogurt” trend went crazy, I would say about half of the recipes I find on Pinterest have dairy in them. Obviously, I’m on board with the eating healthy when I can trend, so I devised a small method to help lighten things up a bit.
If you like this recipe, you have to try this lemon orzo salad, and this chickpea tuna salad and this winter fruit salad.
Searching for more salad recipes? Thai noodle salad / Za’atar cucumber salad / butternut squash and kale salad / shaved brussels sprout salad
Ingredients & substitutions
- Chicken – If you have leftover chicken, this is a great recipe to use it up. Otherwise, rotisserie chicken meat saves tons of time.
- Red onion – The crispy crunch of red onion is delightful mixed into this salad, but sometimes red onion can be quite pungent. You can give your onions a cold water rinse after slicing if you want to tame down the flavor and keep the crispness.
- Sliced almonds – I love the flavor of sliced almonds in this salad, but walnuts or pecans would also taste delicious if you prefer them, or just have them on hand.
- Chives – You can use green onions in place of the chives. If you omit them, you could add a tablespoon or two more of red onion.
- Mayonnaise – I use canola oil mayonnaise, it’s about half the calories of regular mayonnaise, and it doesn’t seem to have as much added sugar as the light mayonnaise that’s out there. Then I add a bit of water to the mix stretch the mayo a little further.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make chicken salad with grapes
Combine ingredients. Toss all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, mix until everything is incorporated well. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
Chill and serve. Cover and pop in the fridge until ready to serve. It’s best to at least allow the salad to sit for about 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to fully meld together. You can serve this on a simple bread, a croissant or even a lettuce wrap, whatever you prefer. It’s great on its own as well.
Ingredients
- 5 cups chopped (cooked chicken)
- 1 1/2 cups halved grapes
- 1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1/4 cup finely chopped chives (or green onion)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mix until mayonnaise is incorporated.
- Refrigerate until ready to eat.
Mayonnaise actually not a dairy product. Dairy products are made with milk. Mayonnaise only contains eggs and often get confused with dairy because they need to be refrigerated.
Can’t believe how delicious this recipe is! How can it be this yum and this healthy at the same time? 😀 And I didn’t even need to do any actual cooking!