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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 6
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
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Mix together all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Whisk until the mayo and sour cream are complete incorporated into the oil.
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Pour dressing mixture over the salad mixture and stir well to combine.
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Cover and chill for at least 4 hours before serving so that the flavors can meld.
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Serve at room temperature or straight out of the fridge!
I am not a fan of Chicken salad AT ALL, but I will eat this chicken salad straight up out of the bowl!!!!
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
Sounds like a great salad recipe. Pinned.
Thanks Erlene!! Let me know if you try it!
Sounds good to me! Thanks for sharing the recipe. 🙂
Yummy! Looks like a simple but very tasty salad. Pinned to try. Found at pretty pintastic friday party.Have a great week.
This looks so yummy! I love chicken salad and I love your twist on it! Can you come over and cook for me?!
Hahaha yes of course Ruthie! We should have a big blogger family dinner!!
I love a good chicken salad and this looks amazing. Pinning. Cathy
Thank you for pinning Cathy!
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!
This would be so good with pasta!!
I love Chicken Salad. So simple and delicious especially in the summer.
Amanda this looks delicious! I love that you put a twist on a classic! Thank you for sharing! We’ll have to try this next time we make chicken salad!
Cat
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.
Thank you Jessica!
Omg mouth watering! Love this and can’t wait to try it for lunch.
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!
This looks delicious! I also love the dish. Thanks for sharing 🙂
This looks DIVINE! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for stopping by!