This easy Cranberry Chicken Salad with almonds is graced with a tangy, lightly sweet poppy seed dressing. Pile it onto buttery croissants with crisp lettuce for a delicious and satisfying meal.
This Cranberry Chicken Salad is a longtime favorite. With almonds, crunchy bits of celery, sweet-tart dried cranberries, and a light and lovely poppy seed dressing, it steals my heart every time I make it.
This recipe is spot-on perfect for an Easter or Mother’s Day brunch or lunch menu. Or, pile this yummy chicken salad on croissants for a delicious lunch or light dinner any time of year.
Any recipe involving poppy seeds seems so spring-like and perfect for serving on Easter. Recipes like my Lemon Almond Poppy Seed Muffins, Fruit Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing, and Lemon Coconut Poppy Seed Cake have spring written all over them!
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- For the chicken salad: You can’t beat the price and ease of store-bought rotisserie chicken when making chicken salad. You’ll also need finely diced red onion, diced celery, dried cranberries (like Craisins), and slivered almonds.
- Poppy seed dressing: The creamy base for dressing consists of mayonnaise (I use olive oil mayo), nonfat plain Greek yogurt, and milk. It’s lightly sweetneed with granulated sugar and apple cider vinegar adds tanginess. Poppy seeds, dry mustard, onion powder, galric, powder, salt and freshly ground black pepper finish it off.
How to Make Cranberry Chicken Salad
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the dressing to the the chicken salad ingredients and toss until the dressing is thoroughly incorporated. You can add additional chicken if you prefer a less creamy consistency.
This salad is delicious immediately upon mixing or cover and refrigerate it until ready to serve. It will stay fresh and tasty for 3 to 4 days if refrigerated in an airtight container.
Variations
Protein Swap: For Turkey Cranberry Salad use shredded or chopped turkey instead of chicken (great for Thanksgiving leftovers!).
Nuts: Swap almonds for toasted pecans or walnuts for a slightly different flavor.
Fruit: Diced apple or grapes will add sweetness and texture.
Serving Suggestions
Sandwiches or Wraps: It is absolutely delicious served on little croissants but I also love it on lightly toasted sliced sourdough or slider rolls with green leaf lettuce or spring greens. Or, roll it up in a tortilla or low-carb wrap with lettuce and thinly sliced tomatoes.
With Greens: Serve the chicken salad over a bed of fresh mixed greens for a light and healthy meal. Or, scoop it into Belgium endive lettuce leaves for crispy lettuce wraps. My favorite!
With Crackers or Crostini: Serve the chicken salad alongside a selection of crackers or toasted baguette slices for an easy party appetizer.
More Chicken Salad Recipes You’ll Love
We love our chicken salad in this house and I adore each and every one of the recipes listed below. Give them a try!
- Curry Chicken Salad
- Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches
- Classic Chicken Salad
- Napa Almond Chicken Salad (Panera Copycat)
- Avocado Chicken Salad
- Crunchy Sweet Chicken Salad
- Browse my entire collection of sandwich recipes for more ideas!
Sign up for my free newsletter for all the latest recipes and join me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for more cooking inspiration!
Cranberry Chicken Salad
Video
Ingredients
For the Poppy Seed Dressing
- ¾ cup mayonnaise, (choose a healthy fat mayo like olive oil mayonnaise)
- ¼ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Chicken Salad
- 2 ½ to 3 cups cooked chopped chicken breast, (I use rotisserie chicken)
- ⅓ cup finely diced red onion
- 1 rib celery, diced
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds
Optional for Serving
- Croissants, sandwich bread, slider rolls, low-carb wraps, lettuce leaves or mixed greens
Instructions
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, combine 2 ½ cups chicken, the onion, celery, cranberries, and almonds and toss with the dressing until it is thoroughly incorporated. Add additional chicken, if need, for a less creamy consistency.
- Serve on croissants, lightly toasted bread, slider rolls, or wraps with lettuce leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Sandwiches Recipes
This post was originally published on March 31, 2017. It has been updated with new text and images.
I’ve been looking for a good chicken salad recipe, this checks all the boxes it is delicious!
Something does not seem quite right with the nutrition numbers. Not seeing how this can only be 2 grams of protein. Could you please check that and let me know. I’m counting macros and that just didn’t seem right in comparison to other recipes. By the way I like the recipe.
Thanks for the catch, Becky. The nutrition information has been recalculated and is reflected on the recipe card.
Love this recipe…my new favorite chicken salad
My wife whipped us up a batch of this, it’s excellent!
Light, creamy, tangy, poppy seeds and almonds give it a nice crunch.
You’re really making a believer out of me on the yogurt/mayo dressing thang.
Awesome recipe.
Thanks, Valerie!
Hey there, Roadlord! So glad you liked it. Greek yogurt has been a kitchen staple for me for quite some time now. There are SO many things you can do with it. Have a wonderful weekend 🙂