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Easy, creamy, and yes, even healthy, this Chicken Salad with Grapes and Walnuts makes a delicious lunch option. It has the delicious flavors and textures of the classic Waldorf salad, only this recipe uses protein-packed Greek yogurt instead of mayo. Use it on a sandwich, wrap, lettuce wraps, or even a big green salad!
The Best Chicken Salad Recipe
What is the best thing to do with leftover chicken? While I have lots of ideas for leftover chicken recipes, the tried and true go-to for many people is a basic chicken salad recipe.
Whether you have a few chicken breasts in the freezer that you can cook and shred, pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, or have leftover Rosemary Balsamic Roast Chicken, chicken salad makes a simple no-cook meal for hot summer days or when you just don’t have time to turn on the oven or stove. And it’s great to make a big batch to have on hand for lunches all week.
This easy chicken salad with grapes and walnuts takes some inspiration from the classic Waldorf salad, with a few tweaks and twists, including one important swap that makes it healthy too! And it can be mixed up in minutes with just a few basic pantry ingredients.
What is Waldorf Salad?
Waldorf Salad is typically an appetizer salad consisting of apples, celery, grapes, and walnuts tossed in a mayonnaise-based dressing that sometimes contains orange or lemon zest. It is usually served on a bed of greens.
Ove the years, many have taken inspiration from this set of ingredients to make other dishes that still blend those sweet and savory flavors and creaminess with a nice bit of crunch for texture, like my favorite Waldorf Fruit Salad. One of the other ideas is a chicken salad with grapes and walnuts and even more!
Waldorf Chicken Salad
In this easy chicken salad recipe, you’ll find those grapes and walnuts which give you a pop of sweetness and something crunchy. Though admittedly I did skip the raw celery.
However, the big change is using Greek yogurt instead of mayo. It makes it lighter and packed with even more protein, but it still has the creaminess you crave. The addition of mustard to the dressing balances the sweetness, as does the ever so slight hint of onion from a bit of chive
What You’ll Need
Many of the ingredients for chicken salad with grapes and walnuts are items you may already have on hand in your pantry and refrigerator. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full amounts and detailed directions. Here, I’ll give you a brief overview, but don’t miss my tips and serving suggestions.
- Greek yogurt: Be sure to use plain yogurt. Nonfat, low fat, or whole milk yogurt are all fine, depending on your needs and preferences.
- Dijon mustard
- Honey: You can also substitute pure maple syrup.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Chicken: You’ll need cooked chicken that you’v shredded or chopped into cubes. You can use leftover chicken or make tart with that leftover chicken I mentioned earlier, or you can make Instant Pot Chicken Breasts.
- Grapes: I like red for the color, but green works fine too. Cut them in half or quarters based on their size and your preference.
- Chopped walnuts: Lightly toasted, if you like.
- Chives: Finely chopped or minced.
- Salt and pepper: To taste
How to Make Chicken Salad With Grapes and Walnuts
Make the dressing: In a large bowl combine the Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, honey, and apple cider vinegar. Stir it together until it is smooth.
Combine the rest: Add the shredded chicken, grapes, walnuts, and chives. Fold everything together until it is uniform.
Season and serve: Add salt and pepper to taste and serve right away or store covered in the refrigerator.
How to serve chicken salad
There are so many ways to enjoy this chicken salad with grapes. If you make a big batch, you can have it a different way every day!
- A classic sammie: The traditional way is to bite into a chicken salad sandwich. Buy or make some gluten free bread and pile it on with lettuce and tomato. You can even serve it in hot dog buns.
- Wrap it up. Stuff it inside some gluten free pita. Or enjoy a wrap using gluten free tortillas.
- Cut the carbs. Have this Waldorf Chicken Salad in lettuce wraps or pile it on top of a salad. If you need some additional dressing, this Creamy Greek Yogurt Maple Dijon Salad Dressing is a perfect match, or you can add a little punch of flavor with Greek Yogurt Blue Cheese Dressing.
- Scoop it up. You can even serve it at a party with crackers or celery sticks as part of a veggie platter.
Storing Chicken Salad
Keep your Waldorf chicken salad in an airtight container in the fridge. You can enjoy it for up to 3 to 5 days. After that, or if you notice any unusual odors or appearance, it should be discarded.
It should not be kept at room temperature any longer than 2 hours otherwise there is a risk of harmful bacteria, especially since this is a dish that will not be reheated.
I do not recommend freezing chicken salad with grapes and walnuts. The Greek yogurt in this recipe can separate and become watery, and some of the other ingredients will be mushy. While it would be safe to eat, it would not have an appealing texture.
Variations
Chicken salad is very versatile, so try some of these options to change it up.
- Add more crunch: Feel free to toss in some chopped apples or celery, much like the original version of Waldorf salad.
- Change the nuts: Chopped pecans are a great alternative to the walnuts.
- Give it something chewy: For little bursts of sweet-tart goodness, dried cranberries are a tasty addition.
- Add some punch. Minced red onions or sliced green onion instead of the chives.
- Make it cheesy: Cubes or shreds of cheddar or some crumbled blue cheese add a nice, tangy bite.
More Chicken Salad Recipes
- Waldorf Quinoa Chicken Salad
- Honey BBQ Chicken Salad
- Tzatziki Chicken Salad
- Bacon Ranch Quinoa Chicken Salad
- Honey Dijon Chicken Salad with Apples
Waldorf Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 4 cups shredded, cooked chicken (about 1-1 1/3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked)
- 1 cup grapes, halved or quartered
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 Tablespoons chopped chives, or more, to your preference
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, honey, and apple cider vinegar and stir till combined.
- Add the chicken, grapes, walnuts, and chives, and fold together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve on a sandwich, salad, crackers, pita, etc.
Did you make this?
Leave a rating below and tag @cupcakekalechip on Instagram and hashtag it #cupcakesandkalechips
Enjoy!
This chicken salad looks absolutely perfect! I could eat this for any meal of the day! Pinned!
Thank you, Tricia!
This sounds incredible to me right now! What a great spring/summer salad. Thanks for linking up to my grape salad!
Thanks, Ashley! Your grape salad looks so refreshing!
So glad this was my pin of the day…Love!
Thanks! I love it too!!
I don’t like chives- any idea what I could sub it with?
-Carissa
Sorry I haven’t replied for so long. I took a major post-baby blogging break. I hope you’ll come back and try this recipe. I think you could leave the chives out, but perhaps a bit of shallot or red onion if you like that. I don’t like strong raw onion flavor, so this bit of chive was just enough for me.
This looks great! I had no idea Chobani made those flavors of yogurt.
The pear is a fairly new flavor, so may not be everywhere, but I think the apple and honey have been out for awhile – keep your eyes peeled!
HAHA! Waldorf-ish = best recipe title ever. This looks incredible…we can only imagine how delicious it must be with 0% Pear. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Amy, @Chobani
Thanks;-) And thanks for the awesome Chobani! I’ve been going through it in buckets lately (gestational diabetes – NEEEDD lots of protein).