• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Girl Heart Food®
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Handheld Meals

    Chicken Salad With Cranberries and Pecans

    Published: March 23, 2023 Updated: March 23, 2023 / By: Dawn | Girl Heart Food 2 Comments

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    Jump to Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    Chicken salad sandwich on a plate.

    With sweet and savoury flavours and a lovely crunch from the nuts, this chicken salad with cranberries and pecans is a deliciously easy go-to lunch idea that hits the spot every time!

    Chicken salad sandwich on a plate.

    Sandwiches. Are they a favourite of yours as they are mine? I could legit eat one every single day, especially this chicken salad sandwich with cranberries and pecans.

    Believe me, when you know you’ll be having this chicken sandwich for lunch, your belly will surely do a happy dance (I know mine does).

    Fan of chicken sandwiches? Check out this chicken avocado salad sandwich with mango!

    Ingredients

    • Cooked chicken: Leftover rotisserie chicken is great here. If you don’t have leftover chicken from another meal, you can always grab a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store (those are so convenient).
    • Mayonnaise: I love to use full-fat mayonnaise, but you can use a lighter version or substitute half of the mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt.
    • Pecans: Give them a little chop before using.
    • Dried cranberries: They provide a nice sweetness to the chicken salad.
    • Dijon mustard: Balances out some of the creaminess by adding a little tang.
    • Salt and black pepper

    How To Make It

    This chicken salad recipe couldn’t be simpler! To make it, all you have to do is combine the chicken salad ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Then it’s just a matter of serving! (Full details are in the recipe card below.)

    Once you make this chicken salad with cranberries and pecans, it’s sure to be a lunchtime favourite over and over again!

    Chicken salad ingredients in a bowl before being mixed together.

    How To Serve Chicken Salad

    I particularly love to serve chicken salad on a nice toasty ciabatta bun. Other yummy options are to serve the chicken salad on regular sandwich bread (use your favourite variety), hamburger buns, croissants, or rolled up in a tortilla or piled on top of crackers.

    For something a little lighter, the chicken salad is delicious served with lettuce leaves (like Boston or Romaine) for a nice lettuce wrap.

    Assembling a chicken salad sandwich on a ciabatta bun.

    Mix It Up

    You can add more colour, flavour and texture to your chicken salad by making some additions. Some yummy options are:

    • Salad greens: Add some salad greens when serving, such as baby spinach, baby arugula, Romaine or Boston lettuce. Layer the salad greens onto your bread, then top with the chicken salad filling.
    • Herbs: Try mixing a little freshly chopped tarragon (or dried tarragon) into your chicken salad filling. It works wonderfully with it.
    • Veggies: Chopped celery or green onion (or maybe a little of both) is great mixed into chicken salad.

    Can I Use Turkey Instead?

    Absolutely! If you have cooked turkey on hand (especially after Thanksgiving or Christmas), you can totally use that instead of the cooked chicken. Turkey salad sandwiches are equally as delicious, if you ask me!

    Two hands holding a chicken salad sandwich.

    What To Serve With It

    I love pairing chicken salad sandwiches with a simple side. Some delicious options are:

    • Potato chips
    • Soup
    • Crispy potato wedges
    • Green salad
    • Dill pickles
    • Veggie sticks, like carrot, bell pepper and celery
    • Olives

    More Yummy Sandwich Ideas

    • Chicken Pesto Sandwich on Baguette
    • Classic Egg Salad Sandwich
    • Mortadella Sandwich

    If you make this chicken salad with cranberries and pecans, be sure to leave a comment below!

    Chicken salad sandwich on a plate.

    Chicken Salad With Cranberries and Pecans

    Dawn | Girl Heart Food
    With sweet and savoury flavours and a lovely crunch from the nuts, this chicken salad with cranberries and pecans is a deliciously easy go-to lunch idea that hits the spot every time!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Save RecipeSaved!
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Total Time 10 minutes mins
    Course Lunch
    Servings 2 servings
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients
     

    • 1.5 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (leftover rotisserie chicken is great here)
    • 3 to 4 tablespoons mayonnaise, depending on how much you want
    • 3 tablespoons chopped pecans
    • 2 tablespoons sweetened dried cranberries
    • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
    • pinch salt, or to taste
    • pinch freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
    • Sandwich bread, sandwich or hamburger buns, croissants, tortillas, crackers or lettuce leaves, for serving
    • Salad greens, like baby spinach or baby arugula or your favourite variety (for serving, optional)

    Instructions

    • In a medium bowl, combine the cooked chicken, mayonnaise, pecans, cranberries, Dijon mustard, salt and black pepper and mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
    • Serve the chicken salad mixture on your favourite sandwich bread, buns, croissants, tortillas, crackers or lettuce leaves with salad greens (if using). Enjoy!

    A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.

    © Girl Heart Food Inc. Photographs and content are copyright protected.

    Keyword chicken salad sandwich

    Tried this recipe?

    If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!

    « Stuffed Shells With Ground Beef
    Beef Stew (Rich and Flavourful!) »
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    © Girl Heart Food Inc. Photographs and content are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. David @ Spiced

      April 04, 2023 at 9:30 am

      5 stars
      Chicken salad is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods! Our neighbor just had a party and ordered a tray of chicken salad sandwiches from a local deli. I’m pretty sure I ate the whole tray by myself. 🙂 This recipe is spot-on, and I love the Dijon mustard in there – Dijon is a requirement in my book!

      Reply
    2. Michelle

      March 24, 2023 at 1:28 pm

      5 stars
      What a delicious combination of flavours — the crunch from the pecans and the tangy cranberries… I’d happily eat this for lunch everyday!

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Profile picture of Dawn from Girl Heart Food.

    Hi, I'm Dawn! Welcome to Girl Heart Food, a food blog that's all about easy comfort food recipes (especially cheesy recipes) that'll satisfy your taste buds and make your belly happy. Have a look around and find something that'll inspire you to get into the kitchen and whip up something delicious to enjoy today!

    More about Girl Heart Food →

    Currently Trending

    • Stack of six cheesy ground beef quesadillas.
      Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas
    • Old-fashioned cabbage rolls with tomato sauce and dill garnish in a serving dish.
      Old-Fashioned Cabbage Rolls (Inspired by Nan)
    • Cheesy baked broccoli and cauliflower in a dish.
      Broccoli Cauliflower Bake (Vegetable au Gratin)
    • Ground turkey rice bowl.
      Ground Turkey Rice Bowls
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use

    Newsletter

    • Sign up for emails & updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2023 Girl Heart Food Inc.

    Girl Heart Food® is a Registered Trademark.

    Use of this Website constitutes acceptance of its Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.