Southern Chicken Salad

Creamy chicken salad on a bed of green lettuce

A creamy, chunky-style Southern Chicken Salad made the old fashioned way and seasoned to perfection with a creamy dressing. Tender chicken pieces, eggs, and celery are smothered in a sweet pickle relish mayonnaise dressing.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Sandwich

Cuisine American

Keyword southern chicken salad

Prep Time 20

Chill Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings

Calories 300kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Ingredients

3 cups cooked chicken (shredded or chunked)
3 hard-boiled eggs chopped
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
1 teaspoon paprika
salt & black pepper (to taste)

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked chicken and chopped hard-boiled eggs. Stir together to combine.
3 cups cooked chicken, 3 hard-boiled eggs
Add in the finely chopped celery and sweet pickle relish. Stir to combine.
1/2 cup finely diced celery, 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, lemon juice, paprika, salt and pepper until combined and thoroughly mixed.
1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon paprika
Pour the dressing over the chicken salad mixture and stir well until everything is coated in the creamy dressing.
^{* Taste the creamy chicken salad and add salt & pepper as needed. Depending on what kind of chicken you used, you may need salt or maybe not. I use a rotisserie chicken + about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and a small pinch of black pepper when I make this.}
salt & black pepper
Cover the chicken salad with a lid or plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but no more than 1-2 hours, before serving to allow the flavors to blend.
Serve the southern style chicken salad inside buttery croissants (I recommend this!), on top of green lettuce, or with crackers for dipping.

Notes

Salt & Pepper : I use about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt when I make this recipe. Depending on how 'seasoned' or 'flavorful' the chicken is that you use, will depend on if you need salt and pepper. Once the chicken salad is mixed, taste it, and add seasonings as needed. I use a rotisserie chicken because they're already well seasoned and taste good.

Tip : Make sure the hard-boiled eggs are chilled and cold before starting this recipe. You don't want to add warm hard boiled eggs to a chicken salad. Chill them in an ice bath before peeling them and even make them the day before, and let them chill in the fridge overnight before making the chicken salad.

Nutrition