♪♫ On the 4th day of Christmas Food, Folks, and Fun gave to me…♪♫
Cranberry-Pecan Chicken Salad
I am a part of a fabulous group of ladies called “The Craft Addicts”. We recently put on a crafting event and I made some of the food for it. Among the things I made was this chicken salad recipe and it was a hit! A lot of people gave me compliments, and I think it’s the perfect recipe for a holiday luncheon. I served it on sliced croissants from Costco.
Cranberry-Pecan Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
4 -12.5 oz can of chicken, drained (I get mine from Costco)
2 t olive oil
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
¼ C Miracle Whip
¼ C Non-Fat, Plain Greek Yogurt (I like the FAGE brand from Costco)
½ C cream or whole milk
2 t poppy seeds
1 T butter
½ C chopped pecans
Directions:
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Drain the chicken and cook in skillet until all the pink is gone (you may have to do this in batches depending on how big your skillet is). Place cooked chicken in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until cool, about 1 ½-2 hours.
In a small bowl, mix Miracle Whip, Greek yogurt, cream/milk, and poppy seeds until combined. Pour the mixture over the chicken and season to taste with salt and pepper again. Add in the chopped celery and mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
In a small pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the nuts and stir them often until they are toasted, about 4 minutes (they should be a little more than lightly browned and you’ll begin to smell them).
Add the toasted nuts and dried Cranberries just before serving, and mix until combined. Serve with split croissants.
Makes about 8-10 servings.
Source: A Food, Folks, and Fun original!
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Metamorphosis Monday, Menu Plan Monday , Skip to My Lou, Tip Me Tuesday, Today’s Creative Blog
About Jillian
Curious as to why you would cook the chicken. It is already cooked. I make it all the time and never have cooked it.
yes I wondered the same – then I thought maybe you were using another kind of chicken. Recipe looks good tho!
I don’t think you should have to cook canned chicken. Even though it looks a little pink, it is fully cooked, I believe. I also use the Costco canned chicken, and have never cooked it.
Cooking the chicken enhances the flavors.
To cook already cooked chicken just dries it out.
I make almost the same recipe, but I use rotisserie chicken, and a mixture of light mayo and a couple of tablespoons of poppyseed dressing. Very easy and never any leftovers.
How many rotisserie chickens did you use?
I used 1 large rotisserie chickens from Costco.
I’m so glad you guys are talking about the chicken because I was wondering the same thing (why cook it). I guess choose chicken that is best for you….it looks good….I’ll be making this!! Thanks for the recipe
Can you substitute something for the miracle whip?? Not a fan of it lol
I’d use real mayo instead of Miracle Whip
I made a chicken salad similiar to this one, except i use chop walnuts!
I would use a rotersie chicken also.
I am wondering what could be used in place of the yogurt? (I am allergic)
You might try sour cream instead of yogurt!
Great idea!
You could use mayo or miracle whip in place of the yogurt. Hope this helps!
I chose to cook the chicken because I feel it gives it less of a “canned flavor”. I have made this recipe using rotisserie chicken and it was super yummy!
You don’t have to cook the chicken. You can substitute the miracle whip for whipped cream cheese. Add the cranberries and nuts and refrigerate. If you have a party, use three cans of Costco white chicken and two containers of whipped cream cheese. When you are ready to serve it, make like a mound in the middle of a tray and open a can of “Ancel” mango marmalade and put some over the chicken. It is a delicious dip. Use your favorite crackers or pita chips. Enjoy!!
I always cook the canned chicken too and season it. Thanks for sharing your delicious recipe.
I was glad to see the Recipe, it looks good.. I have been buying something like it from Walmart, but it doesn’t look or taste very fresh…They alos use something that looks like peaches in their’s and it doesn’t have an appealing texture.. I have always used frest breast of chicken to do my old style chicken salad, with is good, but not as pretty as this one. I don’t really like canned chicken very well, and last deli chicken I purchased,,,from Walmant, was not really very good, and ended up pitching most of it out. If I had pulled the skin off, and de-boned it that day and made chicken salad with it, I think it would have been good. But I just sliced off pieces and served it with veggies. I
This sounds delicious! It would be great with leftover cooked chicken, and I wonder about leftover turkey. Thanks!
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I think this recipe would be delicious using leftover turkey…great for leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
Love this idea. I’m going to try it using leftover turkey. Thanks!
Is that 4 “cans” of the chicken? Seems like a lot, but I’d like to know so that I can adjust for chicken breasts. Thanks!
I’ve never made it from chicken breasts, but I’d say use 5-6 breasts depending on their size.
I tried this tonight and loved it! I used mayonaise instead of miracle whip and only had 3 cans of chicken but it turned out wonderful! Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe!
Awesome, so glad you loved it!
Can you make this a day in advance, and then prior to serving add the nuts and cranberries?
You can most certainly make this in advance, just add the nuts and cranberries before serving like you suggested.