Best Ever Chicken Salad made with Pastured Chicken {Printable recipe}

With our first 2400 chickens for the 2024 season in hand and more arriving every week, we have had a full week here at Riley Family Farms- the kind of week when, as my Mom would say, we “hunker down and get it done”. In addition to usual chicken and homestead chores, we have been improving our brooder structures and adding new ones, doing site prep for our freezer upgrade, and working on revamping our breakroom space for the poultry abattoir.

And of course, as always, eating Riley Mom Christy’s delicious cooking. With everyone extra busy, it’s important to keep healthy, homemade foods on hand that can be grabbed from the fridge and eaten quickly. Luckily, Christy’s chicken salad is the best ever. Christy loves to serve quality, nutritious foods whether it’s for a crowd at the Church potluck or a few hungry farmers coming in for a late lunch. Her pastured chicken salad is perfect for either, and she took the time to share the recipe for you to try at home.

One thing I love about this recipe is how customizable it is: if you don’t like nuts, leave them out; if you’re a fruit lover, add dried cranberries and quartered grapes. Some of our favorite ways to serve chicken salad are over fresh spring greens with tomatoes and cucumbers, as a dip for crackers, or sandwiched in a fresh sourdough bagel. Some of us may also occasionally eat it straight from the fridge by the spoonful!

Grab your Riley Family Farms pastured chicken (a Roaster Chicken cooked and shredded is perfect for this) and get ready to make the best chicken salad you’ve ever eaten!

Best Ever Pastured Chicken Salad

2 cups Shredded Chicken

3/4 cup Mayonnaise

1 Celery Stalk, Chopped

1 Apple, Chopped

1/4 cup Chopped Almonds or Pecans

1/2 tsp Dried Dill

1/2 tsp Granulated Onion

1/2 tsp Granulated Garlic

Salt and Pepper generously

Thoroughly mix all ingredients, by hand or in a stand mixer. Enjoy immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to three days.

* Optional additional add-ins include quartered grapes, dried cranberries, crumbled bacon, quartered cherry tomatoes- the options are endless!