Chicken Salad with Grapes
Chicken Salad with Grapes is lightened up with Greek yogurt and bursting with flavor and texture from tender chicken, sweet grapes, crunchy celery, and toasted almonds!
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Chicken salad is a quintessential spring and summer recipe, but it's also one of my perennial favorites...especially when it's a fruity incarnation! And while Sonoma Chicken Salad has always been the most-requested variety by my family, this Chicken Salad with Grapes has become a new favorite at our house.
It's got tender chicken in a creamy, honey-kissed dressing. It's got crunchy almonds and crispy celery for glorious texture. But most importantly, it's got plump, sweet red grapes for a sweet, juicy pop in every bite!
I'm telling you...this chicken salad recipe with grapes is a must-make for all of your upcoming picnics, potlucks, and BBQs!
Ingredients
It only takes a handful of simple ingredients to throw together this easy Chicken Salad with Grapes recipe.
- Greek yogurt. The base of the dressing in this Chicken Salad with Grapes. Lately, I've been lightening up my favorite chicken salad recipes by making them with all (or at least mostly) Greek yogurt. Whole milk, low-fat, or nonfat will all work. That being said, feel free to substitute half (or all) of the Greek yogurt for mayonnaise if that's your preference.
- Honey. I'm of the opinion that a lightly sweet dressing is the perfectly complement to a fruity chicken salad! Feel free to tweak the amount of honey up or down depending on how sweet you like your dressing.
- Apple cider vinegar. To contribute a zing of flavor to the Greek yogurt while balancing the honey.
- Salt + freshly ground black pepper. Necessary for making the other flavors pop.
- Chicken. Cooked and diced or shredded. You can use leftover chicken. You can use rotisserie chicken. You can toss some chicken breasts in the slow cooker or oven or skillet and cook until tender. However you prefer to procure your chicken...it'll work!
- Red grapes. The star of the show! They add flavor, sweetness, texture, and color to this recipe. You'll want to make sure your grapes are bite-sized and not too big to potentially fit in a sandwich or on a cracker. So you can slice regular-sized grapes in half, or if you have jumbo grapes, consider quartering them.
- Celery. Diced. I like to make my slices rather thin, but again, it's up to you. You can also omit the celery altogether if it doesn't float your boat.
- Almonds. Slivered (or sliced) and toasted. And while you may certainly substitute other types of chopped nuts (such as pecans or walnuts) for the slivered almonds, toasting your nuts is recommended in all cases for extra crunch!
How to Make Chicken Salad with Grapes
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
Once you see how easy it is to make and how delicious it is to eat, I think you'll agree that this is the best chicken salad recipe with grapes. 😉
- Add the Greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined, and then cover and refrigerate until you're ready to assemble your Chicken Salad with Grapes. The dressing is fine in the fridge for up to two days ahead of time.
- Add the chicken, grapes, diced celery, and toasted almonds to the bowl of dressing. Carefully stir until all of the ingredients are evenly coated, then adjust the seasonings, to taste.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving to chill and allow the flavors to blend.
You can serve your Chicken Salad with Grapes on bread, rolls, slider buns, or croissants as sandwiches...scooped onto crackers...or over a bed of lettuce.
ENJOY! 🙂
How to Toast Slivered Almonds
It only takes a few minutes, but don't underestimate the crunch intensification that's achieved by toasting nuts!
It's easy, too:
1. Spread out your slivered almonds on a baking sheet.
2. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 5 minutes. Check and keep a close eye on them if they need a bit longer, because they can go from perfect to burnt in a flash!
You'll know your toasted nuts are done when they're fragrant and light golden brown. This applies to any type of nut! Just know that other types of nuts may take an extra minute or three as compared to slivered almonds.
And there you have it!
Chicken Salad with Grapes is a delightful way to expand your chicken salad repertoire with a fresh fruit spin that appeals to young and old alike.
Hope this recipe is a hit if you decide to give it a whirl! 🙂
More Chicken Salad Variations
- Caprese Chicken Salad
- Chicken Salad with Apples + Cashews
- Strawberry Chicken Salad
- Sonoma Chicken Salad
Chicken Salad with Grapes
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cups diced OR shredded cooked chicken
- 1 ½ cup quartered OR halved red grapes, depending on size
- 1 cup diced celery
- ¾ cup slivered almonds, toasted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, for up to two days.
- To the bowl of dressing, add chicken, halved/quartered grapes, diced celery, and toasted almonds. Carefully stir until all ingredients are evenly coated, then adjust seasonings, to taste. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving to chill and allow the flavors to blend. Serve as sandwiches (on bread, rolls, slider buns, or croissants), on crackers, or over a bed of lettuce.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Whole milk or low-fat Greek yogurt may be used instead of nonfat.
- If you wish, you can use half or all mayonnaise in place of the Greek yogurt.
- Using your favorite method to cook 1 ½ to 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts (around 3 chicken breasts, depending on size) to yield about 4 cups diced/shredded chicken.
- Honey may be increased if you prefer a sweeter chicken salad.
- Celery may be omitted if you don’t care for it.
- To toast the slivered almonds, spread out on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F until fragrant and light golden brown. Check at 5 minutes and keep a close eye on them if they need a bit longer.
- You may substitute other types of chopped nuts (such as pecans or walnuts) for the slivered almonds. However, toasting the nuts is recommended in all cases for extra crunch.
