Chicken Salad Three Ways

Which will you choose?

Chicken salad. Its a staple at almost any event from baby and wedding showers, cookouts and bar ba ques, family events, and pot luck dinners. Everyone has their favorite kind as well, such as homestyle, southern, classic, and so many other types. No matter what type of chicken salad we love to eat, we can agree its a very versatile food with many options to make a meal. As for me, it is hard to choose just one. I enjoy being creative with this type of salad and have created a tour of the states with three types of chicken salad from three different regions.

First, let us talk about ranch chicken salad. Did you know ranch dressing was initially created around 1950 by a gentleman living in Alaska? This gentleman, known as Stave Henson, worked as a plumber in Alaska before moving to Californa and purchasing a ranch. He became a cowboy and started selling one of the most popular ranch dressing, Hidden Valley Ranch. Not only is it a creamy buttermilk dressing, but it is also gluten-free. It goes well on salads, potatoes, as a dip, meats, and exceptional in chicken salad.

I always have fun creating my ranch chicken salad. It is an excellent alternative to a traditional salad. I add my favorite salad toppings into the mix and have created some beautiful combinations. You can make a green goddess ranch chicken salad only using green vegetables such as green peas, celery, avocado, broccoli, and scallion. You can make a garden salad ranch dressing using carrots, red cabbage, celery, cucumber, and tomatoes. You can also use vegetables already in your fridge. In my most recent Ranch chicken salad I used broccoli, tomatoes, peas, and celery. Top this will turkey bacan and you have a fantastic lunch. The possibilities are endless with ranch dressing, and so are the different types of ranch dressing you can buy.

Ever since Hidden Valley made its way to the public, many other companies have stepped forward and created their ranch dressing version. For this reason, I have been able to enjoy not only gluten-free ranch dressing but also dairy-free. Tessemae ranch is my new go-to dressing. It has so much flavor, spice, and still the creaminess you are getting from the original ranch dressing. It is my go-to when making my ranch chicken salad. I do not have to add any extra flavor or seasonings because the Tessamae ranch covers the flavor profile. Tessamae also has other flavor dressing such as Habanero Ranch, Creamy Green Goddess, Creamy Ceaser, and more.

Let’s travel to a new region where you might be more familiar with the organ of the salad. New York late 1800’s, the Waldorf Asteria hotel created a mixture out of celery, apples, and mayonnaise, which is now known as Waldorf salad. Since its creation, there have been many different versions, including my spin as a chicken salad. I love the sweetness of the grapes, the crunch of the apples, creaminess from the mayo, and added saltiness from the nuts. I also enjoy the array of colors from the red grapes, green apples, and caramel color from the nuts. This is my quick to make chicken salad for a weekend getaway, a family get-together, or if I need to bring a dish to an event.

What’s great about making your version of the Waldorf chicken salad is that you can use a combination of fruit and nuts. Between green or red grapes, red, green, or yellow apples, and different types of nuts. Walnuts, slivered almonds, or pecans, even cashews, can be used. I sometimes use mix nuts depending on what’s in the pantry and if I have enough of one type. For this particular chicken salad, I leave out the celery. I know it is in the original Waldorf salad, but I prefer the crunch from the apples and nuts.

Most chicken salads start with boiled chicken in a large pot containing celery, carrots, onions, salt, pepper, and garlic. (If you boil the chicken, be sure to strain the liquid after it has cooled so you have homemade chicken stock for later use.) However, I usually bake my chicken in the oven. I like to season the chick on both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder after I have fileted the chicken breasts. Baking the chicken takes less time for the chicken to cool and less time to shred or dice. I also like the added flavor from the chicken when mixed with the other ingredients.

Now lets venture to the southwest with a corn salsa chicken salad. This chicken salad contains one of my favorite creamy salsas. Corn salsa chicken salad is one of my favorite chicken salads, not to mention how many other food items you can combine to make multiple meals such as nachos, use it for Taco Tuesday, a southwest fiesta rice bowl, and so many other tasty meals. The chicken salad can made in minutes and ready to eat within in an hour (which is why I like to make this particular chicken salad). I make the corn salsa first to give the flavors time to combine and marinate. The smokiness from the chili powder and smoked paprika combines with the jalapeno’s heat, which blends perfectly with the sweetness of the corn and crips flavor of the bell pepper.

The mayonnaise, a vegan mayo from Follow Your Heart, creates the base to combine all the ingredients. Follow Your Heart’s vegan mayonnaise, vegenaise, is one of my absolute favorite mayo’s. It is full of flavor, creamy, is soy-free and does not take away taste from other ingredients. Follow Your Heart also has cheeses, dressings, yogurts, bread, and more, all of which are plant-based. I really enjoy adding the cheese to sandwiches because the slices taste like actual cheese and not plastic.

I hope you enjoy one of these chicken salad versions or have been inspired to create your own from another area you have visited on your travels.

Recipes:

Chicken: (you can also use a rotisserie chicken. Debone the chicken and measure out the needed amount of chicken for the salad.)

1-2 chicken breast filleted or 3-4 thinly sliced chicken breast
Salt, pepper, and garlic powered for taste.
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Preheat oven to 365′
Lightly brush or drizzle EVOO on one side of the chicken. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder for taste. Repeat on the other side.
Cook chicken for 20-25 minutes or until done (internal temperature of 165′)

Ranch Chicken Salad:
3-4 cups cooked chicken
1/4 cup Green Peas
1/3 cup Cucumber seeded
1/3 cup Celery (1 stock)
1/3 cup Broccoli
1/3 cup Tomatoes seeded (1 Roma tomato)
1/2 cup Ranch Dressing

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until everything is well coated and mix. Let sit in the fridge for one hour then enjoy it!

Waldorf Chicken Salad Spin:
3-4 cup cooked Chicken
3/4 cups Grapes cut in half or slivers
1/2 cup Apples diced
1/4 cup nuts of choice (sliced Almonds or chopped Walnuts are my preference)
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper for taste
1 cup Follow Your Heart Mayo.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until everything is well coated—taste to adjust the salt and pepper to your liking. Let sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours before enjoying it. I like to eat mine as a sandwich, on a bed of lettuce, or as a wrap.

Corn Salsa Chicken Salad:
Corn Salsa:
2.5-3.5 cups Yellow Corn (thawed, roasted, or off the cobb)
3/4 cup diced and seeded Tomatoes
Half a seeded and deveined Jalapeno diced into small pieces
1/2 cup Red Onion
1/4 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp Salt
!/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 cup Follow Your Heart Mayo
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
3/4 tsp Chili Powder

In a large bowl, combine the corn, tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno and mix together. Add the mayo and mix with the vegetables until well coated. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until everything is combined (there should be a little liquid in the bowl). Let sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours, then enjoy it on nachos, tacos, salsa, or a taco salad.

Corn Salsa Chicken Salad:
Combine 3-4 cups cooked chicken with 1-2 cups of corn salsa and mix well. For best flavor, let sit in the fridge for 1 hour.