Leftover Chicken Salad

This easy chicken salad is the perfect way to use up leftover chicken! Packed with pecans, dried cranberries, crispy bacon and a creamy dressing, salads don’t come more delicious than this.

Leftover Chicken Salad

I know, the word ‘salad’ is a rarity on this blog. But we’re going to get through this together, I promise. Because when I say salad all I really mean is leftover chicken wrapped in a creamy dressing with a tonne of goodies packed in too. No wet soggy leaves, only the stuff we truly love 😏

Leftover Roast Chicken

This is usually the salad I’ll make with leftover roast chicken 1. Because there’s always leftovers (only 2 of us in this house!) and 2. Because I know the chicken is already seasoned well. If you’ve got the option, use as much breast as possible, it’ll soak up the sauce easier!

How to make Leftover Chicken Salad (quick summary)

1. Combine Greek Yogurt, Mayo, Dijon Mustard, Lemon Juice and Seasoning.
2. Shred your chicken into a bowl.
3. Add Red Onion, Dried Cranberries, Bacon, Celery and Pecans.
4. Pour in sauce and stir to combine.

Shredded Chicken Salad

If you want to make this salad with fresh chicken breasts you totally can! Here’s what I recommend:

How to make Shredded Chicken

1. Season both sides of two chicken breasts and fry each side in a large pot (just to get some colour).
2. Pour in water or chicken stock, pop the lid on and simmer/poach until cooked through (approx 8-12mins depending on size).
3. Take out, place in a bowl and shred with two forks.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

One of my favourite ways to use this salad is in a sandwich (or a wrap). Grab yourself some nice thick white bread, some crisps and you’ll be well on your way 😁

And there we have it! A quick, easy and most importantly DELICIOUS leftover chicken salad. Works great in a sandwich (above), as part of a leafy salad (below) or even just straight out the bowl!

Hey, whilst you’re here why not check out my other recipes?

Leftover Recipes

• Turkey: Leftover Turkey Thai Green Curry
• Chilli: Leftover Chilli Stuffed Garlic Dough Balls
• Chicken: Leftover Chicken and Bacon Pasta
• Cranberry Sauce: Cranberry Bacon Brie Grilled Cheese
• Bread: Bread Sauce

Shredded Chicken Recipes

• Chicken Pesto Grilled Cheese
• Chicken Waldorf Salad Bites
• Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
• Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Alrighty, let’s tuck into this leftover chicken salad recipe shall we?!

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How to make Leftover Chicken Salad (Full Recipe & Video)

Leftover Chicken Salad

This easy chicken salad is the perfect way to use up leftover chicken! Packed with pecans, dried cranberries, crispy bacon and a creamy dressing, salads don't come more delicious than this. Serves 4 large portions, can stretch to 6 modest portions depending on the context it's used (i.e as a sandwich you'll get more servings)

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Brunch / Lunch

Cuisine: Leftovers

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Servings (click & slide): 5

Calories: 583kcal

Author: Chris Collins

Cost per serving: £3 / $3.50

Equipment:

• Large Bowl
• Medium Bowl
• Spatula

Ingredients (check list):

Chicken Salad

• ▢ 2 tightly packed cups Cooked Shredded Chicken (see notes)
• ▢ 4 rashers of Bacon (cooked, cooled & chopped)
• ▢ 1 rib of Celery, finely diced
• ▢ 1/4 cup / 40g Dried Cranberries, finely chopped
• ▢ 1/4 cup / 35g Pecans, finely chopped
• ▢ 1/4 cup Red Onion, finely diced (approx 1/2 small red onion)

Dressing

• ▢ 1/2 cup / 125g Full Fat Mayo
• ▢ 1/2 cup / 125g Greek Yogurt
• ▢ 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• ▢ 1/2 Lemon (juice only)
• ▢ Salt & Black Pepper, to taste

Instructions:

• In a medium sized bowl, mix together your dressing. Test for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
• In a larger bowl combine your salad ingredients. Pour in your dressing and stir to combine. It may seems like an excess of dressing, but it will get soaked up.
• Pop in the fridge overnight to develop the flavours, or eat right away in a sandwich/wrap, as part of a leafy salad or just by itself!

Quick 1 min demo!

Notes:

a) Chicken - Leftover rotisserie chicken will work best for this recipe. I recommend using mainly breast if you can and just shred it into thin chunks (as opposed to shredding it into absolute oblivion).

b) How to make shredded chicken - You want two large chicken breasts (approx 14oz/400g), season and fry both sides to get a nice colour, then fill up with water or chicken stock, pop a lid on and allow to simmer until cooked throughout. Depending on the size of breasts this could take between 8-12mins. Pop in a bowl and shred with two forks.

c) Storage - The length of time you can safely store for will of course depend on how long the chicken has been 'leftover' for. Just tightly cover and pop in the fridge to store. Not suitable for freezing.

d) Calories - Based on sharing between 5, no bread or extra salad etc.

Nutrition:

Nutrition Facts

Leftover Chicken Salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories 583 Calories from Fat 485

% Daily Value*

Fat 53.92g83%

Saturated Fat 10.294g51%

Trans Fat 0.041g

Polyunsaturated Fat 16.323g

Monounsaturated Fat 16.407g

Cholesterol 62mg21%

Sodium 306mg13%

Potassium 290mg8%

Carbohydrates 8.35g3%

Fiber 1.1g4%

Sugar 6.08g7%

Protein 16.65g33%

Vitamin A 235IU5%

Vitamin C 2.7mg3%

Calcium 51mg5%

Iron 1.27mg7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition is based on the absence of salt unless stated as a measurement in the ingredients. Cost is worked out based on ingredients bought from UK supermarkets, then divided by the number of servings. In both instances these values are just for guidance. Please check out my FAQ Page for more info.

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