Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad (2024)

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Creamy cranberry pecan chicken salad makes a tender, melt-in-your-mouth lunch that is quick, easy and tasty. This easy salad gets its flavor from slightly tart but also sweet cranberries, nutty pecans, and crunchy celery tossed in the most delicious dressing with leftover cooked chicken for a quick and delicious recipe.

Why We Love Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

• Great For Leftovers Or Rotisserie Chicken – This recipe is the perfect way to use up a little leftover roast chicken, or you can make it even faster with rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. You can also use leftover grilled chicken.
• Perfect For Lunch Or Dinner – This simple recipe makes a delicious lunch, but is still filling enough for dinner or can also make a quick snack. Homemade chicken salad is one of my favorite things to prep ahead for an afternoon party and always gets rave reviews.
• Easy Recipe – Only a few ingredients mixed together help this recipe come together fast, while still packing in flavor to make the best chicken salad. We love this cranberry chicken salad so much I also made an apple walnut chicken salad version too!

Ingredients For Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

• 2 ½cupschicken, about 2 cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts – or 14 ounces cooked chicken
• ½cupdried cranberriesroughly chopped, these give the recipe a delicious sweet tart flavor
• ⅓cuppecanschopped
• ⅓cupcelery1 stalk, diced
• ¼cupgreen onionchopped, 2 pieces, you could also use red onion
• ¾cupmayonnaise
• 4teaspoonslemon juice
• 1tablespoonhoney
• ½teaspoonsalt
• ¼teaspoongarlic powder
• ⅛teaspoonblack pepper

How To Make Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

1. Chop the leftover chicken, pecans, cranberries, celery and green onions into small bite sized pieces.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add chicken, chopped pecans, cranberries, celery, and green onion and mix together well.

3. In a second smaller bowl, add mayonnaise, lemon juice, honey, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Blend this mixture well with a whisk or fork.

4. Pour the dressing mixture over chicken mixture. With a spoon, mix in the dressing until the chicken and vegetables are evenly coated.

5. Scoop and enjoy! Add to croissants, fluffy dinner rolls, lettuce cups, or enjoy all by itself.

Variation Ideas

• Swap The Bread – Serve this chicken salad on a croissant, fluffy roll, or between two toasted pieces of chewy bread for the most delicious chicken salad sandwiches.
• Try A Wrap– Wrap this tender chicken salad in a tortilla with some crunchy lettuce for a delicious meal, or make a lettuce wrap and enjoy.
• Try Different Nuts– I’ve used crunchy pecans, but almonds or cashews are also a great addition in place of pecans.
• Play With Fruit– Use fresh grapes or apples like a more classic chicken salad instead of cranberries, or add them in with the cranberries for extra sweetness – the best part!
• Lighten It Up– You can swap plain greek yogurt for the mayo in this recipe for a slightly lighter version.

How Long Will Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad Last?

Expect this cranberry pecan chicken salad to last for about three days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

.It’s a great recipe to prep ahead the night before a party or for lunch. Also try the egg salad recipe, they go great together on a party platter.