Dill Pickle Chicken Salad
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If you love pickles, you need to try this delicious and tangy Dill Pickle Chicken Salad recipe. It is perfect on its own or on a sandwich or wrap!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect for meal prep – I love chicken salad for meal prep and I love dill pickles so combining them to make this dill pickle chicken salad is perfect! Make a batch on Sunday and enjoy for the next few days for lunch.
- Delicious mix of texture and tang – You get the crunch from the cucumber and tang from pickles and mayonnaise to get the perfect flavor combination.
- So many ways to serve – Serve it over lettuce for a low carb option, pack it with crackers for a delicious lunch at work or make a sandwich with toasted bread for a classic meal.
- Customize to make it your own – Use plain greek yogurt instead of mayo for more protein, use sweet pickles instead of dill or add extra fresh herbs. There are so many different ways to make this high protein meal.
Serving Suggestions
Like I said there are many ways to serve this dill pickle salad. If you are trying to keep your meals low carb then you can serve it on chopped lettuce or in lettuce cups like a little lettuce wrap. I like to use butter lettuce or romaine lettuce for this.
I also like to use it for sandwiches on some toasted sourdough bread with some cheddar cheese and fresh lettuce. It is also delicious rolled up in large tortilla like a wrap. I always add some shredded cheese to my wraps.
Some days I like to make a little snack plate for lunch with some of this delicious chicken salad, crackers, hard boiled eggs and extra pickles on the side.
Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – I simply poach the chicken in water, but you can add extra flavor by poaching it in chicken broth
- Cucumber – fresh cucumber adds lots of crunch that you crave in your chicken salad.
- Dill pickles and dill pickle juice – chop up some of your favorite dill pickles then grab some of the juice from that same pickle jar!
- Mayonnaise – everyone has the kind of mayo that they like best. Lately I do a mix of mayonnaise and greek yogurt for the perfect balance of creaminess and tang.
- Fresh dill – fresh herbs really elevate the flavor of this easy chicken salad recipe and makes the dill flavor from the pickles pop.
- Crushed red pepper – I like to add just a pinch of red pepper flakes to this recipe for a hit of spice. You could also use just some plain black pepper or omit the pepper completely.
Ingredient Substitutions
Feel free to use boneless skinless chicken thighs in place of chicken breasts. You could also use a prepared rotisserie chicken to make this recipe even easier.
I prefer the taste of dill pickles, but if you would like a slightly sweet pickle salad, feel free to use bread and butter pickles in place of dill pickles. To make this pickle chicken salad a little spicier you could use spicy dill pickles.
Save time chopping your pickles and use a relish instead. You can use a dill pickle relish for tang or a sweet relish for a sweet and savory dish. If I use sweet pickles i like to add a teaspoon or two of dijon mustard to add some extra sour and tang.
If you do not have fresh dill to use, you can use dried dill instead, but you will only need about 1 tsp of dried dill. I find this salad to be salty enough from the mayonnaise and pickles, but you should always taste it and add salt as needed.
Change up the flavor by adding some extra dry seasonings to the wet ingredients like some garlic powder, onion powder or even some ranch seasoning powder.
Add extra veggies and crunch to this dish by adding some chopped celery, red onion or even green onions.
How to make
Step 1: Poach chicken Breasts
To begin, place chicken breasts in a sauce pan and fill with water until the chicken is covered with at least 2 inches of water (Image 1).
Then, heat the pot over high heat until the water comes to a rolling boil. Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to a simmer.
Simmer for the chicken for 14 minutes and remove the chicken from the pot immediately.
Step 2: Prep other ingredients
Then, while the chicken cooks, dice cucumber and pickles, and chop dill. Mix cucumbers, pickles, mayo, pickle juice, dill and crushed red pepper together in a large mixing bowl (Images 2 and 3).
Step 3: Mix it all together, chill and serve
Next, allow chicken breasts to cool slightly and then shred with two forks. Cool shredded chicken completely. This happens pretty quickly.
Finally, mix the shredded chicken with the rest of the wet ingredients (Image 4). Toss to combine completely and place in the fridge to chill. Serve cold
Storage
Prepare this chicken salad with pickles and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Some liquid might accumulate as the chicken salad sits in the fridge so you can give it a stir or drain it off before serving.
Check out these other healthy Chicken Salad Recipes
- Curry Chicken Salad
- BLT Chicken Salad
- Bacon Broccoli and Ranch Chicken Salad
- Jalapeño Popper Chicken Salad
- Waldorf Chicken Salad
If you love pickles, try this Fried Pickle Dip next. It is the perfect party appetizer.
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Dill Pickle Chicken Salad
Make this tangy dill pickle chicken salad for meal prep!
Ingredients
-
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
-
1/2 cup fresh diced cucumber (I like to use seedless english cucumber)
-
1 cup diced dill pickles
-
1/2 cup mayonnaise OR use plain Greek yogurt – I use 1/4 cup mayo and 1/4 cup yogurt
-
2 tbsp dill pickle juice
-
2 tbsp fresh chopped dill
-
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a sauce pan and fill with water until the chicken is covered with at least 2 inches of water.
- Heat over high heat until the water comes to a rolling boil. Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Simmer for 14 minutes and remove the chicken from the pot immediately.
- While the chicken cooks, dice cucumber and pickles, and chop dill. Mix cucumbers, pickles, mayo, pickle juice, dill and crushed red pepper together in a large mixing bowl.
- Allow chicken breasts to cool slightly and then shred with two forks. Cool shredded chicken completely (this happens pretty quickly) and then mix with the wet ingredients.
- Toss to combine completely and place in the fridge to chill. Serve cold.
Tanya says
Made this as soon as Maddie posted it on Instagram. Thank you!!
Delicious. Such a great balance of flavors.
I used English and pickling cucumbers from the garden for this. And wound up putting in a tad more than recipe because trying to use them up. And flavors still held really well. Love the addition of dill.
Thanks for another wonderful recipe! Made for a great lunch!!! And held up in fridge over a few days 🙂
Tanya says
Madeline*. Sorry. My best friend just had a baby and she named her Maddie. So my autocorrect is trained on that 🙂
Madeline says
yay!! wonderful! thank you so much! And Maddie is perfectly fine 🙂
Savannah says
Super easy no hassle recipe. Love using for my lunches. Added a bit of the “in a pickle” TJ spice and it was the perfect cherry on top
Madeline says
perfect addition! thanks Savannah!
Mary Katherine says
Love this recipe! Added these ingredients into a base of chopped salad and it was refreshing and delicious!
Chrissey says
I really wanted a stronger dill taste so the next time I make it I will be adding more pickles and pickle juice.
Madeline says
I’m sorry it didn’t turn out how you’d prefer! hopefully you’ll like it with more of the pickles. thanks Chrissey!
Caitlin says
Yum! Perfect for any pickle lover. I didn’t have fresh dill so I used a scant tablespoon of dry dill. Still good!
Madeline says
awesome! thanks Caitlin!
Erica Nicole says
I have made this a few time! I also used macaroni noodles instead of chicken and also made with chick peas!! So so good all three ways!!
I’m loving dill this summer so thank you so much for the recipe!!!
Madeline says
oh wow love those swaps! great ideas. thanks Erica!
Lisa says
Made this twice! Yes because loved it that much! I did modify the red pepper flakes as I can’t eat spicy. It definitely was a added flavor though. Using fresh dill is a must!
So good!! I made it on a Sunday and ate it for lunches until Thursday and it stayed fresh! My go to summer salad!
Madeline says
thank you so much Lisa! I love hearing that. and I’m glad it was easily adjusted – I totally get not wanting the spice!
Holly says
The poaching method worked great for easily shreddable chicken!
Julianne says
So delicious! Used Trader Joe’s precooked Just Chicken as a shortcut and it was such a yummy and easy lunch to make mid-work day! Super flavorful – will make again for sure.
Madeline says
great idea! love a shortcut. thanks Julianne!
Nicole says
Delicious! I used rotisserie chicken and sour cream instead.
Madeline says
yum! both great ideas. thanks!
Maria says
Perfect for a summer lunch and so yummy!
Dawn Marquez says
This is so addicting and easy to make! I’ve made it twice so far. Once where I cooked the chicken and another with left over rotisserie chicken. It’s so good on a croissant but I also loved just snacking on it with pretzel thins.
Madeline says
ohh both croissant and pretzel thins are great ideas. thanks Dawn!
Jessica B says
Loved this fun update on chicken salad! Pickles are something I always have on hand and I am a acid-flavor profile lover. I enjoyed this both as a sandwich and on top of a salad. Will definitely make again!
Madeline says
thanks Jessica!
Courtney says
I’ve been waiting for you to post this recipe since you teased on IG! So worth the wait!
Madeline says
haha sorry for teasing, but glad you loved it! thanks Courtney!
Melissa says
I love everything dill and this was amazing! I will definitely be making it again
Madeline says
thanks Melissa!
Mary P says
Huge dill pickle fan and this was so tasty and satisfying!
Madeline says
love to hear it, fellow pickle fan! thanks Mary!
Kristen B says
So delish! I made it using Daring plant based chicken pieces but kept everything else the same. Makes a great lunch with some crunchmaster crackers. Will definitely make again!
Madeline says
yay! thank you!!
Tanya says
Made this twice now. always delicious!! Great recipe. Super refreshing! Thank you!
Jessi Boyle says
This chicken salad is incredible & I’ll be making it weekly!! I love anything with dill pickles & this is the perfect lunch.
I cooked chicken thighs in a pan & seasoned with pickle seasoning from Trader Joe’s the most recent time & I definitely prefer thighs!
Madeline says
tahnk you so much!! That sounds SO good. I love thighs too but some people get so freaked out by them! They gotta see the light haha
Lisa G says
This is not just a summer salad! I just made this for my lunches this week! I’ve made it more times than I can count! I didn’t have fresh dill so I used dried dill and I also lessened the red pepper flakes as I don’t like things too spicy. It is my favorite chicken salad go to recipe!!
Madeline says
thank you! love to hear it!