The contrasting flavors of sweet apple, crunchy walnuts, savory chicken and tangy balsamic vinaigrette meld beautifully in this simple to prepare chicken salad.
A winner in my house! Of course, I altered a bit (I adapted it for 2 people)... 1. I used 1 grilled chicken breast from the prepared foods section of the grocery store 2. Diced red onion instead of green 3. I added about a teaspoon of honey to the oil and vinegar 4. I added about 2 handfuls of baby spinach.
Read More I liked this one, but a bit oily. If I make it again, I would add equal parts of the vinegar and oil.
Read MoreA winner in my house! Of course, I altered a bit (I adapted it for 2 people)... 1. I used 1 grilled chicken breast from the prepared foods section of the grocery store 2. Diced red onion instead of green 3. I added about a teaspoon of honey to the oil and vinegar 4. I added about 2 handfuls of baby spinach.
This is really delicious! I left out the celery and used 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion instead of the green. I also switched measurments and used 3 Tbs olive oil, and 5 Tbs balsamic vinegar. I served it on top of a green salad, which then didn't need any extra dressing. A great healthy and unusual alternative to mayonnaise-y chicken salad; I'll be making it again next time i picnic!
I liked this one, but a bit oily. If I make it again, I would add equal parts of the vinegar and oil.
Great Salad... I have been making this for a long time. Mine is slightly different. I omit celery but i add dried cranberries and use a green apple. Also I add a clove of garlic as well as honey to the dressing. (Garlic honey balsamic dressing) The tart cranberries and apple add a nice contrast to the semi sweet and garlicy dressing.
Thanks for the recipe. Everyone that tried the chicken salad loved it. The only thing I changed was not using walnuts in the recipe. Someone I know has an allergy to nuts. I am definitely making it again and again. Pluse it is soo quick and easy. Thank you for the recipe. I am tired of mayo. based chicken salad.
A great alternative to chicken salad made with mayonnaise. We had cooked chicken in the frige and while I was out my husband made this; it's that easy! He used a little regular onion since we didn't have green onion and it was DELICIOUS!
I loved this recipe. I added 1 tablespoon of honey and it tasted great.
This recipe is AWESOME! I used red onions instead of green and left out the celery and cheated by using a balsamic vinagrette dressing, and it turned out delish! This will be a staple in my refrigerator.
This truly is the best Chicken Salad I have ever tasted and so easy to make.
This was a tough recipe to rate as my husband, who likes sour tastes, really liked it & I didn't care for it at all.
I have used this recipe many times for company over the last year. This recipe is EXCELLENT and gets rave reviews every time. Simple and delicious. I've switched red onion for the scallions depending on what was in the house. I usually bake skinless, boneless chicken cutlets with a little onion and garlic powder. After they have cooled in the fridge I cube them and make the recipe. This dish seems to be universally appreciated. Well done!
Very good! The combined flavors work out great. I will definitely make this again... Thanks!
This was pretty good and very easy! I think the bread I used to eat it in a sandwich was a mistake. Would definitely consider making again and the added benefit of no maynaise is icing on the cake!
I loved it ..... added a few things ..... trail mix (raisins, cashews, peanuts) instead of walnuts, added some shredded cheese, and some red onion. Next time I would add some red seedless drapes. Totally yummy.
The first time I made this exactly as written, hence the 4 stars. The second time I made these changes: 1.Used equal amounts of oil and vinegar. 2.Added a heaping tablespoon of honey. 3.Omitted the walnuts and added an equal amount of sunflower kernels. 4.Omitted the celery and added 1 cup of dried cherries. 5.Used two cups of apples first soaked in orange juice for two hours. I used a rotisserie chicken. Served it over a bed of romaine/iceberg lettuce mix with some baby spinach thrown in, and sides of tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and red onion. I served this at a luncheon along with “Zucchini Cornbread Casserole” also on this site and apple cake to a group of teachers at our school. It was a huge hit. Here is an exact quote from a thank you email I received later in the day. “That salad was KILLER! Perfect mix of sweet and tart, crispy and chewy. LOVED IT! Thanks so much, brother!”
This is great the first day and even better the second. Super Stuff and so easy with a storebought rottiserie chicken.
Loved this! Simple and a refreshing change from the mayo ones. I've made this twice - once with the dark balsamic and once with the white balsamic and I liked the white better, but both were great. I added a little honey to the dressing both times as it cuts the sharpness of the vinegar just a bit. YUM!
I used pecans instead of walnuts. I had left overs 2 days later and it was really good.
Excellent! I made this for a bridal shower and everyone loved it! Nice change from the traditional chicken salad with mayo. Personally I found the serving sizes are large.
Absolutely delicious! My family loved it so much they wanted me to make more two days later! The only change I made was using pecans instead of walnuts. I was worried about it not being sweet enough. I used fuji apples and they added the perfect amount of sweetness. This is by far my favorite "non-traditional" chicken salad recipe.
Loved this! Served on a bed of spring mix with cheesy breadsticks and smoothies. Light and wonderful meal. This chicken salad beats the mayo version any day!
This was good. I served it on top of a green salad and added some Italian Balsamic dressing. Made a decent light supper. Next time I will omit the nuts. Didn't care for them.
I scaled the recipe to 3 servings, used gala apple and served in boston bibb lettuce wraps. This was a nice change of pace for a chicken salad.
So good! I give it 5 stars for being both delicious and quick/easy to make. I used Tyson pre-cooked diced chicken (3 packages, think it was 6 oz. each). I also added about a tablesoon of honey. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. I used green apples and topped the chicken salad on some spinach. I will make again!
This was a nice, light meal! I made it exactly as the recipe called for, and my family enjoyed it.
I was disappointed in the balsamic chicken breasts I made from a recipe on this site. Made it into this salad, reducing the vinegar since there was so much in the chicken already. Turned out quite tasty (and very glad it did not include mayo). Thanks for the save on all that chicken I would not otherwise have eaten.
fantastic, used more honey than balsamic as was suggested, and that made all the difference. also used red onion and dried cranberries instead of celery.
This was very good. I used pomegranate seeds instead of an apple and red onions instead of green onions. I left out the celery. And I put it on a bed of lettuce. And this was very easy to make. I'll make this again.
I took others suggestions and used less olive oil. I used about 1/2 what the recipe called for. I though the recipe was really good after that. I think the key is to use an aged balsamic so that the there is a more mellow taste. I actually used an aged pomegranate balsamic vinegar. When I tried this recipe for a sandwich pieces kept falling out so I blended it in a food processor with just a couple of tablespoons of cream cheese. Oh my gosh, sooo much better!!!!
This is really good and very easy. I used chopped pecans because it's what I had and canned chicken because I was too hungry to thaw and cook the chicken. I put it in a tortilla with some romaine and made a wrap and it was great. I think it would also be good wrapped in lettuce leaves.
nothing special-needs to be served on lettuce-maybe the addition of cranraisins-I use very strong good balsamic so the flavor was a little overpowering
I made this for my husband when the kids weren't here for dinner. He ranted and raved! It is soooo good! Thanks for the recipe. I used some left-over grilled chicken that had a little seasoning on it. We rolled it in romaine leaves! MMMMM. It is perfect for a warm summer evening, but I bet it would be good with the chicken warm, too, in the fall.
I'm three for three on salad recipes this week which is sooooo disappointing. I love balsamic vinegar, but this was just way too dry. I kept pouring on my vinegar and it just didn't do it for me. I loved the apple, celery and used salted pecans which was delicious, just too dry.
A great way to use leftover chicken! The only change I made was adding equal parts balsamic and oil.
Add A few Craizins plus both diced scallion and diced red onion.. in seperate small bowl mix together -1/3 cup low or no fat mayo - 1 tsp yellow curry - pinches of ground coriander, turmeric, cinniminimon add mayo mix into salad 1 tblsp at a time, to bind, add flavor and color. chill again ... use as sandwich or pita filling
Tasty alternative to mayo-gooey versions. I served mine with tomato slices and cucumbers on whole wheat pocket pita. My friend on a low-carb diet enjoyed it on its own.
Very good and easy to make. I'm not a fan of raw onions so I left the onion out. I also substituted 2 T. Balsamic Vinegar salad dressing & used only 3 T. Olive oil. I ate the chicken salad topped with a little honey mustard salad dressing. Will definitely share with friends and family!!
Made this recipe last Friday for the first time with leftover Key West Chicken from this site. Since then my husband has eaten the whole bowl and after I made more this morning (made the mistake of going grocery shopping while it marinated) has eaten the next batch too. Needless to say it is quite a hit in my house! I will be makeing this probably every week from now on. It is delicious, low in calories and so easy to make. Thanx for the recipe.
Yummy....a great lunch dish and easy to make ahead to take camping with us...saving the dressing in it's own container, of course.....added just before eating....
Love this recipe! I used a little less oil and added some honey to taste as others recommended. What a nice change from the mayo version. Thanks for the recipe.
I decided to try this recipe to use up some leftovers. Initially we didn't think it was going to be very good. In fact, my husband put some frozen corndogs in the oven as a backup for himself! However, after combining the salad with some spring mix greens and sprinkling just a bit of sugar on top, it was delicious! My husband even enjoyed it over the salad greens. Will be making this again!
Awesome! I used chicken baked in lemon and garlic and followed the recipe pretty closely except for adding craisins, feta cheese, and extra balsamic. It was perfect!
Great for using up odds and ends in your fridge. Instead of walnuts I threw in a handful of unsalted trail mix. The baby spinache was a good addition as well.
Yummy recipe! I love how crunchy it is and how all the flavors come together for a very refreshing flavor. Two critical things I did that I believe enhanced the flavors: toast the walnuts, and using high quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Next time I'm going to try crumbling blue cheese or gorgonzola on top.
This is a very fast and tasty chicken salad recipe. We made it for a quick dinner and was amazed at how easy it was to put together and it was full of a variety of flavors. If you are looking for a chicken salad that does not have any mayonnaise in it, I would highly recommend this one.
This was okay. I thought that by this being a "chicken salad" it would be more together/coagulated in order to use it on a sandwich. However, this was very piecey, and somewhat dry. Although I did eat it on crakers, and the general flavor was pretty good, I guess it just wasn't what I expected.
This was excellent - I made a few changes, I used diced celeriac instead of celery and used almonds and walnuts both, which I toasted first. I also added pomegranante seeds as a garnish. I brought it to a potluck and it was a hit!
Excellent. I made this because the carbs are low instead of a mayo recipe. Apples or mandarin oranges are both good choices. Other change was adding a TBL of honey. We enjoyed this over spinach greens.
I made this for my family for lunch. Everyone liked it, as did I. Nice change from a mayo based dressing. The only thing I didn't like was the looks of it. The balsamic vinegar made it brown and it looked more like Chinese stir fry. I wonder if a red wine vinegar could be subsituted.
I added ~1/2 cup of raisins to add a little sweetness and replaced the olive oil with mayo. Very nice on toast or just by itself.
I thought this recipe was excellent!! I did not alter any of the ingredients, but would be interested to add honey to the dressing and put it over spinach. Thanks for the great recipe!!
Excellent change from mayonnaise-based chicken salads, and perfect for those with dairy allergies! I serve this to friends for lunch and always get rave reviews.
I loved this recipe, though I must say my husband did not. He's not big on vinegar-based dressings though. I added a few dried cranberries.
This is a good change from regular chicken salad. Will make again!
even my sister, who revolted at the idea of a chicken salad without mayo, went nuts for this dish. i didn't have celery but i put a wee speck of celery seed. it's my favorite chicken salad now. a flavorful change from the ordinary.
The flavor is good, but for me, not for use as a sandwich spread, but wonderful served on greens. I also followed other reviewers’ advice and used equal portions of vinegar and oil. It was a nice, healthy change of pace from the other chicken salads I’ve made.
It's good as a base but too bland for me. Also, more to the point, not most of the ingredients, ha ha. No apples but had pomegranate so in it went. Went to town on the veggies, threw in kale, red onion, and peppers. No celery but didn't matter. No walnuts, threw in pecans after roasting in the toaster oven. Had some left over tandoori chicken so threw that's what I used for chicken. It's as good as any other kind of oven made chicken for this recipe. So at this point, it's not the same recipe. Does it matter?? The glorifying crown of my concoction is the feta cheese I've added to each plate served and then packed in my tupper ware to take for lunch. No balsamic vinegar but had malt vinegar so substituted keeping the oil and vinegar proportions the same. Added some herbs, salt and vinegar and that was the salad dressing. Again, didn't toss it into the salad but kept it on the side. Yum.
Excellent recipe! A great way to use left over chicken. I topped with fresh cracked black pepper and red pepper flakes. Definitely a winner.
Inspired to look for a non-mayo based chicken salad by a local restaurant who serves a version that includes currents and roasted red peppers. This is an excellent recipe that our whole family loved, and can be changed up to include other sweet/savory veggies and fruits for endless combinations.
Officers LOVED this!!...i had halsalmic vinegarette and used it along with green apples and pecans instead of walnuts...i prolly just rewrote the salad but i give kudos to this recipe!!...MUST USE!!!
This is going to be one of my regular dinners now! I did make a few changes--as one reviewer did, I added a tablespoon of honey; I used toasted pecans instead of walnuts; and I added about a half-teaspoon of ground coriander. Great!!
GREAT recipe. I used a wrap with a little light mayo. My husband and my sister loved it. I will be making this recipe alot!
