With dried cranberries and pistachios, this chicken salad is perfect for the holiday season, but it’s delicious any time of year!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I love a good chicken salad, and this Cranberry Pistachio Chicken Salad is my favorite version to serve during the holiday season.
With the addition of dried cranberries and pistachios, it has hints of red and green that make it perfect for a Thanksgiving or Christmas buffet.
And it probably goes without saying that although it’s a chicken salad, it’s a wonderful way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
I like to serve this salad in sliced croissants. It’s kind of a fancy, grown up version of the usual leftover turkey sandwich. But of course, this chicken salad is delicious any time of year.
It’s also perfect for picnics, spring celebrations, and light summer dinners when it’s just to hot outside to turn on the oven.
If you don’t have leftover turkey or chicken, you can cook and chop your own chicken for this salad, but I always go the route of the supermarket rotisserie chicken to save time.
Just be sure your chicken is completely cooled before you add the mayonnaise and other ingredients.
You can definitely use other dried fruits and nuts in this recipe too. I love the red and greed for the holiday season, but dried cherries and even raisins will work, along with just about any kind of chopped nuts.
The combination of savory, sweet, salty and tart ingredients in this chicken salad make it both delicious and interesting, and it always gets rave reviews.
If you’re looking for a festive and tasty twist on chicken salad, you’ve got to try this Cranberry Pistachio Chicken Salad. It’s sure to become a favorite!
Be sure to save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Ingredients
- Chicken
- Dried cranberries
- Pistachios
- Produce: celery, shallots, garlic, fresh parsley, lemons
- Mayonnaise
- Greek yogurt
- Sugar
- Milk
- Spices: ground ginger, thyme, salt and pepper
Cranberry Pistachio Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked cubed chicken
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup pistachios coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup celery finely diced
- 2 tablespoons minced shallot
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss together the chicken, cranberries, pistachios, celery, shallots and garlic.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, ginger and thyme until smooth. Add milk, as needed, to reach desired consistency.
- Add mayonnaise mixture to salad and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in fresh parsley. Serve on lettuce leaves, or in croissants or sandwich buns.
