Sweet and Savory Chicken Salad with Creamy Yogurt Dressing

This Sweet and Savory Chicken Salad with Creamy Yogurt Dressing is a perfect combination. Sweet grapes, crunchy celery and a tangy dressing make a delicious flavor match. 

Grandma’s Classic Chicken Salad Recipe

Now, let’s talk about this chicken salad. It is hands down my favorite chicken salad recipe. It’s based on a recipe that my Grandma used to make and I always loved it (she’s such an inspiration for me!).

First of all, it’s sweet and savory. The juicy chicken gets balanced out with fresh grapes providing a hint of sweetness. And, the white wine vinegar adds some nice tanginess.

Second, you have a great texture between crunchy and creamy. Crisp celery and slivered almonds add the crunch while the Greek yogurt and mayo add the creaminess.

I also like to think of this as a healthy chicken salad recipe as the salad dressing is mostly made up of Greek yogurt. There are just a couple tablespoons of mayo added to make it extra creamy and give it extra flavor.

Finally, let’s point out that this is a pretty easy recipe. There’s little prep and the salad ingredients are easily found in your local grocery stores. In 15 minutes or less, you will have this on your plate!

Ways to Use This Sweet and Savory Chicken Salad

The best part about this recipe? There are so many different ways to use this chicken salad.

• Frankly, I really like this chicken salad all on its own. I eat it as a light, healthy lunch option or dinner.
• However, it’s also great served on a bed of your favorite greens.
• Or, how about finding a couple of slices of bread and making chicken salad sandwiches! This chicken salad on a ciabatta roll is so good!
• Another great way to use this recipe? Use it to make lettuce wraps. Grab some romaine lettuce and scoop onto a leaf. Tasty!

The other great thing I love is when I have leftover chicken salad. It just gets better the longer it sits.

I keep the leftover chicken salad in my fridge for 3-5 days. I do not freeze this recipe as it does not thaw well once frozen.

One of My Favorite Hacks: Having Cooked Chicken Always Available

There are so many recipes out there that use cooked chicken. Chicken is relatively inexpensive, readily available and is so versatile. Cooked chicken also freezes very well, so it’s easy to keep on hand.

I like to alway have some cooked chicken in my freezer. It makes meal prep a lot easier when your main protein is a short thaw time away from being available.

Best Ways to Ensure Having Extra Chicken Available

1. If you are having grilled chicken for dinner, just grill a few extra pieces that are not needed immediately. I usually keep these whole for freezing.

2. Purchase a cooked rotisserie chicken (Costco is a great place to find an inexpensive tasty bird!). With rotisserie chickens, I like to shred the meat and separate the white meat from the dark meat. Some recipes call for one or the other, so having them separate makes it that much easier to use.

3. If you happen to be roasting your own chicken (whole chicken or whole breast), prepare an extra. Again, I like to shred the meat from these, but sometimes will cube up a whole chicken breast if I know that’s needed in the near future.

How to Freeze Extra Cooked Chicken

It doesn’t matter if I am freezing whole chicken breasts, or shredded / cubed chicken, I do the same thing.

First, I divide into approximately 1 pound portions. This is because most recipes use some combination of chicken in 1 pound or 1/2 pound increments. You know just how much to thaw if you’ve frozen the chicken in these 1 pound portions.

​Then, put the chicken into freezer bags or some type of airtight container and put into the freezer. You can freeze for up to 3 months.

How to Thaw Frozen Chicken

I prefer to take the chicken out of the freezer and let it thaw naturally. Once thawed, I put into the refrigerator until ready to use.

I don’t like using the microwave because the chicken can easily overcook. That can take your tender chicken and make it a consistency you do not want.

Other Recipes Using Cooked Chicken

Obviously, a great use of having frozen chicken available is to make this delicious chicken salad recipe. But, there are lots of other wonderful recipes out there that can use your frozen chicken:

• Chicken Taco Pinwheels – Taco seasoning gives these roll-ups their delicious flavor.
• Baked Chicken Taquitos – It starts with plenty of shredded chicken breast and gets mixed up with salsa and a little cheddar cheese.
• Avocado Chicken Salad Dip – Serve it as an appetizer on toast, crackers, or with tortilla chips, or in a lettuce wrap for a light lunch or easy meal.

Tips and Tricks

• Any cooked chicken that you have on hand will work with this recipe. I prefer using white meat, but if you prefer dark meat that will also work. If you don’t have any on hand, you can pick up a rotisserie chicken and shred the meat.
• For a bolder onion flavor you can substitute red onion for the green onion.
• If you’re not a fan of almonds or don’t have any on hand, cashews are a tasty substitute.
• Don’t skip the celery salt, it really adds depth to the flavor of the salad.
• This salad is delicious on it’s own, served on a bed of lettuce or tucked into a ciabatta roll or a croissant.

Ingredients Needed to Make this Sweet and Savory Chicken Salad with Creamy Yogurt Dressing

Full instructions can be found below in the printable recipe card

• Cooked, cubed or shredded chicken – A rotisserie chicken works great for this salad, but any leftover chicken will work.
• Celery – Adds crunch and color
• Green onions – Adds a mild onion flavor to the salad without being overpowering.
• Purple grapes – I prefer these over green grapes because of the pop of color that they add, because we also eat with our eyes.
• Slivered almonds – Add a nutty component to the flavor profile.
• Plain Greek yogurt – Plain non-fat Greek yogurt, fat free, low fat or full-fat Greek yogurt all work with this recipe. But, I do recommend using Greek rather than regular yogurt. I like the thicker texture of Greek yogurt.
• Mayonnaise – This adds a richness to the dressing as well as additional flavor.
• White wine vinegar – This thins out the dressing a bit as well as adding a slight tanginess.
• Salt 
• Black pepper
• Celery salt – Enhances the the flavor of the dressing.

How to Make this Easy Chicken Salad Recipe

• Combine chicken through almonds in a medium size bowl.
• Whisk together the yogurt through the celery salt in a small bowl.
• Pour dressing over the chicken mixture and stir gently to coat.
• Serve salad as is, over lettuce, or on a sandwich roll.

ENJOY!