This Waldorf Chicken Salad is a classic chicken salad recipe that is made with simple ingredients. The grapes add subtle sweetness while the celery and pecan add the perfect crunch. Prep this delicious chicken salad in less than 30 minutes and enjoy for lunch all week long!
Quick
Easy cleanup
You’ll Learn: How to poach chicken breasts for a tender salad
Worth It: It’s a satisfying, protein-forward option that actually keeps you full
Bonus: Great for meal prep and make-ahead
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Quick and filling lunch – Chicken salad has become my go-to lunch. It is delicious, easy to make, and so filling
- Meal prep favorite – It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and then you can enjoy it all week long. I like to have mine in romaine or leaf lettuce boats or on a salad.
- Updated classic – This recipe is a spin on the classic Waldorf salad from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. I love the crunch of the fresh cucumber and the sweetness of the fresh fruit. This is a balanced and delicious chicken salad that is perfect for a healthy and simple lunch.
Serving Suggestions
This salad is great on its own, but it would be delicious alongside soup or a sandwich. Make this overnight bread recipe and create a simple sandwich to pair with your salad. Or you could make a no bread turkey club in a lettuce wrap.
For a soup, I love to pair this with a blended vegetable option like roasted red pepper and tomato soup or instant pot tomato soup.
Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breast – I used chicken breasts for the protein, but you could also use a rotisserie chicken and tear it into bite sized pieces
- Celery – the celery adds the perfect crunch to every bite
- Green apple – I love the tartness of green apple in this salad
- Red grapes – grapes are a staple of the waldorf salad, and they bring some nice sweetness to the recipe
- Pecans – pecans are my favorite for this recipe but you can use any nuts you would like. This added fiber makes the salad even more satiating
- Mayo – you can use storebought or my homemade recipe
- Lemon juice – a bit of citrus adds so much flavor to the dressing
- Salt and pepper – a teaspoon salt and pepper is all you need to make this delicious recipe, but you could also add a little garlic powder
Ingredient Substitutions
You can mix up this chicken waldorf salad however you would like to make it your own. Crunchy walnuts are delicious in place of pecans. Red onions would be a great addition.
To make your dressing even creamier, you could add sour cream or greek yogurt. If you add either, you can also add more tablespoons lemon juice as needed to taste.
How to make
Step 1: Poach the chicken and prep ingredients
First, place chicken breasts in a saucepan and cover with water or chicken broth. Then, bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cover the pot.
Meanwhile, chop the stalks celery, green apple (Image 1), grapes (Image 2), and pecans.
Simmer the chicken for 14 minutes. Then, remove the pot from the heat and remove the chicken from the water to cool.
Step 2: Prep the Mayo mixture
In a large bowl, combine mayo, lemon juice, salt, and pepper (Image 3). Place then in the mixing bowl with the mayo mixture.
Once cooled, cube the chicken breast (Image 4).
Step 3: Mix it all together
Finally, add the cubed chicken to the mixing bowl with the mayo mixture and other ingredients (Image 5 and 6). Mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined and each piece is coated in the mayo mixture. Place in the refrigerator and serve chilled!
Storage
Once prepared, store this chicken waldorf salad recipe in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Try these other delicious lunch recipes that you can prepare ahead of time!
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!
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!
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Recipe
Waldorf Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup sliced celery
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup chopped green apple
- 1/2 cup quartered red grapes
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a sauce pan and cover with cold water
- Place chicken on the stove and bring water to a boil
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot
- Simmer for 14 minutes and then remove chicken from the pot to cool
- While the chicken cooks chop the celery, apples, pecans and grapes
- In a large mixing bowl combine mayo, lemon juice, salt, and pepper
- Once the chicken has cooled, cube the chicken and add to the mixing bowl
- Add the celery, pecans, apples, and grapes to the mixing bowl
- Stir to combine the ingredients until they are fully combined and coated in the mayo mixture
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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