This is sort of obvious to some of us, but some people may not know...heavy whipping cream is not interchangeable with Cool Whip. Cool Whip is sweetened and non-dairy and heavy whipping cream is in a carton sold next to the half and half and is unsweetened. You would be better off substituting softened butter as that's what heavy whipping cream is after a heavy whipping, lol. Or possibly a creme fraiche or sour cream. Not trying to be snotty, just trying to help.
This is a wonderful base recipe for many variations of chicken salad and pretty darn good on it's own too! Definitely 5 stars as written and for it's potential! HELPFUL HINTS: Heavy whipping cream is NOT cool whip which changes the complexity of the salad. ADDITIONS: For a different salad built on the recipe base, try adding cranraisins, chives, pecans, candied cashews (found at Trader Joes) and/or cayenne pepper. Also, curry is a nice spice to add to give the salad different character. A crowd pleaser to be sure!
Let me start by saying that I am a chicken salad traditionalist (in other words, I typically do not like `foreign' ingredients in my basic salads, things like grapes, raisins, and so on).
So, I was very reluctant to try this recipe despite all the good reviews. But, I took a chance and made it for a friend's baby shower. Even while I was mixing it I was cringing and afraid...old opinions die hard...grapes and mayo...yuck!
Anyway, I have no regrets. Wonderful recipe that I got many compliments on. The grapes were awesome with the other ingredients; they fit right in and were delicious. It's a lot of work to make fresh chicken salad, but when I make it again, this is the recipe I'll use.
So if you are a traditionalist, like me, go ahead and try something different. I bet you will be pleasantly surprised and expand your food horizons!
One more thing, I used pecans instead of almonds...really I think any nut you have on hand would work as well.
Good flavor, but WAY too much mayo! I used 4 chicken breasts, and I recommend cutting the mayo down to 1/2 to 3/4 cup, according to your tastes. Also, if you want more "tang", use more grapes. My husband, who is studying to be a chef, thought it was good, but that it had too much mayo, and it needed some cayenne (about 1/4 tsp)for some kick. I recommend mixing the chicken and stuff together, THEN adding the mayo/whipped cream to your tastes.
My mother has been making this recipe for all her social functions for over 15 years! It is the BEST chicken salad recipe EVER! My friends always want the recipe when I serve this. This recipe can be modifed to be very LOW FAT by substituting mayo with fat free plain yogurt and the real whipped cream with fat free canned whipped cream or cool whip. Tastes the same (even better) in the low fat version. Preparation time can also be cut down by using canned chunk chicken. Also tastes great served on croissants.
This was GREAT!!!! I roasted and cut up, and chilled (in ziplocs) my chicken on Friday, prepared my salad on Saturday, and served it on Sunday and it held up great!!! I tripled it and added more grapes, 2 apples, walnuts in stead of almonds b/c I was having them in my salad, onion and salt to taste, and cayenne to taste...needed some kick and this did the trick. I used Miracle Whip and Cool Whip...no mayo. Sunday, I added a little more Mir. Whip and Cool Whip, to moisten. I served it on croissants w/leaf lettuce, that I made up about 3 hours ahead, and covered tightly w/ Saran Wrap and put in frig. Croissants also held up well in frig. Very easy -- and "make ahead" friendly. Actually better if it sits overnight!!!!! Will DEFINATELY make again!!!!!
WOW! This is the best chicken salad I have ever made. It was the Hit at my daughers daisy scout induction ceremony. My platter of sandwichs was the only ones eaten up! It is truely best to make the day before so the flavors blend well. I did some of the other suggestions from the other folks who tried the recipe. Used walnuts instead, used some granny smith apple too, little pickle relish, cayenne, fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste. I cut back on the mayo and added chopped green onion. My husband ate a sandwich for breakfast this morning, he said it was so good! Thanks a Bunch Becky for giving us this "now a staple" for my family.
This chicken salad was incredible! A great way to use up leftover chicken. The second time I made this I took chicken breasts and baked them in a can of chicken broth at 350 for one hour. Let the breasts cool then chopped them up. Like another reviewer I mixed the mayo and cream together separately before I added it to everything else. I also added a chopped red delicious apple to the mix. I used red grapes instead of green. (About half red apple/half red grapes) This recipe is a keeper.
Very good recipe. I love GOOD chicken salad and this one is good. Next time I will change the almonds to pecans for a different flavor. I also used sweetned whipped cream that I had left from a pie. Thanks!!
Edited 2009: So funny-- I was rereading my reviews from 6 yrs ago when I was a brand-new cook. I was DEFINITELY one of those irritating reviewers who made a zillion changes and then gave the recipe fewer stars. My apologies! I have learned SO much about food since then. I now realize I should have used heavy whipping cream as written and avoided canned chunk chicken. I promise to give this another try w/ the correct recipe;-) I was really excited about this recipe but ended up slightly disappointed. I used canned chunk chicken and realized after the fact that I should have then omitted the salt. It was definitely too salty. I used light mayo and cool whip which was a nice combo. The salad was a little bland though. However I probably will add almonds and coolwhip to my future chicken salads!
