Looking for an easy lunch or dinner? Fresh grapes and crunchy toasted almonds make this and store-bought rotisserie chicken downright special!
Jump to:
- Why make this recipe?
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- Step-By-Step Instructions
- How to Cut the Fruit & Vegetables for this Salad
- How to Toast Almonds
- How to Combine the Ingredients
- Expert Tips and Variations
- Serving Ideas
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Recipes to Try:
- Chicken Salad with Grapes and Almonds
- Subscribe
Why make this recipe?
I’ll get right to the point. We’re all so busy, and we want to make an easy recipe with familiar, classic flavors and simple ingredients and not much fuss, right? This is an easy rotisserie chicken salad, and the combination of ingredients is amazingly delicious.
This is one of my favorite salad recipes, and I’ve been making it for years. More great news- the best part is we’re using a store-bought rotisserie chicken as an added shortcut for busy days. (You can totally use any leftover chicken too if you’d like.)
Here’s a few good reasons to make it:
- This delicious chicken salad with red seedless grapes and almonds is a popular recipe here, and is pretty traditional with a few special ingredients.
- You can make this chicken salad recipe ahead of time, it makes enough for delicious meals for lunch or a light dinner.
- If you have leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge, this is a perfect way to use it!
- Buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, then shred it or cut into big chunks that are tender and absolutely delicious.
- Thinking of a few different salads for easy lunch ideas for the entire week? Try a Shrimp Salad with Lemon Ranch Dressing, or maybe a Simple Chickpea Salad and a Blackberry Goat Cheese Salad, or something healthy like Superfood Salad, or extra green like Crunchy Green Bean, Pea and Walnut Salad. So many salads, so little time!
Love salads with fresh fruit? Next time try this Pan Roasted Pear Salad, and if you’re looking for easy chicken recipes, you’ve got to try this Shredded Chicken Burrito Bowl.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For a full list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll down to the recipe card.
- Whole Rotisserie Chicken: Sure, you could bake and some chicken breasts for this recipe, but why if you don’t have to?
- Mayo/Mustard: To hold things together and add some creaminess and amazing flavor.
- Celery: Thin sliced, always…great for a crunchy little bite in this chicken salad.
- Red Grapes: Sliced in half, these give you a burst of sweet that really makes this chicken salad special.
- Slivered Almonds: Amazingly crunchy and delicious.
- Thyme and Parsley: Fresh, please. Makes a big, big difference.
- Lemon: Just a little to make the whole thing pop with flavor.
- Seasonings: This recipe calls for Kosher salt and lemon or black pepper.
Step-By-Step Instructions
For a full list of instructions and the recipe, please scroll down to the recipe card below.
- Shred the Chicken: Shred with your fingers or cut into chunks, either is fine! Just use your knife to slide it under the chicken breast bone to separate the meat, then slice or shred with your (clean) fingers and transfer to a large bowl.
- Cut the Celery and Grapes: Extra thin on the celery, and just in half on the grapes. These make for a great texture in the salad.
- Toast the Slivered Almonds: Just a quick minute or two in the skillet to toast the nuts until very lightly brown.
- Make the Dressing: Mayo, Dijon mustard, pepper, salt, fresh herbs and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Whisk with a fork to combine.
- Assemble the Salad: Everything goes into a bowl and gets gently tossed with a spoon. Taste the mixture to see if it needs more salt and pepper at this point. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
How to Cut the Fruit & Vegetables for this Salad
To get a good knife cut on the ingredients for this salad, here’s all you do:
- Grapes: Wash and dry the grapes with a clean dish towel, then slice in half.
- Celery: Trim the ends of the celery, then wash and completely dry with a clean dish towel. Slice very thinly.
- Green Onions: Trim the ends off a green onion, and thinly slice the white part only.
- Fresh Thyme: Use your fingers to sweep the stalk from the top down, using a gentle touch. This will easily pull the small, tender leaves off.
How to Toast Almonds
This step is easy, but take my word for it, don’t walk away from this once you start!
- Place the raw slivered almonds in a non-stick skillet on medium high heat.
- Move the almonds around every few seconds with a wooden spoon. Nuts burn easily, so keep them gently moving around the pan.
- Once they start to take on a little color, it goes very quickly, just keep gently stirring.
- When you see some brown color happening and can smell the toasty fragrance, turn the heat off and continue to move the nuts around in the pan. The residual heat in the pan will continue to cook the nuts.
- Spoon them into a small bowl and allow them to cool a bit before using.
How to Combine the Ingredients
With this (very) Best (favorite) Rotisserie Chicken Salad, go gentle with the tossing. Nothing too aggressive, just enough elbow power to combine the ingredients. Then you’re good to go!
Expert Tips and Variations
- When taking the meat off the chicken, remove and discard the skin first. This makes it easier to see what you are working with.
- Use your clean hands to pull all the meat off the chicken, and keep a bowl handy keep it in one spot. After that’s done, chop the bigger pieces into bite-size chunks using a knife and cutting board.
- Use dried cranberries instead of grapes if you’d like, totally delicious. Start with a quarter cup and add as much as you’d like.
- Use a thin sliced red onion instead of green onion, both are excellent!
Serving Ideas
This Chicken Salad with Grapes and Almonds is so good for a light lunch on butter lettuce! Love it, and so does everyone else.
That said, make a chicken salad sandwich with buttered and toasted bread with the crusts removed. Nostalgic and really, really good.
I love to take this in a picnic basket and have lunch outside sometimes. All you need are some cold drinks (lemonade!) some good potato chips, and some good cookies for dessert. Try these amazing Triple Chocolate Cookies, or my very favorite Lemon Shortbread Cookies or Summer Fruit Crisp.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! If you need to make it in advance, just leave the slivered almonds to add right before serving. Otherwise, you risk them getting soggy.
Yes! Feel free to substitute dried fruit like cranberries or even dried apricots. Also, fresh or canned pineapple chunks are amazing! Start with 1/3 cup drained and add more to taste.
You can certainly use plain Greek Yogurt instead of mayo. I’d recommend regular style for its creaminess.
More Recipes to Try:
- Chicken Sausage and Vegetable Skillet: Delicious, easy, fresh.
- Citrus Chicken Thighs: Wonderful citrus flavor, so tender too.
- Turkey Burger with Cranberry Sauce: This is perfection. You’ll make these turkey burgers year-round.
- Roasted Cauliflower with Pesto Yogurt: You’ll never believe how flavorful this side dish is.
- Carrots with Almonds: So simple, and everyone loves it.
- Breakfast Bowl: This one has roasted grapes and hazelnuts, and it’s out of this world.
- Celery Salad with Hazelnuts: Another simple favorite, you won’t believe how easy and delish this is.
- Strawberry Asparagus Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette: So fresh, so tasty and SO pretty too.
If you’ve tried this Chicken Salad with Grapes and Almonds or any other recipe on Studio Delicious, please rate the recipe and leave me a comment below…I’d love to hear from you !
Looking for more tips and fresh, homemade recipes? Join my email list, tag and follow me on Instagram using #studiodeliciouseats, follow my boards on Pinterest, and see what I’m up to on Facebook and Twitter!
Chicken Salad with Grapes and Almonds
Ingredients
- 1 Rotisserie Chicken, meat removed
- 1/4 cup Almonds, slivered, toasted
- 1/3 cup Red Grapes, cut in half
- 1/3 cup Celery, sliced very thin
- 2 Green Onions, sliced thin
- 1/3 cup Light Mayonnaise use regular if you'd like
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 tsp Lemon Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp. Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed
- 1 tsp. Thyme, fresh
- 1 tablespoon Italian Parsley, chopped
Instructions
- PREP THE CHICKENRemove the meat off the chicken, discard the carcass or use for another purpose like chicken stock.
- To toast the almonds, place in a medium sized non-stick pan on medium heat, stirring regularly for 2-5 minutes with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring and as soon as the almonds start to turn brown, remove from heat. They will continue to cook at little after removing from heat.
- MAKE THE DRESSING
- Combine the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, fresh lemon juice and fresh thyme in a small bowl and combine. Add more fresh lemon juice if needed to thin out the dressing.
- TOSS THE SALAD
- In a large bowl, combine the cubed chicken, almonds (reserve a little to garnish the top) grapes, celery, green onion, dressing (mayo) mixture and fresh thyme.Add more toasted almonds on top and the chopped Italian Parsley. Serve on butter lettuce leaves or toasted bread.
Notes
- When taking the meat off the chicken, remove and discard the skin first. This makes it easier to see what you are working with.
- Use your clean hands to pull all the meat off the chicken, and keep a bowl handy keep it in one spot. After that’s done, chop the bigger pieces into bite-size chunks using a knife and cutting board.
- Use dried cranberries instead of grapes if you’d like, totally delicious. Start with a quarter cup and add as much as you’d like.
- Use a thin sliced red onion instead of green onion, both are excellent!
Nutrition
- Super important to read the whole recipe before you begin
- Pay attention to the ingredient list and photos for the recipe
- If possible, prep your ingredients a little before you start
- Always use a sharp knife for safety
- Use the size of pan called for in the recipe
- For savory recipes, taste and season as you go
- Buy fresh, organic ingredients, locally sourced whenever possible
This post was updated with new text July, 2024.
Maria Bianchi
Yum–This one speaks to me! Love the inclusion of red grapes and fresh thyme. Reminds me of the imaginary 1940s-era world (in which I like to dwell) where there are smart little tea rooms in every grand department store. I and my best pal could take a break (from shopping for hats) to have a nice chicken salad on toast. Followed by pie ala mode of course. I’ll have to stir up a batch soon. Maybe I’ll wear a new hat.
Debbie
Fabulous ❤️