Chicken Salad at Home, Easy and Delicious
I love rotisserie chicken, and when it is turned into chicken salad, the result is magnificent! The first time I had rotisserie chicken salad was about a year ago at Costco, it was one of their samples one day. I loved it and have bought their version many times since. I wanted to make my own version at home to be a little more cost effective and came up with this recipe. I think it turned out to be pretty incredible, myself.
I used the regular seasoned rotisserie chicken, but you could probably also used a lemon pepper seasoned version if you'd like. You could also use a chicken that you made yourself at home, leftovers from a meal or cooked chicken breasts, but I was going for easy with this recipe. I used both the white and dark meat of the chicken, I personally think that is a good thing. There is a tad bit of skin in there, also, for flavor. I add cranberries sprinkled on top of my salad. I do this because my husband does not care for them. But, you certainly can blend them in if you like, or even try grapes instead. I throw cranberries into a lot of my salads and they are usually something I always have on hand in the pantry. I highly recommend them, and they are very good for you, as well.
Cook Time
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken, rotisserie from the store
- 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp ranch dressing
- 2 tsp Sea salt, freshly ground
- 2 tsp pepper, freshly ground
- 1 tsp Sandwich Sprinkle by Penzey's, optional, adds a "deli" flavor
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries, optional
How to:
- I bought my rotisserie chicken at Costco a day ahead and put it in the fridge. You can make it the same day you buy it at the store (or you can cook your own chicken), but you do need to allow it to cool down before turning it into chicken salad. I would put it in the refrigerator a couple of hours.
- Pull the chicken out of the fridge after it has completely cooled. This makes it much easier to pull the meat off the bones (you won't burn yourself) as well as keeps the mayo cold. I break the chicken apart into smaller pieces with my fingers and use a fork to help remove it from the bones. Place the chicken into a medium sized bowl. I then use two forks the shred the chicken better. I prefer shredded to chopped chicken, but you could just chop it if you like.
- Add the mayonnaise, ranch dressing, and spices to the chicken in the bowl. Mix well. My mayonnaise to ranch dressing ratio is about 2 to 1, but adjust the amounts to your own personal taste. Some people like a drier chicken salad consistency and some people prefer a wetter version of it. Mine is pretty much right in between. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about a half hour so the flavors can blend a little. You can serve it right away, but I find it is best to let it meld together some.
- This chicken salad is extremely versatile. It can be served as it is on crackers, whichever type of cracker you prefer. Ritz just happens to rule in my house. It can be served as a sandwich or a wrap, on bread or a bun, in a tomato or on a lettuce salad. The ranch dressing and Sandwich Sprinkle (if you can get it) give this version of chicken salad a unique personality and wonderful flavor. If you choose to use dried cranberries as I did, you will get a wonderfully sweet flavor, too. I hope you enjoy my version of rotisserie chicken salad.
