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Make this easy cranberry walnut chicken salad recipe using leftovers or shredded rotisserie chicken. It's creamy and delicious!
Does this situation sound familiar? A fridge full of leftover chicken begging for a second life.
Instead of repeating last night's dinner, make a healthy cranberry walnut chicken salad. It marries the convenience of cooked chicken with a creamy tarragon dressing, crunchy walnuts, and sweet cranberries.
It's a meal prep lunch idea, a light dinner, and perfect for an upscale picnic. Make sandwiches with your favorite bread, this easy keto chaffles recipe, or lettuce wraps and serve alongside these healthy chicken salad side dishes.
This simple yet flavor-packed salad won't keep you in the kitchen for long, either. It's ready in minutes and easy to customize using simple ingredients you have on hand.
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Ingredient Notes
Consider this a recipe template for the best-ever chicken salad you can put on repeat!
You'll need the ingredients below to make our easy chicken salad with walnuts and cranberries. But, we've included suggestions for variations.
- Shredded chicken - Use leftover rotisserie chicken, lightly seasoned chicken from last night's dinner, or freshly poached chicken (see the section below.) It works with leftover turkey, too!
- Note: You'll need about 3 cups of processed chicken or 2-3 cooked chicken breasts that weigh about 16 ounces in total.
- Mayonnaise - Use your favorite kind!
- Sour cream or use plain Greek yogurt for a healthy twist
- Dried tarragon leaves or Italian seasoning.
- Diced celery gives this salad a nice crunch.
- Walnuts, pecans, or almonds also add texture.
- Dried cranberries or halved red grapes provide a sweet pop of flavor and color. You can leave them out for a keto-friendly, low-carb chicken salad.
- Salt and black pepper to taste.
Other mix-ins that add flavor and color: Sliced green onions, diced red onion, and fresh herbs like parsley, basil, or fresh tarragon.
Please refer to the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and detailed instructions.
How to Make Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad
Here's how to make this easy chicken salad recipe with leftover shredded chicken:
- Shred leftover chicken with two forks or mixing beaters. You can also use a food processor or dice chicken into bite-sized cubes for a chunky salad.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix sour cream, mayonnaise, tarragon, salt, pepper, diced celery, chopped walnuts, and dried cranberries.
- Mix shredded chicken with the dressing.
- Enjoy on slices of bread, in rolls, on pita bread, or in a lettuce cup!
If you're interested in a hands-off method to make this recipe, check out this slow cooker chicken salad recipe!
How to Poach Chicken
To poach boneless, skinless chicken breasts, place 3-4 chicken breasts in a pot of water or broth. Bring water to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink. After the chicken cools, shred it with a fork or dice it.
Top Tip
Use leftover chicken that's moist. If it's too dry, revive it with a little broth before adding it to the salad.
Looking for a versatile chicken recipe that is easy to repurpose for chicken walnut cranberry salad? Baked lemon pepper chicken is fantastic. For a spicy twist, try blackened chicken or baked chili lime chicken.
Storage
Store leftover chicken salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More Easy Salad Recipes
Would you like more easy, healthy, carb-conscious recipes?
📋 Recipe
Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon or Italian seasoning
- ½ cup celery diced
- ⅓ cup walnuts chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries leave off for a low-carb version
- 3 cups Cooked, shredded or diced chicken Rotisserie chicken works well.
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix sour cream, mayonnaise, tarragon, salt, pepper, diced celery, chopped walnuts, and cranberries together in a large bowl.
- Mix shredded chicken with the dressing.
- Enjoy in a lettuce wrap or as a sandwich.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on November 28, 2013, and has been updated to improve the reader experience.
Christine says
Great recipe! I made this for our lunch but left out the Sour cream or yogurt (we don't like the stuff). Served it between sliced Focaccia bread. Delicious!
Thank you for the recipe!
Marjory Pilley says
I'm so glad you enjoy it!
Deb says
I love the ingredients in this dish... I'm always on the search for these types of sandwiches.
Tara says
Love the tarragon in there, it seems to be a herb that isn't used very much and I really like it. Delicious looking chicken salad!!
Marjory says
Thanks Tara! I don't use it much either but I absolutely love it in this salad recipe so I always have a jar of dried tarragon on hand.