Pin It This dish combines tender cooked chicken with crunchy pecans and sweet dried cranberries, all brought together by a creamy, tangy dressing made with mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice. Finely chopped celery and red onion add texture and freshness, while optional parsley brightens the flavor. After tossing, the salad chills to meld flavors. It's a versatile meal served chilled, ideal over greens, in sandwiches, or lettuce wraps, offering a satisfying balance of textures and tastes.
My friend Sarah texted me one Tuesday asking for a lunch idea she could make ahead, and I found myself thinking about the time my mom made this salad for a summer picnic—how the sweet cranberries and toasted pecans made everyone ask for the recipe. It's the kind of dish that feels fancy enough for guests but honest enough for a quiet lunch at your desk. The beauty of it is how each ingredient keeps its own texture and flavor while somehow coming together perfectly.
I made this for a potluck last spring and watched people go back for thirds, which never happens with salads. Someone commented that it didn't taste like diet food, and I think that's exactly the point—there's enough creaminess and sweetness that it feels like something you're choosing to eat, not something you're supposed to eat.
Ingredients
- Cooked chicken breast: Two cups gives you substance without heaviness; I use rotisserie chicken sometimes because life happens, and it saves you twenty minutes.
- Celery: Finely chopped so it adds crunch without being too aggressive; this is where your knife work actually matters.
- Red onion: Diced small so you get that sharp, slightly sweet bite in every spoonful without overwhelming anything.
- Dried cranberries: Half a cup is the magic number—enough to taste them in nearly every bite without making it taste like dessert.
- Pecans: Rough chop them so they stay chunky; this is where the salad gets its personality and crunch.
- Fresh parsley: Optional, but it adds a bright green note that makes the whole thing look alive.
- Mayonnaise and Greek yogurt: The combo of both keeps the dressing rich but tangy; all Greek yogurt makes it too thin, all mayo makes it too heavy.
- Dijon mustard: Just two teaspoons, but it's what makes people ask what the secret ingredient is.
- Lemon juice: Wakes everything up and keeps the dressing from tasting one-note.
- Salt and pepper: Taste as you go—this dressing is forgiving but rewards a gentle hand.
Instructions
- Gather and prep everything:
- Dice your chicken, chop your vegetables into roughly the same size so they cook together evenly in your mouth. Having everything prepped before you start makes the actual assembly feel effortless.
- Build the base:
- Toss chicken, celery, red onion, cranberries, parsley, and pecans in a large bowl. This is where you see how beautiful the dish is going to be—all those colors sitting there waiting.
- Make the dressing:
- Whisk mayo, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until completely smooth. The dressing should taste slightly bold on its own because it's about to mingle with everything else.
- Bring it together:
- Pour the dressing over everything and toss gently until the chicken and vegetables glisten. You'll feel when it's right—no dry bits, no puddles of dressing at the bottom.
- Let it rest:
- Cover and refrigerate for at least fifteen minutes so the flavors can actually talk to each other. This step changes everything, so don't skip it even if you're hungry.
- Serve however you like:
- Over fresh greens, stuffed in a sandwich, wrapped in lettuce, or eaten straight from the bowl at midnight. It keeps for three days in the fridge, which is probably longer than it will actually last.
Pin It My neighbor brought this salad to a neighborhood dinner once, and it ended up being the thing everyone remembered. There's something about a dish that's so simple it doesn't show off, but so thoughtfully put together that it reminds you why food matters.
Three Ways to Serve It
The beauty of this salad is that it's adaptable to whatever you're in the mood for. Over a bed of mixed greens with a squeeze of lemon, it becomes a light lunch that somehow fills you up. Tucked into whole wheat bread or a croissant, it becomes something substantial enough for dinner. Wrapped in crisp lettuce leaves, it becomes something you can eat with your hands while standing in your kitchen at lunch.
Why This Works When Other Salads Don't
Most chicken salads feel one-dimensional—just mayo clinging to chicken. This one works because you've got five different textures and flavors happening at once, but they don't compete. The sweetness of the cranberries balances the sharpness of the red onion, the crunch of the pecans keeps the creaminess from becoming heavy, and the Dijon mustard reminds your palate that something interesting is happening. It's the kind of salad that makes you feel good about what you're eating, which is rare and worth protecting.
Make-Ahead Tips and Storage
This is one of those rare dishes that tastes better the next day, when all the flavors have had time to actually know each other. You can prep the chicken and vegetables the night before and keep them separate, then dress and toss everything together in the morning. The dressing keeps the salad fresh for up to three days in the refrigerator, which makes weekday lunch planning feel less stressful than it usually does.
- Chop your vegetables ahead but keep them in separate containers so they don't get watery.
- Make the dressing up to two days ahead and store it in a jar; it actually gets better as it sits.
- Toast your pecans lightly in a dry skillet right before serving if you want them to taste fresher and crunchier.
Pin It This salad has become the thing I make when someone asks for a recipe, or when I need to feel like I've got my life together on a Tuesday. It's honest food that happens to be good for you, which is the best kind.
