How to Make Chicken Salad (Recipes Kids Should Know Before Leaving Home)
Chicken Salad is a really great go-to recipe to know. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner (and brunch, too). Chicken salad also travels well, making it a nice for picnics or when serving a crowd. That’s why we have included it in our series on Recipes Kids Should Know Before Leaving Home. It’s a meal staple that you may want your kid to have in their collection.
You can eat chicken salad as just that, a salad, or put it on bread for chicken salad sandwiches. Chicken salad is also very forgiving and versatile, making it a great starter recipe to learn. Once kids know the basics (which are not hard!) they can really play with the flavors.
Are you sold yet? Doesn’t chicken salad sound like a magical food?
Then let’s talk about how to make chicken salad!
Chicken salad at its core is simple: cooked chicken with added an a creamy, mayonnaise-based sauce and a bit of seasoning. You really can just add mayonnaise, salt and pepper and call it a day. I like to add a few other ingredients, which I will share in the recipe below, for a more classic type of chicken salad you might get at a deli or restaurant.
Once you’ve mastered how to make basic chicken salad, it’s time to get creative! You can add cayenne pepper for heat, or maybe try a pesto chicken salad by adding basil pesto instead of mustard. You could even flavor chicken salad with curry powder. There are tons of options; have fun! And don’t worry, chicken salad is a very forgiving recipe. You can leave out or add ingredients easily, depending on what you have on hand, and it’s no big deal. This a great recipe to help kids build your confidence in the kitchen!
PrintHow to Make Chicken Salad
This is a recipe for classic deli-style chicken salad. Ingredients are suggestions – if you hate hard boiled eggs or celery, for example, feel free to leave them out!
Ingredients
2 cups cooked chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces or shredded with a fork
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
1/2 cup grapes, cut into quarters
1/4 cup chopped celery
1–2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (like Lawry’s or Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
In mixing bowl add chicken, egg, grapes, celery and green onion.
In a separate, smaller bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream/yogurt, mustard and all of the spices with a spoon.
Pour mayonnaise mixture into the larger mixing bowl and mix everything together.
Serve on top of lettuce or on bread for sandwiches.
More Meals Kids Should Know How to Make Before Leaving Home:
1. How to Sauté Chicken Breasts
2. How to Make Potato Salad
3. How to a Make Tuna Salad Sandwich
