Creamy Cranberry Chicken Salad
A refreshing and satisfying cool lunch recipe that is great for hot summer months.
Equipment
- 1 medium bowl
- 1 large cutting board
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 Large bowl
- measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup hot water
- 12 ounces cooked chicken breast chopped (about 1 ½ cups)
- 1 celery stalk finely diced
- ⅓ cup light mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup pecans toasted (optional)
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt (optional)
Instructions
- Place dried cranberries in a medium bowl and pour hot water over them. Let cranberries soak for 8 to 10 minutes to rehydrate. Drain water from cranberries and dry them with a paper towel. Set aside.
- While soaking the cranberries, chop chicken and celery, and place into a large bowl.
- Add light mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, cranberries, ground black pepper, and salt (if using). Using a fork, shred the chicken while mixing the ingredients until well combined and everything is evenly distributed.
- Serve as a sandwich filling, in a wrap, as a salad topping, with crackers, or as a dip for your favorite raw vegetables.
Video
Notes
Tips and Tricks
What kind of chicken works best for this recipe?
Chicken breast works well here. You can poach or boil raw chicken breast in water for this recipe (and share some with your dogs if you didn’t add any seasoning to the chicken). When you mix all the ingredients together, add ¼ tsp of salt at a time until the salad tastes good.
Breast from a rotisserie chicken, roasted chicken, or from a can makes this recipe very convenient. Just shred your leftover chicken breast or open a 12-ounce can of chicken breast. I wouldn’t add any salt if using chicken breast that is already seasoned since it has enough salt already.
What’s the best way to pack this for lunch?
Pack your Cranberry Chicken Salad separately from your bread to prevent the bread from getting soggy. Then top the bread with some lettuce and the chicken salad. Crackers or raw vegetables are a great way to eat this salad if you love crunchy textures.
To keep this nut-free-school-friendly, omit the pecans. It tastes just as delicious without them.
Do I have to soak the cranberries?
No. Your salad will still taste delicious without rehydrated cranberries. However, you will have a higher chance of getting cranberries stuck in your teeth. Rehydrated cranberries are nice and plump and the added moisture helps to keep your mayo use low when you have drier chicken breast.