Chicken salad is something I’ve made dozens of times and probably have eaten hundreds of times. I love the little chicken salad triangles at parties, the fancy California-style with fruit, and my newest favorite iteration, chicken salad BLTs (shout out to The Simple Bean in Cut Off, LA).
This recipe is the version I do when we have extra chicken on hand. This time it was leftover from making chicken broth, but I’ll use rotisserie chicken, smoked or barbecued chicken, and even plain old baked chicken. I have made it in volumes from 2 chicken thighs to 4 sheet pans of cooked chicken. I tend to adjust the recipe in the moment, but for this recipe I made sure to measure carefully!
I only recently got a food processor, before this I would use a shredder, which works. But, I prefer the classic food processor texture. Plus, it makes the work of mincing the onion and celery so much easier.
There are so many ways to enjoy chicken salad; classic sandwich, with crackers, as a wrap, or just with a fork. Here are a few ways I served this batch!
Cajun Chicken Salad
Equipment
- 1 food processor
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked chicken
- 1 stalk celery
- 1/4 red onion
- 1/4 cup pickle relish
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 2 teaspoons Tony’s
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cut washed celery and red onion into similarly sized chunks.
- Pulse in food processor to desired size and texture.
- Put onion and celery into large bowl. Place half of chicken in food processor, pulse to desired texture, careful not to get too pasty.
- Place first batch of chicken into bowl with onion and celery, pulse second batch of chicken. Option to let this batch have more or less texture.
- Mix all chicken and remaining ingredients in bowl.
- Taste and season to your preference.
- Serve cold. Keep refrigerated in airtight container for up to 3 days.