Lemon Almond Chicken Salad is the absolute best chicken salad recipe! Perfect on a sandwich or just by itself, you will love this amazing recipe for chicken salad with grapes and almonds tossed in a creamy lemon dressing!

Lemon Almond Chicken Salad is a must make for anyone who loves chicken salad. For most of my life, I was never a fan of mayo based salads. We never had them growing up, we were more of oil and vinegar dressing type of family. I always liked the looks of those cute little sandwiches at picnics, but I never tried them. So when I had to make an easy chicken salad recipe for a bridal shower, I was stressed because it is hard to make something that you have never had before, let alone, don’t even know if you like!
 Almond and Grape Chicken Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing
I decided to start with the essential chicken salad ingredients,  shredded chicken and mayonnaise. Making shredded chicken in the Instant Pot really helps this recipe come together quickly, or you could use a store bought rotisserie chicken! I played around with a couple different combinations and  quickly learned that an all mayo dressing was too heavy and the flavor was too overpowering in the salad.  I added in other ingredients like olive oil and sour cream to calm down the mayo flavor. I know the sour cream sounds weird, but it really helps to smooth out the strong mayo test, while not compromising the creaminess of the salad. I was still finding things a little…well, bland. Which I think is the problem with a lot of chicken salads.
Lemon Almond Chicken Salad
A big bowl of lemons was staring at me on the counter and they were basically calling my name to add them to the salad. Have you ever added lemon juice or lemon zest to something that is a little lacking on flavor? It seems to brighten up and improve so many dishes.  Once I added in the lemon zest and juice, I knew I had found the winning combination. The lemon really brightens up the salad and makes it different than other chicken salads.
 Almond and Grape Chicken Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing
I was so happy with how the salad turned out but I knew my true test would be if I could get Ryan to like it. He does not, under any circumstance, eat a mayonnaisey salad. It is just not his thing. So I asked in my nicest voice possible if he would be willing to try my chicken salad because I couldn’t serve it at the bridal shower without someone else giving their opinion first! So he tried it and loved it! I actually just made a big batch at the beginning of this week for him to take for lunches. It is a mayonnaise miracle, I tell you.
Almond and Grape Chicken Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing
I never in a million years thought I would be excited about a chicken salad recipe. But, I mistakenly created a bit of a monster because now I LOVE it. I find myself ordering it for lunch all the time at cafes and coffee shops just to try different versions and see how other people are making it. I love the Panera Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich and I think the common thread for me is the grapes! Chicken Salad with Almonds and Grapes must just be my jam! I have also played around with an Apple Almond Chicken Salad, but I definitely prefer the texture of the grapes!
Almond and Grape Chicken Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing
You can vary the mix ins here, but I really wouldn’t skip the grapes! The little burst of sweetness they add goes so well with the tart lemon flavor! The almonds bring the salty bite, and the celery is all about the texture. You can switch them up though and add in whatever you like! I hope you try this Lemon Almond Chicken Salad recipe soon! It’s a big hit with everyone that tries it and I know you’ll love it too!
Almond and Grape Chicken Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing
Looking for more easy chicken dinner recipes?
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Sliders

How to Make Lemon Almond Chicken Salad 

Almond Chicken Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing

This Lemon Almond Chicken Salad recipe is incredibly easy and makes the most delicious chickens salad sandwiches! You will love all the tastes and textures in this recipe!

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 6
Author Amanda @ Old House to New Home

Ingredients

  • For the salad
  • 2 large chicken breasts cooked and then shredded, about 2 cups   (poached or rotisserie chicken both work)
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 cup grapes halved
  • 3/4 cup slivered almonds
  • For the dressing
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 heaping tbsp. light mayo
  • 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. light sour cream
  • dash of salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Mix together all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Whisk until the mayo and sour cream are complete incorporated into the oil.
  3. Pour dressing mixture over the salad mixture and stir well to combine.
  4. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours before serving so that the flavors can meld.
  5. Serve at room temperature or straight out of the fridge!

Almond and Grape Chicken Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing

Almond and Grape Chicken Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing

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28 thoughts on “Lemon Almond Chicken Salad

  1. Thank you for linking up at Tasty Tuesdays! Your post has been pinned to my Recipes from Tasty Tuesday board. I can’t wait to see what you link up next week!
    Have a terrific weekend!
    Cathy
    APeekIntoMyParadise.com
    #TastyTuesdays

    1. Hahaha yes of course Ruthie! We should have a big blogger family dinner!!

  2. My mom used to make this all the time and l love the combination of the grapes, celery, and almonds. We did it as a pasta salad though, and we only used mayo. I’m going to pin this to try with the added lemon! Looks delicious!

  3. This looks so good, my mouth was drooling just looking at the pictures. I will be pinning this to try. I love adding lemon to add an extra zing to my food, so I know I would like this too.

    1. It makes me so excited for lunch time…I keep sneaking bits of it out of the fridge because it is too early to justify eating lunch!

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