Apple Cranberry Chicken Salad
Apple Cranberry Chicken Salad is a lightened-up twist on a classic chicken salad recipe. It’s easy to make, has the best textures, and is both sweet and savory.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You’re going to love all the flavors and textures in this chicken salad recipe! The diced apples and dried cranberries add a crunchy sweetness to it. While the mayo gives a nice creaminess, and the lemon juice brightens it up.
This is an easy homemade chicken salad recipe you can make using a rotisserie chicken or some chicken you’ve cooked yourself.
It’s a perfect cold lunch to meal prep ahead of time since it will stay fresh for a few days in the fridge.
Love a good sandwich for lunch? Try this Cranberry Turkey Salad, Egg Salad with Pickles, or this Bagel BLT Sandwich.
Ingredients
A handful of easy-to-find ingredients come together to make this delicious salad. It’s perfect to make in the fall with fresh apples, but is great any time of the year.
- Chicken: Homemade cooked chicken breast or rotisserie chicken, shredded or diced into small pieces. Read more about how to make shredded chicken. It’s also great with leftover turkey from the holidays.
- Apple: Choose a crunchy and sweet apple, like fuji, honey crisp, or gala. You’ll dice it to mix into the salad.
- Celery: Diced celery adds even more crunch to this salad.
- Dried Cranberries: For an added sweet and tart flavor. I like using naturally sweetened dried cranberries or ones with less sugar.
- Mayo: Just a few tablespoons of your favorite mayo. My favorites are light mayo, avocado oil mayo, or olive oil mayo. You could substitute for Greek yogurt for a healthier option.
- Lemon Juice: A squeeze of fresh lemon juice brightens up this chicken salad. It also helps prevent the apples from browning too quickly.
- Salt and Pepper: To round out all the flavors.
*The full ingredient list with amounts is in the recipe card below.
How to Make Apple Cranberry Chicken Salad
In just two simple steps you’ll be enjoying this chicken salad with apples and cranberries.
- Place all the ingredients into a medium bowl. Stir until well combined. Adjust the amounts to taste. Season with sea salt and pepper.
- Serve in a sandwich, wrap, or over a bed of green.
Expert Tip: Try my favorite way to make homemade shredded chicken. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice 2 chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make four thinner pieces. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly season with sea salt. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cooked through. Using two forks, shred the chicken.
Variations
- Add nuts. Sliced almonds or chopped pecans are great additions to chicken salad.
- Give it some tang. Add 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard for a more tangy flavor.
- Swap out the dried cranberries. Try golden raisins in place of the dried cranberries.
- Make it even healthier. Swap out the mayo for 0% fat plain Greek yogurt. Greek Yogurt is generally lower in calories and fat and higher in protein.
- Add some onions. Diced red onion or sliced green onions make a great addition to this salad.
- Give it a fresh twist. Try using your favorite fresh herbs in here like parsley, tarragon, dill, or thyme.
- Try it with grapes. Swap out the diced apples for diced grapes.
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to serve Cranberry Apple Chicken Salad is in a sandwich. Use your favorite bread, croissant, bagel, pita, or tortilla. Add a slice of cheddar and some fresh, crispy green lettuce to push it over the top!
It’s great to serve for lunch or with your favorite brunch spread. It’s also great as a dip served with crackers, just be sure to chop everything small to make it easy to scoop. And, of course, it’s always good served on a salad.
Make Ahead and Storage
Make Ahead: Chicken salad is a great make-ahead or meal prep dish. Prepare it as directed and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I also like to make a batch of shredded chicken at the beginning of the week to use in different recipes.
To Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
To Freeze: I do not recommend freezing this chicken salad. The textures and flavors will change a bit and become dried out.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Yes! You can substitute half or all of the mayonnaise in chicken salad with plain Greek yogurt. It will make it extra creamy, tangy, and healthier.
If your chicken salad tastes bland, season it with sea salt and pepper to taste. You could also add fresh or dried herbs, nuts, diced apple or grapes, diced celery, minced red onion, or whatever flavors you like!
Add more mayo or plain Greek yogurt for a creamier chicken salad. You could also add a splash of chicken broth if the chicken is tasting dry.
More Sandwich Recipes
- Pesto Turkey Sandwich
- BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
- Hawaiian Roll Chicken Parm Sliders
- Spinach Feta Chicken Burgers
- BLT Chicken Salad
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Apple Cranberry Chicken Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
Description
Apple Cranberry Chicken Salad is a lightened-up twist on a classic chicken salad recipe. It’s easy to make, has the best textures, and is both sweet and savory.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked, shredded or diced chicken breast
- 1/2 cup diced apple
- 1/4 cup diced celery
- 3 tablespoons dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into a medium bowl. Stir until well combined. Adjust the amounts to taste. Season with sea salt and pepper.
- Serve in a sandwich, wrap, or over a bed of green.
Notes
You can use homemade or rotisserie chicken. For homemade shredded chicken, preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice 2 chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make four thinner pieces. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly season with sea salt. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cooked through. Using two forks, shred the chicken.
This recipe is light on the mayo. If you like a more creamy chicken salad, add an extra tablespoons or 2 of mayo or plain greek yogurt.
To store, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutritional Values (per serving) are approximates only.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: about 3/4 cup
- Calories: 153
- Sugar: 7.5 g
- Sodium: 212.1 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 9.4 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 19.3 g
- Cholesterol: 63.3 mg
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