Chicken Salad with Grapes is a classic! This version has walnuts (or pecans) for an added crunch. It has a great sweet and salty flavor, a crunchy texture, and the pop of those sweet grapes with everything? SO good. I like making this in bulk for lunches all week, served on a sandwich or scooped on a bed of greens, or even with crackers as a snack. It might just be the most perfect chicken salad in the world. And it’s easy to make it mayo-free by using sour cream or Greek yogurt instead!
If you’ve never tried chicken salad with grapes before, now’s the time my friend. You’ll never go back!
On the weekend, I like cooking up a whole chicken in my slow cooker. Then I use half of the the meat for a dinner, like chicken and dumplings, and I ALWAYS make this chicken salad with the rest of the meat.
For this chicken salad recipe, you can use mayonnaise, sour cream, or a mixture of both for the base. Or even Greek yogurt!
And there’s a secret here to making the best chicken salad – shred, don’t chop the chicken. Read on to learn why!
What kind of cooked chicken to use for chicken salad
You will need about 2 cups, or 1 pound of cooked shredded chicken for this recipe. If you have a little more or a little less, that’s fine.
I sometimes grill mine on my cast iron grill by brushing with olive oil and adding salt and pepper to each side. But a rotisserie chicken fresh from the store is a great way to make easy work of this recipe.
You can use leftover roast chicken, slow cooker whole chicken, poached chicken breasts, or whatever cooked chicken meat you have. You can even use canned chicken in a pinch!
For chicken salad, shred the chicken – don’t chop.
Here’s the secret for the best chicken salad: don’t chop, shred! I used two forks to do this.
When you shred it, there is more surface and nooks and crannies for the sauce to stick to, and it will stay in your sandwich better without falling out the sides as much. It’s physics, people.
How to make chicken salad with grapes
- Add to the bowl 2/3 cup of mayo or sour cream, or 1/3 cup of each. Season with salt and pepper to taste, add some fresh parsley, and mix.
- Add the shredded chicken to the bowl and mix well.
- Quarter some red grapes and slice some celery very thinly. Add them to a large bowl, along with some chopped walnuts and red onions.
- Mix together, and you’re done!
Variations
- Try adding other fruit, like apples, or other nuts, like almonds or pecans. It’s super versatile!
- I love the parsley in this, but it would be great with other herbs like mint or dill. You can also leave out the parsley if you want.
- Serve it on bread, or try on lettuce wraps for a low-carb version, or simply served on a bed of greens. I also love eating it for a snack with crackers straight out of the fridge!
Go ahead, try a spoonful. Or 7.
This recipe makes a bulk batch of chicken salad with grapes and walnuts, which is enough for 6-8 sandwiches. Elizabeth-sized sandwiches. I don’t mess around.
If you want less, adjust the ingredients accordingly :-)
Other Chicken Salad Recipes
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Chicken Salad with Grapes and Walnuts
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken shredded (such as rotisserie)
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise or sour cream or Greek yogurt, see notes
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion finely diced
- 1/2 cup red grapes quartered or halved, depending on size
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 1/4 cup walnuts chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt more or less depending on saltiness of chicken, see notes
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper plus more if needed
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise (2/3 cup), salt (1/2 teaspoon), black pepper (1/2 teaspoon), and fresh chopped parsley (2 tablespoons).
- Add the shredded chicken (2 cups), halved or quartered grapes (1/2 cup), diced celery (1/2 cup), chopped walnuts (1/4 cup), and diced red onion (1/4 cup). Stir well to combine.
- Serve on sandwiches with toasted bread, on lettuce wraps, or on top of a green salad.
Notes
- Walnut substitution: Not a fan of walnuts? You can use slivered or sliced almonds, or chopped pecans, instead. For a nut-free version, use sunflower seeds in place of the walnuts, so you still have that awesome crunch.
- For a mayo-free version, try sour cream or Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.
- Mix it up! Fruits are great in chicken salad- try using dried apricots, chopped apples, or even strawberries in place of the grapes.
- Storage: store in an airtight container in your fridge for about 3 days.
- Salt amount: If you are using a rotisserie chicken, or otherwise heavily seasoned/salty chicken, you may need less added salt, if any at all. If using plain unseasoned chicken, such as poached chicken with no added salt, you may need more. If you are unsure, I suggest mixing the chicken salad with no salt, tasting it, and adjusting as needed.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Cathy Brummel
Is the nutrition info per serving, or for the total recipe?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Good question – it’s per serving! I’m actually going to go in and change the wording of my nutritional information disclaimer to reflect that. Thanks for bringing this up!
Judy r
My favorite chicken salad. So refreshing w the grapes. I toast the walnuts first.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Excellent idea to toast the walnuts.
Silke Bender
I made this for a luncheon of 28 women. I was a huge hit. Got lots of compliments.
I’m going to make it again for my family. This is definitely a keeper for my next potluck.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Dominique
This recipe was delicious. My only caveat would the fact that I didn’t take into account the amount of salt in the rotisserie chicken that I bought. As a result, the salad was a little too salty using the amount of salt that the recipe specified. I’ll definitely take this into account when I make this salad again.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks for this feedback! I’ve edited the recipe card to include a note about how much salt to add depending on the kind of chicken used. Glad you liked the recipe!
Delores Keeney
I’ve always made my Chicken Salad like this but tonight I used Pecans instead of Walnuts. It was still Amazing!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
George Noland
Superb !!!! The flavor combination proved to be superb. To further brighten this I dusted with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes…made great even greater. For change I also sometimes add a few dried cranberries to the mix . If the salad is not going to be consumed in it’s entirety in a day I will omit the red onion as onion will have a tendency to become overly pronounced after a day or two
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I love Maldon Sea Salt Flakes on anything!
Cathy Eckmann
We tried this recipe and fell in love how tasty it was, not to mention how easy it was for my handicapped wife to sit and bark out the instructions (ha ha),,
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it and glad it was easy for you both!
Cherl
I love this recipe! I go to a lot of potlucks, and this is my new favorite!! Next, I will add apples! I added honey and lemon juice to the yogurt/sour cream dressing, and that’s wonderful!!! Thank you!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I love apples in chicken salad!
Kim
Your chicken salad is divine!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
John Strom
This is very similar to how I’ve generally made my chicken salad, but I also add some grape jelly to the mix and sometimes, I’ll add a curry powder for a twist (all of the same ingredients, I just add some curry powder to taste).
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yum! Sounds delicious!
Paula Ledbetter
This is my go-to chicken salad recipe! Perfect balance of texture and flavor!! Thank you for the recipe
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Linda
I loved it! Nice and easy and yummy. You can add as much or as little extras as you want. I will ck out your other recipes!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Michelle
Supre
Super easy! I thought I would try 1/3 of sour cream with mayo. It turned out to be a little too tangy for my taste. I Diddy want to add more mayo so I add a heaping Tablespoon of vanilla yogurt (all I had) and it turned out delicious 😋
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Kathryn
I took this to my daughter and family on their house moving day and everyone loved it! Delicious on a hot Summer day!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! What a perfect thing for moving day – hope it helped give everyone a good energy boost!
Kathryn
It really did! I received many text messages from my daughter and granddaughters afterwards. The youngest one asked for the recipe! Thank you!
Leela Devi
Delicious, easy to make….made it for a party…everyone LOVED it & asked for the recipe!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Neala Dhue
I’m making it for the first time tonight and I was wondering if I can freeze leftovers.
According to the reviews it sure sounds delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yes, you can freeze this chicken salad, but there are a few considerations to keep in mind. Freezing chicken salad may affect the texture and consistency of some of the ingredients, particularly those that are more delicate or prone to becoming watery when frozen and thawed. For example, the grapes in this may turn a bit mushy. However, if you’re okay with potential texture changes, freeze away! Hope you like it!
Laura E Young
I absolutely LOVE this recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Susan
Very easy to make. Love it!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jodi
PERFECT!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Diana Cates
Absolutely wonderful!! Making it again tonight because we loved it so much last week. I made ours with canned white meat chicken because our small grocer was out of rotisserie chicken the day I went. I used 3 large cans so ended up eyeballing the other ingredients, adding more to match the chicken, but it came out perfect. Great recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Debizme
Nice and easy recipe and totally delicious. I didn’t have fresh parsley, so I o my used 1
Tbsp. I also did not have red ion so I substituted it with scallions, maybe less than 1/4 cup. I will be making this again and will follow your ingredients to compare. Thanks!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I’ve also swapped out the red onion for scallions before with great results. And I’ll often throw whatever herbs I have in it.