Southern Style Chicken Salad
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Use this Southern Style Chicken Salad recipe to make a healthy chicken salad with hard boiled eggs, pickles, onions and celery!
What is southern chicken salad?
Southern style chicken salad is usually made with eggs, relish, red onion, celery, mustard, mayo and spices. Different people use slightly different ingredient in their southern chicken salad.
I wanted to make a keto chicken salad so I opted to use chopped dill pickles instead of sweet relish and yellow mustard instead of honey mustard. Using these ingredients the carb count in this chicken salad is relatively low.
Do you put eggs in chicken salad?
If you’re making a Waldorf chicken salad or some other classic chicken salad, you may not want to put eggs in it. For this homestyle southern chicken salad, chopped hard boiled eggs are an essential ingredient.
The creamy yolks add extra creamy texture to this keto chicken salad. If you are curious about how long to boil your eggs, check out this post on how to make boiled eggs.
What kitchen tools will I need to make this southern chicken salad recipe?
- Sauce pan for poaching the chicken breasts and hard boiling eggs
- Sharp knife and cutting board for chopping ingredients
- Mixing bowl and spatula for mixing ingredients
What ingredients will I need to make this chicken salad recipe with eggs?
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
- Eggs for hard boiled eggs
- Mayonnaise
- Yellow mustard
- Red onion
- Celery
- Dill pickles
- Black pepper and garlic powder
Can you substitute Greek yogurt for mayonnaise?
Yes! If you don’t like mayo in your chicken salad you can use Greek yogurt in this southern style chicken salad. Just sub in the exact same amount of Greek yogurt in place of the mayonnaise and follow the recipe as listed!
How do you make Southern Style Chicken Salad?
Step 1: Poach chicken breast and hard boil eggs
To begin, add chicken breasts to a sauce pan with cold water. Place the pan on the stove and bring water to a boil. Cover pot and reduce to a simmer.
Then, simmer for 14 minutes and then remove the chicken from water. Hard boil the eggs by adding cold water to a sauce pan and bringing the water to a boil.
Next, addd the eggs to the pan with the boiling water and boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Remove the eggs from the pot after 10 minutes and immediately transfer to an ice bath.
Step 2: Prep other chicken salad ingredients
Then, dice the red onion and celery and chop dill pickles into a fine dice. Mix together the mayo, mustard, pepper, and garlic powder.
Step 3: Mix it all together
Next, chop the hard boiled eggs and cube the chicken breast. Add the chicken and eggs to a large mixing bowl with the red onion, celery, dill pickles, and mayo mixture.
Finally, mix all of the ingredients together until fully combined. Serve chilled on lettuce or bread.
Step 4: Enjoy!
How should I store this southern chicken salad?
Once prepared, store this southern style chicken salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Check out these other healthy chicken salad recipes!
- Bacon Broccoli and Ranch Chicken Salad – Mayo free
- BLT Chicken Salad Whole30
- Curry Chicken Salad
- Poppy Seed Chicken Salad – Mayo Free
- Whole30 Waldorf Chicken Salad
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!
Southern Style Chicken Salad
Southern chicken salad made with hard boiled eggs, dill pickles, red onion and celery.
Ingredients
- 1.5lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tsp yellow mustard
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 2 tbsp diced dill pickles
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Add chicken breasts to a sauce pan with cold water. Place pan on the stove and bring water to a boil. Cover pot and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 14 minutes and then remove the chicken from water.
- Hard boil the eggs by adding cold water to a sauce pan and bringing the water to a boil. Add the eggs to the pan with the boiling water and boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Remove the eggs from the pot after 10 minutes and immediately transfer to an ice bath.
- Dice the red onion and celery and chop dill pickles into a fine dice. Mix together the mayo, mustard, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Chop the hard boiled eggs and cube the chicken breast. Add the chicken and eggs to a large mixing bowl with the red onion, celery, dill pickles, and mayo mixture.
- Mix all of the ingredients together until fully combined. Serve chilled on lettuce or bread.
Amy says
So delicious !! Loved this for my lunch the other day!!
★★★★★
Madeline says
So good!! Thank you!!
Wesley says
Can I add boiled potatoes to this recipe
Madeline says
sure! You may want to add more mayo and mustard to it though
KK says
I’m not always a huge chicken salad fan but this recipe is so good, especially over greens! Now I need to try more of your other chicken salad recipes!
★★★★★
Madeline says
wonderful!! thank you!!
Patricia Maclean says
I have never eaten or even heard of Southern Chicken Salad with hard-boiled eggs, onions, DILL pickles and garlic powder. Possibly tuna fish salad but never chicken! And I am about a 10th generation Southerner. I can even quibble with your method of boiling eggs! Classic chicken salad contains chicken (white and dark), celery, sweet pickles, RED grapes and toasted pecans. Endless hours of debate whether home made mayo or Duke’s mayo and some mavericks even use miracle whip! Greek yogurt?? Heresy.
Nancy Hodgkinson says
This is a perfect Southern Chicken Salad. I add a drop of honey, but that is a personal preference. No nuts, grapes, or pineapple added – It’s not a fruit salad! 🙂
★★★★★
Madeline says
YAY!
Jetta says
I made mine a wee bit different, but omg is amazing. Ty for the recipe!!!
★★★★★
Madeline says
Thanks Jetta!
Demetrice A Baggett says
I only have onions, eggs, mayo and chicken can I make it with that
Madeline says
Hi there, you could but without the mustard, celery, dill pickles, and other seasoning, it won’t taste the same as this recipe. You can certainly customize it to what you have on hand though.
Angie Beers says
Just right
★★★★★
Madeline says
Glad you liked it!
Liza says
Used sweet pickle relish In place of chopped dill pickles. Flavor is good.
Madeline says
Thanks, Liza!
LaTanya says
Love this recipe. Had to omit the onions because my tummy would protest lol. I also added sweet relish instead of dill. Gives it a nice sweetness to it. I was wondering how to store this in the fridge? And how long it will last?
★★★★★
Madeline says
Love the idea of adding relish! Hope you enjoy. You can store this chicken salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.