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Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad is a creamy, crunchy, and slightly sweet dish that makes an easy lunch, light dinner, or make-ahead meal. Tender chicken is combined with chewy dried cranberries, toasted pecans, crisp celery, and a creamy dressing with a touch of honey and Dijon mustard. The contrast between the savory chicken, sweet cranberries, buttery pecans, and tangy dressing makes every bite flavorful without being overly heavy.

This chicken salad is also incredibly versatile. Serve it chilled over a bed of lettuce, spoon it into a sandwich or croissant, pile it onto crackers, or enjoy it straight from the bowl. It is especially convenient when you have leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken that needs a delicious second life.

Ingredients

For the Chicken Salad

3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped into bite-sized pieces
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup pecans, roughly chopped
½ cup celery, finely diced
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the Creamy Dressing

½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Step-by-Step Method

1. Prepare the Chicken

Start with fully cooked chicken that has cooled slightly. You can use roasted chicken, poached chicken, baked chicken, or leftover rotisserie chicken.

Remove the skin and bones if necessary, then shred the meat using two forks or chop it into small, bite-sized pieces. Avoid cutting the chicken too finely; slightly larger pieces give the salad a better texture and make the chicken more noticeable in every bite.

Place the prepared chicken in a large mixing bowl.

2. Toast the Pecans

For extra flavor and crunch, toast the pecans before adding them to the salad.

Place the chopped pecans in a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Toast them for about 3–5 minutes, stirring frequently so they do not burn. They should become fragrant and lightly toasted.

Transfer them to a plate and allow them to cool completely.

Toasting is optional, but it brings out the natural buttery flavor of the pecans and gives the finished salad a much richer taste.

3. Prepare the Fresh Ingredients

While the pecans cool, prepare the remaining ingredients.

Dice the celery and red onion into small, even pieces. Finely chop the fresh parsley. Keeping the vegetables relatively small allows them to blend naturally with the chicken instead of overpowering it.

Measure out the dried cranberries as well.

If your cranberries are particularly large, you can cut them in half. This distributes their sweetness more evenly throughout the salad.