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Pineapple Chicken Salad with chunks of chicken, crushed pineapple, grapes, green onions, almonds, and celery in a delicious cream cheese based creamy dressing with pineapple juice! We love this chicken salad with croissants.
For more pineapple recipes be sure and try Air Fryer Pineapple Chicken, Pineapple Dream Dessert, and Pineapple Chicken Kabobs.
Pineapple Chicken Salad Recipe (Chicken Salad Sandwiches)
This recipe for pineapple chicken salad is one of the OG recipes for this food blog of mine! Way back in 2015 is when I first posted this recipe, it’s actually one of the first recipes I ever posted.
I have been making it ever since, for over 10 years now, and it never fails me. I love chicken salad! This one is sweet, creamy, crunchy, savory, nutty, and basically has everything you want in a chicken salad. No dry chicken salad with this recipe.
Chicken salads are always my go-to dinner recipes for busy summer nights, busy school nights, or for camping. Easy to transport and I can keep it in the fridge until dinner and my family can serve themselves when they’re ready to eat.
Ingredients Needed For Crushed Pineapple Chicken Salad
Pineapple Chicken Salad Ingredients
- Cooked Chicken (Chunks or Shredded) : I prefer using larger chunks of chicken when I make chicken salad, but smaller pieces or shredded chicken also work great. Use up leftover chicken, grab a rotisserie chicken from Costco (my favorite!), or you can even use canned chicken that has been drained well and flaked.
- Celery : Slice the celery thin or cut into small chunks. This provides tons of crunch to the chicken salad and mild flavor.
- Red Grapes : Provides a crisp and sweet texture.
- Slivered Almonds
- Green Onions
- Crushed Pineapple : Drain the crushed pineapple well but remember to reserve the juice for the creamy dressing.
Creamy Dressing Ingredients
- Cream Cheese : Make sure the cream cheese is well softened to room temperature to avoid lumps in the dressing.
- Mayonnaise : I prefer the thick texture, creaminess, and taste of full-fat mayonnaise. Any mayonnaise can be used; lite, reduced-fat, avocado oil, etc.
- Pineapple Juice : Reserved from when you drained the can of crushed pineapple.
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Garlic Powder
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
How To Make Pineapple Chicken Salad (Step-by-Step Directions and Printable Recipe Card)
Combine all the pineapple chicken salad ingredients in a mixing bowl, and mix together thoroughly.
In a separate smaller bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the mayonnaise, pineapple juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Stir together with a mixing spoon or use the beater to blend until combined.
Pour the creamy dressing into the pineapple chicken salad mixture and mix well until combined.
Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours before serving. Serve in croissants, rolls, toasted bread, with crackers, etc.
How To Store Leftovers
Keep leftovers stored in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap, or you can transfer the leftover chicken salad into an airtight container for storage.
Because the dressing is so creamy, the leftovers won’t dry out as much. If you find that it needs to be moistened back up, simply stir in a small amount of mayonnaise or my favorite thing to use is additional pineapple juice.
Can I Make Chicken Salad Ahead of Time?
Yes! This chicken salad does really well made ahead of time without drying out. The dressing is so creamy that it does well in the fridge for up to 24 hours before serving. To save time, go ahead and make it the night before (or morning of) and then let it refrigerate until ready to serve.
If you find that it seems a bit dry, I like to reserve the pineapple juice (leftover from the dressing), and mix some in when serving leftovers.
Serving Suggestions For Chicken Salad
- Sandwiches : Serve inside buttery flaky croissants, rolls, or toasted bread of choice.
- Crackers : Use crackers, gluten-free crackers, or nut thins to scoop up the chicken salad for a lighter lunch.
- Wraps : Use a large flour tortilla (any kind) and add some shredded lettuce, tomato, etc) and wrap it up like a burrito and cut in half.
- Salad : It might seem strange to serve a salad on top of a salad, but pairing the creamy chicken salad on top of a bed of crisp green lettuce is actually really yummy.
- Lettuce Wraps or Cups : Use Bibb lettuce, green leaf lettuce, or crunchy iceberg lettuce to make lettuce cups or wraps for a low-carb option.
- Spoon : Use a spoon and just eat it!
Helpful Tips For Success
- Our absolute favorite way to eat this is on croissants. The flaky, buttery croissant pairs so nicely with this chicken salad. You can also serve it with rolls or on toasted bread as well.
- Drain the pineapple really well. I like to press the back of a spoon into the pineapple (while it’s draining in the colander) to really press out all the juice. Be sure and save about 2 tablespoons of the pineapple juice for the dressing. I actually save all the pineapple juice to use, if needed, in the leftovers on day 2 or day 3 to moisten them back up slightly.
- Soften cream cheese well before using. I place the unwrapped bar on a microwave safe plate and microwave it for about 25 seconds. This way it’s nice and soft (without being too warm) and it will mix nicely in with the dressing ingredients with no lumps. Beating the cream cheese first ensures that it gets nice and smooth, which will prevent any lumps in the dressing.
- For best flavor make sure and refrigerate this chicken salad for at least 3-4 hours before serving. It needs time for the flavors to deepen and for the chicken salad to thicken up slightly. The leftovers are so delicious and will last for about 3-4 days after you make it.
- I always recommend using full-fat cream cheese and mayonnaise for the best flavor, creaminess, and thick texture. Lite or reduced-fat products can be used if wanted.
More Chicken Salad Recipes You’ll Love
- Dill Pickle Chicken Salad
- Apple Walnut Chicken Salad
- Classic Waldorf Chicken Salad
- Jalapeno Popper Chicken Salad
- Southern Style Chicken Salad
- Santa Fe Chicken Salad Wraps
- Million Dollar Chicken Salad
- Hot Chicken Salad French Bread Sandwiches
Pineapple Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Ingredients
Pineapple Chicken Salad
- 4 cups cooked chicken chunks or shredded
- 1½ cups halved red grapes
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1 small bunch green onions thinly sliced
- 1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple drained well (reserve 2 tablespoons of juice)
Creamy Pineapple Dressing
- 1 bar (8 oz) cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1-2 tablespoons reserved pineapple juice (from when you drained the pineapple)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Combine all the chicken salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together to combine.4 cups cooked chicken, 1 cup thinly sliced celery, 1½ cups halved red grapes, 1 cup slivered almonds, 1 small bunch green onions, 1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple
- In a separate smaller bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.*Beating the cream cheese alone first, helps ensure that there are no lumps in the dressing mixture. You can beat everything together if wanted.1 bar (8 oz) cream cheese
- Add in the mayonnaise, pineapple juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Stir together with a mixing spoon or use the beater to blend until combined.* Add more salt as needed depending on how seasoned/salted the cooked chicken is that you used.1 cup mayonnaise, 1-2 tablespoons reserved pineapple juice, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Pour the dressing into the chicken salad mixture and stir together until combined and mixed well.
- Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap, and let it refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, this allows time for the flavors to blend and the chicken salad to chill. This chicken salad does really well in the fridge without drying out at all, so it can even be made ahead of time too. Serve in croissants, rolls, or other bread of choice.
Video
Notes
- Recipe makes about 9 cups of chicken salad. I figure each person uses about 1/2 cup of chicken salad on their sandwich. Obviously, you can serve more or less people depending on the serving size. Nutrition information is for 3/4 cup of the pineapple chicken salad (1 serving) and it does not include any bread, rolls, or croissant.
- I place the cream cheese on a plate and microwave it for about 25 seconds to get it soft. You want the cream cheese soft so you don’t have lumps of cream cheese in your dressing.
- Drain pineapple well. Place in a colander and use the back of a spoon to press on the pineapple to release the juices. But remember to save the juices! Add more pineapple juice as needed in the dressing to get it to your preferred consistency and texture.
- I love using a rotisserie chicken because it’s already flavored and it’s easy. You can substitute 4 cups of shredded/chunked chicken in place of the rotisserie if wanted.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love to see it! You can share it with me on @togetherasfamilyblog and follow on Pinterest @together-as-family-blog-recipes or Facebook @togetherasfamilyblog for more!
Try this
I hope you love these Marilyn! I actually just made up a batch for busy nights when my son has baseball games this week. We love them served on croissant rolls, but they’d be delicious on pretty much anything. Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Your Recipes are Great, And I love The Title of your website about a family, that is Beautiful.
Love Jannie burkeen
Jannie, thank you so much. Your comment means a lot to me. I love sharing recipes and bringing people together with food. I also fully believe in the power of family dinner. I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes and thank you so much for visiting my blog 🙂 It means the world to me.
Thank you for these amazing recipes. Can hardly wait to try the pineapple almond chicken salad.
You’re welcome ? This pineapple chicken salad is by far one of my favorite recipes on my blog. I hope you love it.
I made this today for a crowd of hungry people who had just helped me move. Everybody loved it…this will be my regular chicken salad recipe from now on!
So glad it was well received. I always get asked to make this chicken salad. It’s so good! Thank you for coming back to let me know 🙂 I love hearing stuff like this.
So you think this would work/be good as a wrap?
Of course! I think that’s a great idea.
I was wanting to make it as a wrap so am curious how it turned out for you. Thanks!
Just to chime in here 🙂 I’ve never done a wrap before but I think It would be really delicious to wrap up some of the chicken salad into a large wrap tortilla. Really you can use anything; rolls, croissant, tortillas, ciabatta bread, hard rolls, anything you like.
is this enough for 11 people (chicken ,pineapple almonds ect on cresent rolls
Yes it is. I normally buy a box of croissants from Costco for these sandwiches and there are 12 croissants in the box. We seem to always have enough to use up all 12 croissants.
My husband loved this chicken salad. Thanks for the great recipe.
Have you ever tried replacing the Worcestershire sauce with teriyaki sauce.?
I have not. It’s worth a try! I am sure it would be delicious cause teriyaki sauce is yummy.
Excellent! Substituted chopped pecans for the almonds but followed the rest of the recipe as written. Will certainly be making this again.
How many servings would this make? This looks amazing!!
I always serve this on croissant rolls and get about 8-10 sandwiches. I would say it safely feeds 8 adults but it also depends on what size rolls or croissants you use.
Is this good in the fridge for a few days for lunches?
Yes. Leftovers keep well in the fridge. Just remember to drain the pineapple really well so you don’t get the liquid pooled up in the bottom of the bowl.
I made today delicious really best chicken salad ever. One ? Can I freeze the leftovers?
So happy to hear you love this recipe! I have never tried freezing it so I can’t say for sure but it’s worth a try. Not sure the mayo/cream cheese base would freeze well.
Made this yesterday for just myself, and it’s almost gone! Love the green onions, worcestershire sauce, cream cheese and of course the grapes. Didn’t have crushed pineapple so substituted with a sweet/hot pineapple sauce. Think I’ll enjoy your crushed pineapple better and will do that next time. Thanks for your WONDERFUL recipe!
So glad you loved this. I could easily eat the entire thing myself 🙂
Loving everything in this recipe. It makes a bunch and I live alone so I offen feed the neighbors. I’m very excited to make it. But I must say the music on your site is very loud and overwhelming. It almost ran me off before I mad it to recipe. Thank you for all you worked on and shared.
This sounds wonderful! The only thing I want to point out is that on the mobile version the screen jumps around so much from the ads popping up (I’m assuming) that it took several minutes to read the recipe.
I’ve actually already been in contact with my ad company about this same problem! Thank you so much for letting me know. When I went on my site myself, I noticed that the ads were all over and making the screen jump. Hopefully we can get it figured out soon because it annoys me too. I hope you enjoy this chicken salad and thanks for being here.
This is our favorite chicken salad recipe. My whole family loves it. I’ve made this about 10 times now. Friends always ask for the recipe. Thank you for sharing it!!
This is the chicken salad recipe I’ve been looking for since my sister and I used to share an order of checken salad with pinapple and grapes at a restaurant 30 yeras ago. It’s even good without the bread or croissants. I only wish there were a way to freeze it!
This is chicken salad at it’s best! Put it in a wrap …. Delicious! Can’t wait to spread the love with my son and daughter-in-law.
This is delicious served on lettuce with a bread basket with different breads
Oh I love the idea of different breads!
OMGAAAAA ! Fantastic recipe ! Followed it with the exception of subbing out almonds ( didn’t have any ) and added toasted pecans. I thought the crushed pineapple after I added it sorta disappeared…. So I cut up a couple of pineapple spears into a small dice and added that as well. Served on a big soft croissant….. I think I could eat this all day every day ! Thanks for sharing !
Love the idea of adding some pineapple chunks for more pronounced pineapple taste/texture. So glad you liked it 😁
This is excellent! My family aren’t big on celery or green onions so I omitted those. I was going for a piña colada take on chicken salad so I added a little more of the pineapple juice as well as a couple of handfuls of sweet coconut flakes. It is a home run! Thank you for a great base to get me running in the right direction for what I wanted to accomplish. I served it with a few extra grapes on the side and an option of coleslaw or pasta salad. Yummy
Love the idea of adding coconut for a pina colada type taste. Thank you for your comment!
Sooooo good! I made with toasted pecans (didn’t have any almonds on hand). But I’ll be sure to get some almonds for the next batch! Served on croissants with a side of fruit. Delicious 🙂
Yay! Glad it still worked with the substitution!
We always make this recipe when we are hungary for Chicken Salad! It’s the best!
Thanks!!!
That is wonderful to hear! Thank you! 🤗
My whole family and I love love love this recipe. I use white chicken (Breast), and add a tiny bit more pineapple juice because using all white meat is a liitle drier. I add 1/4 tsp dill. Thank you for sharing 💛
I LOVE the idea of more pineapple juice. Definitely never a bad thing! And the dill addition sounds amazing! I might try that next time I make them.
I made this when I hosted my monthly Bunco rotation and it was a hit. Served on flaky croissants with leaf lettuce and side salad. Great recipe and perfect for a hot summer night when heavy food is not an option.
This was delicious. I used plain non
Fat Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise and reduced fat cream cheese, to cut the calories , fat and sodium down. I also cooked my own chicken to avoid the sodium in rotisserie chicken. It was excellent.