I’m kind of obsessed with chicken salad lately. It’s easy to prepare, super filling, and the perfect cold meal during these hot summer months. I especially love this chicken salad with apples because it’s full of sweet and crunchy apples, sweet-tart dried cranberries, and a simple homemade dressing that has a bright fresh flavor thanks to the addition of yogurt. And as usual, there are plenty of ways you can add to or swap out ingredients in this recipe. So keep reading for ideas!
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What Kind of Cooked Chicken to Use
I cooked up some fresh chicken breasts just before making my chicken salad (see the step by step photos below the recipe). But you can use any pre-cooked chicken like, poached chicken, baked chicken, or rotisserie chicken. If using rotisserie chicken, simply pull the meat from the bone, remove the skin, and give the meat a rough chop. You’ll need about 3 cups of chopped chicken for this recipe. You can also use canned chicken breast, if needed, although that option will have the least desirable texture and flavor of the three options.
What Else Can I Add to My Chicken Salad?
Chicken salad is so flexible. Nuts pair really well with the flavors of this salad, so you can try adding some almonds or chopped pecans. Finely diced celery adds a nice crunch and fresh herbs make the flavor nice and lively (basil, terragon, chives). And if you don’t have dried cranberries, golden raisins or red grapes also work really well in this recipe.
How Long Does it Last?
This salad is usually good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, but it can vary depending on the freshness of your chicken and the conditions inside your refrigerator. This salad should not be frozen.
How to Serve
You can serve chicken salad several different ways. The most common is as a chicken salad sandwich and you can do this on your favorite bread, on a croissant (like in the photos), or in a wrap. It’s also a great topper for a green salad, or you can serve it with crackers and a delicious dip (you might want to chop the chicken and apples a little smaller in that case).
Love chicken salad? You might also like Curry Chicken Salad, Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Salad, or our Traditional Chicken Salad.
Chicken Salad with Apples
Servings 4 1 cup eachIngredients
- 3 cups chopped cooked chicken ($7.97)
- 1 apple (1.5 cups chopped) ($0.76)
- 1/4 cup diced red onion ($0.20)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries ($0.22)
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise ($0.53)
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt ($0.35)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.18)
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
Instructions
- Chop the cooked chicken and the apple into small pieces. Finely dice the red onion.
- Place the chicken, apple, onion, and dried cranberries in a large bowl.
- Combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Stir until smooth.
- Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients in the bowl and stir until everything is coated. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Chef’s Knife
- White Cutting Boards
- Measuring Cups Spoons
Nutrition
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How to Make Chicken Salad with Apples – Step By Step Photos
You’ll need about 3 cups chopped cooked chicken for this recipe, so if you’re not using rotisserie chicken, you’ll want to cook some chicken first. I used two chicken breasts (about 1.3 lbs. total). I filleted each breast in half to make two thinner pieces, which helps them cook more quickly and evenly. Then I just cooked them in a skillet with a little oil over medium heat until they were golden brown on each side and cooked to an internal temperature of 165ºF.
Allow the chicken to cool for 5-10 minutes before chopping it into small pieces.
Chop one apple into small pieces (about 1.5 cups). You’ll probably want to use a variety of apple that is sweet or sweet-tart, like a Fuji or Gala. Also finely dice about ¼ cup red onion.
Add the chopped chicken, diced apple, diced red onion, and ¼ cup dried cranberries to a bowl.
To make the salad dressing, combine ⅓ cup mayonnaise, ⅓ cup plain yogurt, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper. Stir until evenly combined and smooth.
Pour the prepared dressing over top of the salad ingredients.
Stir until the salad ingredients are combined and coated with dressing. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat.
Love this — don’t change a thing. It’s perfect!
this is the best of the best chicken salad and literally the only one I make anymore. my husband and I LOVE it!
Girl. This is so so good. I’ve been craving chicken salad and I almost broken down and bought some on sale at Costco but I thought I bet I could grab a rotisserie chicken and make my own healthier version. This recipe is perfection and so adaptable. I wish I had some pecans. Next time for sure. This is my new go to recipe. I’ll be eating this all summer.
Sounds great going to serve for 10 ladies one is going to be 90 🎂
I wish l knew how many your recipe serves 👍
The serving size is at the top of the recipe card! This one serves 4 at 1 cup of chicken salad per person. Give the birthday girl our best! ;)
Swapped out the cranberries for dried montmorency cherries and added some chopped pecans. Wonderful salad for lunch or a light dinner. Thanks for the idea.
Can you use tuna as a substitute in this salad?
I personally don’t think tuna would be a good fit with the apples and cranberries, but it all comes down to personal preference!
I have made this Twice now 😋
You can put anything you have on hand in it and it’s GREAT!!!!!!
I just put dried blueberries & honey pecans in it!! found those at Walmart last week for just a regular salad topping
I Love the sauce.
Thank YOU for an awesome recipe!!
I’m adding a bit of hot madras curry powder. What do you think?
That would be amazing. We actually have a recipe for curry chicken salad, too!
Excellent. Skipped cranberries because I didn’t have but will add next time. Added stalk of celery. This dressing will b great for other recipes. Might throw some almonds next time. Ready for summer with this recipe. 😊 Thanks
This was the best chicken salad I’ve ever had
This looks delicious and want to pick up everything at the next grocery store run but I have one question. Most of my family have a problem eating raw onions. They can eat cooked but raw gives them bad heartburn, except for Vidalia, which are only available during the summer. Should I substitute another veggie or just leave them out? Thank you for any thoughts.
You can sub with green onions, shallots, or pickled onions. If they also have issues with those ingredients, I recommend leaving them out. XOXO -Monti
Very good. We used a LOT more apples (had some to use up), and green onions.
Love love love this recipe! It’s a new family favorite! It’s so easy to modify this recipe to make it your own. I added in chopped celery for some added crunch and cooked my chicken in the instant pot with our favorite seasonings. The first batch was gone day one and already asked to make another :)
Forgot the mustard, added a spoon of honey, water chestnuts and orange slices with a few squirts of lemon juice. Dried the rotisserie chicken in paper towels and it all blended well. Next time I’ll remember the Dijon. It was wonderful!
This hit the spot! We like to instant pot or slow cook chicken to make sandwiches with, and this recipe was delicious. I made more sauce since we like our chix sammies saucy. Will definitely make again!
I made this with Tofurky Chick’n for a vegetarian version and it was really good!
I just used some left over coconut chicken from your recipe in the dish and YUM!! Thank you!
This recipe is absolutely, amazingly, delicious! I followed the recipe and only added celery. Thank you for this recipe. It will definitely be in our rotation, and a great meal for these hot Texas nights!
I am looking to feed my young vegan who used to love chicken salad. Have you ever come across a suitable substitute for the chicken in a chicken salad? I realize this sounds like a ridiculous question , I do. Thank you! Love your meal plans.
I have a few chickpea salads on here that might work! None of them are vegan, as they include either yogurt or mayo, but you could probably use store-bought vegan alternatives for those ingredients. Just type “chickpea salad” into the search bar at the top to see them. :)
Have you ever used seitan? That might work. You can buy or make it.
I’m vegetarian, and I usually do either: a.) a chickpea/bean salad like Beth suggested or b.) use beyond meat “chicken” strips. They’re the best of the non-fried chicken subs I’ve had! But I personally prefer just going all in on a good chickpea salad.
I’m going to try this with Soy yogurt, since I’m lactose intolerant and can’t digest dairy. Soy yogurt is not something i like, but I’m hoping the seasonings will make it palatable. Finger crossed.
Have you tried Cashewgurt? Much better than soy yogurt. Add a bit of lemon juice to give it that yogurt tang.
I stumbled across this recipe on a hunt for a lower fat chicken salad recipe, and I must say I am impressed! Especially since not only did I think it was tasty, but my husband LOVES it. (I haven’t told him yet it’s low fat.) I did use leftover turkey breast instead of chicken, since I decided to roast one of my “Thanksgiving Sale” turkeys that I had in the deep freezer in the middle of June. Next time I make it I will switch the dried cranberries for fresh grapes, just because I’m not a huge fan of dried fruits, and possibly add a stalk or two of diced celery. This recipe is AMAZING exactly as written though and I definitely recommend trying it as is before making adjustments to your liking!
This was delicious! I used leftover roasted chicken and everyone raved over this salad! Definitely a keeper 🙌
Try using miracle whip instead of mayo; love nuts in mine too; and sprinkle dill for added taste imo. Generally i dont add vinegar though.
I’m glad to see that one reviewer used raisins instead of cranberries. I have those in the house. Sounds delicious…will comment when I make this salad!
Easy & delicious! This recipe came in hand when I needed to quickly prepare lunch for the next day. Thanks for all of your great and helpful recipes!
On a month-long no-spend challenge over here! This was a great way to use up canned chicken that I had been sitting around in my pantry for too long (1 can is about 1 breast). I admit I added a pinch of sugar, but I don’t think it needs it. Once I ran out of bread for sandwiches, I mixed it in with some cooked penne for a sweeter, fruitier pasta salad.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I cooked my chicken in the instapot for 8 minutes.
I love chicken salad and this was delicious! I added almonds and chopped celery for more crunch. I also used green onions since I didn’t have any red onion. Another fabulous recipe!
I made this to take for lunch at work and loved it! I added some peanuts in at the last minute before eating, and a squeeze of a lemon slice. Yum! This was a nice change from what I normally bring in for lunch.
This is AMAZING. I used a cast iron pan for the chicken as I don’t own a grill. Pounded thin about 5 min each side (I used olive oil, worked just fine for me), added honey to the dressing as per your suggestion, and swapped out the cranberries for raisins (personal preference). Overall though, what a delicious snack.
How long does it stay good?
Probably about 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Made this last night for dinner with a couple changes. My store didn’t have dried cranberries so I sliced some red grapes in half and threw them in instead. Also added a few chopped walnuts. Was delicious! Even my super picky husband loved it and took some with him to work today.
I don’t ever comment on recipes, but I made this tonight and it was absolutely amazing. It was a big hit even with the picky little eaters that I have. I just wanted to say thank you. I will definitely be trying more of your recipes…
How much would you consider a serving? About 1/2 cup?
Yep, you should get about 3 cups total.
Hi Beth
Your blog is my favourite one cause i’m following you all the way from Turkey.
And the other bloggers use a lot of fancy stuff which we don’t have over here.
But you just use everyday cheap stuff.
Amazes me every time.
Long post i know forgive me :-)
i did this amazing salad with green apples and spring onions but it was still delicious.
Just made this and boy is it delish! Love how the flavors just explode in your mouth… yum! Beth you are an artist with food!
Every weekend i used to go to see this website, for the reason that i
wish for enjoyment, for the reason that this this website conations really nice funny information too.
Ohai chicken, have you met my friend, waldorf salad? NOW KISS.
Err… ziplisting this so hard.
Hahah, that was the best comment ever :)
It’s not a 5. You forgot to finish the line down in the T
Yup, you’re right. Sometimes I leave off letters or partial letters when writing by hand :P I’m much better at typing!
Prepared this last night for a family get-together and they absolutely loved it. All your hard work is worth it when you see your family enjoying what you’ve fixed for them. Made the wrap and it was fabulous. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
pinned this earlier this week, just made it tonight. definitely a keeper. also made your cumin-lime chickpea salad tonight (also love it!). had made your peanut thai sauce a few weeks ago and ate it for every meal ’til it was gone. great recipes!!
Just made this last weekend for my lunch all week this week. This is so freaking delicious and healthy! I agree with you completely, I can eat this everyday for the rest of my life. Thanks for posting this recipe!
This was really good Beth! Yum!
Made this last night with my kids and they really liked it!
I made this today and it’s very good!! Really enjoyed the combination of flavors. I was hoping to pair it with the pita bread, but that was a bust. (I’m going to try again though)
My friend sent me this website last week-we both love to cook and I’ve already tried five things from here. Thank you for such great recipes and detailed information!
I just made this for the second time in as many weeks, and I *love* it. I first made it last week when a friend was in town so we could have something easy and quick in the fridge for lunches & not have to go out. We each ate one wrap and then quickly went for another. The texture of the chicken and apples and dried cranberries together is really interesting, and I love the tangy dressing. I didn’t change a thing in the recipe & it was perfect. We ate it for a couple of days for lunch & this week, I was already craving it again.
I work from home, so being able to have something healthy, fresh, tasty & quick waiting in the fridge for lunch really helps me keep from getting sucked into the computer and then skipping lunch, only to chow down on junk food later. I’ll be making this often! Thank you!
I whipped this up for lunch today after coming home from class and while I was a little nervous about how it would turn out (I didn’t really start cooking until I found this blog), it was amazing! I left out the dijon mustard, used a yellow onion instead of red, and left out the cranberries (I forgot to get them at the store, I’ll be sure to remember next time) but I can’t imagine that it tastes too different from the original. This is really yummy.
I just made this recipe for dinner tonight, to eat with some spinach in whole wheat wraps. (I did already sneak a few bites right out of the bowl after I made it…I couldn’t help myself). Tastes awesome! Can’t wait for dinner :P
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe :)
I love you
i came across your blog a little while ago….and the other day decided to search for it again. i just made this recipe using leftover chicken breast from a cornflake chicken recipe (i scraped off the soggy cornflake – apparently i didn’t do a good job on that dish. this was really easy, delicious and healthy! i used greek yogurt to give it a thicker, creamier consistency. thanks so much! can’t wait to try other recipes.
Tried this today, served it with spinach in pita, since I didn’t have any wraps handy. It was really great! Next time I’d add some celery for the extra crunch though.
I just made this and it amazing! The apples gave it a nice crunch and flavor. I used granny smith apples which I know are really tart, but with the dressing and other ingredients it was just right. Thank you so much!
Amazing!!! Gave me super strength onion breath. But, if everyone has at least a bite, nobody notices :)
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OMG, I can’t believe I never thought of trying something like the paper towels! My George Foreman clean up always used to involve scrubby pads, the sink sprayer and a fine mist of grill juices/bits covering the kitchen. I predict a LOT more grilling in my future- thanks so much for the tip!
handicappedkitchen – I think raisins would be awesome in this! Go for it!
Stefanie – Thank you so much! :D
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Stefanie
lovelylittlesnippets.blogspot.com
I love cold chicken salad wrap kinds of food. The only thing I can’t get here in Peru are cranberries. :( Raisins would make a good substitute though, don’t you think?
My apple and chicken salad is really close to this, and yet entirely different–I use halved green grapes instead of cranberries, and make the dressing with curry powder instead of dijon/vinegar. If I’m feeling extra fancy, I add chopped pecans or walnuts, too! Isn’t chicken salad great?
I am in love! YUM!
mmm, i love chicken salad and your take sounds fantastic! i’m not sure i’ve ever used apple in it. i’m more of a grape girl myself, but now i want to experiment!
Kate – there is a trick to it! Just fold up a few paper towels, get them wet and place them on the grill when it’s still warm… close the lid and let it sit for a few minutes. It will steam everything loose! Then everything just wipes right off. I usually wipe it down with soap too just to get rid of grease residue. But, the wet paper towels make it super easy!
That looks delicious! I’ve been wondering for awhile how you clean your George Foreman Grill. It looks like you have one similar to mine, ie without removable grill plates. I love grilling things but the cleanup is such a huge pain, I usually end up talking myself out of using it- do you have any tips?.
Yum! I think I’m going to add a spoonful of S&B curry to mine and serve it over baby spinach as you suggested. This has to be even better the next day.
Looks delicious, I love the texture contrast (and flavors of course) of adding fruit to chicken salad, yum!
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