Apple Pecan Chicken Salad

By
Linda Larsen
Linda Larsen
Linda Larsen is a journalist, quick-cooking and slow-cooking expert, and accomplished cookbook author with over 30 years of experience in testing and developing recipes.
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Updated on 09/23/21
Apple Pecan Chicken Salad

The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 10 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
726 Calories
57g Fat
27g Carbs
27g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 726
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 57g 74%
Saturated Fat 9g 46%
Cholesterol 110mg 37%
Sodium 454mg 20%
Total Carbohydrate 27g 10%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Total Sugars 19g
Protein 27g
Vitamin C 6mg 28%
Calcium 45mg 3%
Iron 3mg 14%
Potassium 439mg 9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Apple pecan chicken salad is a fan-favorite main dish salad recipe. The combination of tender chicken, crisp pecans, tart apples, and a creamy honey mustard dressing is fantastic. 

Like all chicken salads, using a rotisserie chicken often brings the best results. Most other chicken cooking methods do not come close to matching the tender result of these grocery store birds. There is just something about roasting chickens while on a spit that results in the most tender and flavorful meat. Remove the meat from the bird and cut it into large chunks.

You can double or triple this recipe if you would like. When hot summer weather is at hand, there's nothing nicer than having a huge batch of fabulous apple pecan chicken salad in the fridge, ready and waiting for you. Just add some bakery muffins or breadsticks, some iced tea or white wine, and you have a fabulous meal with absolutely no cooking at all.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise

  • 3 tablespoons honey mustard

  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

  • Kosher salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 3 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken

  • 1 medium Granny Smith apple, coarsely chopped

  • 1 cup small pecans

  • 1/2 cup dried cherries, or cranberries

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Apple Pecan Chicken Salad ingredients

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  2. Combine mayonnaise, honey mustard, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl.

    Mayonnaise, honey mustard, lemon juice, and salt and pepper mixture in a bowl

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  3. Stir in cooked chicken, chopped apple, pecans, and dried cherries or cranberries to coat.

    Chicken salad ingredients in a bowl

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  4. Cover and chill salad for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

    Apple Pecan Chicken Salad in a bowl covered with plastic wrap

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

Tips

  • Store any leftovers of the salad, well covered, in the refrigerator for up to three days.
  • You can cook your own chicken for this apple pecan chicken salad recipe. Try baking chicken breasts, on the bone or off, in parchment paper, or simmer them gently in water until they just reach 160 F. When the meat stands after cooking, the temperature will rise to 165 F, which is the safe final temperature for chicken breasts.
  • Or try cooking a whole chicken on a rotisserie on your grill; you need special equipment and instructions for that task. You can cook large batches of chicken this way, let the meat cool, cube it, then store it in the freezer in 2-cup portions for recipes like this one.