How to create a quick and easy chicken salad recipe? Get our secrets for perfect flavor.

My Go-To Chicken Salad – So Simple!

Alright, so the other day, I was absolutely starving, you know how it gets when you just need something to eat, like, right now. And I remembered I had some leftover cooked chicken breast sitting in the fridge from the night before. Bingo! That immediately screamed “chicken salad” to me. It’s one of those things I can whip up without much fuss, and it always, always hits the spot. Plus, no real cooking involved if your chicken is already done, which is a massive win in my book.

First things first, I had to get all my bits and bobs together. It’s no good starting and then realizing you’re missing something crucial, right? So, I pulled out that cooked chicken. Like I said, it was just some plain chicken I’d baked. If you’ve got rotisserie chicken from the store, man, that makes it even easier – less work for you! Then I rummaged around for the other essentials:

• Mayonnaise, the real stuff, none of that light, watery kind for me, thanks.
• Celery, because you absolutely need that crunch. Chicken salad without crunch is just sad.
• A bit of red onion. I prefer red for salads; it’s a bit milder and looks prettier, I think.
• Good old salt and freshly ground black pepper. Can’t forget those.

So, with everything on the counter, I got to chopping. I like my chicken pretty finely shredded for salad, not big clunky chunks. So I grabbed two forks and just started pulling that chicken apart. Took a couple of minutes, sure, but the texture is so much better this way, at least for me. Then I grabbed a stalk or two of celery – washed them, of course – and diced them up into nice small pieces. Same with the red onion, just a little bit, minced up real fine. You don’t want to bite into a huge, overpowering piece of raw onion. I learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago, ha! My eyes were watering for ages.

Once all the chopping and shredding was done, which was probably the most “work” involved, it was mixing time. This is the easy part. I tossed the shredded chicken, the diced celery, and that finely minced red onion into a decent-sized bowl. Then I dolloped in a good amount of mayonnaise. I don’t really measure mayo for chicken salad; I just go by eye until it looks right, you know? Started with a couple of big spoonfuls. Then a sprinkle of salt and a good few grinds of black pepper went in.

I gave it all a really good stir with a spoon, making sure every little bit of chicken and veggie was coated nicely in that creamy mayo. Then, the crucial step: the taste test. Dipped a clean spoon in. Hmm, pretty good, but it needed a tiny bit more mayonnaise to bind it all together a bit better and just another small pinch of salt. Stirred again. Perfect. Sometimes, if I’m feeling fancy or have them on hand, I’ll add a squeeze of lemon juice for a bit of zing, or maybe a dash of Dijon mustard, or even some chopped dill. But today was all about “quick and easy,” so I kept it totally basic.

And that was pretty much it! Lunch, or a hearty snack, sorted. I piled mine onto some whole wheat crackers I had in the pantry. But this stuff is great in a sandwich with some lettuce, or even just scooped onto a bed of greens if you’re trying to be a bit healthier. It was creamy, it was crunchy from the celery, a little tang from the onion, and just what I needed. Seriously, from deciding to make it to taking the first bite, it took me maybe 15 minutes, tops. And most of that was just the chopping. You really can’t beat that when you’re hungry and just don’t have the energy or time to cook a proper, complicated meal.

It’s funny, I used to think making good chicken salad was some kind of complex culinary art. My aunt used to make this amazing version for family get-togethers, but she’d never actually share the exact recipe, always giggling and saying it was a “family secret.” Turns out, the best ones, the ones you actually make all the time, are often the simplest. Just good, fresh ingredients, put together without too much fuss. This quick version is definitely a keeper in my house for those busy days, or, let’s be honest, those lazy days when you just can’t be bothered, you know?