Chicken Salad, Chick!

Like many Southerners, I love chicken salad..especially in the Summer! 95 degree days and warm nights make chicken salad perfect for lunch, dinner or a snack! The problem for our household is that we can't have regular mayo (because we can't have eggs), and what is chicken salad without the mayo?! Well, I have found two mayos that do not have eggs that are actually great!

The first I tried was made by Follow Your Heart- Soy Free Vegenaise . It comes in different varieties, but we also cannot have soy so we use the Soy Free version. It is found at health food stores and Whole Foods in the refrigerated section.

The second egg free mayo that i recommend (definitely my go to and favorite) is made by Hampton Creek. It is called Just Mayo. It is thick, creamy, very affordable, and tastes fantastic. It is found in the non refrigerated condiment section at many stores- Walmart (yes, i know!), Target, Publix, and Whole Foods. It comes in a few varieties, but I just use the regular (although all are good). They are all soy free too!

Now, let's get to the Chicken Salad! Either of these egg free mayos OR regular mayo will taste great with this recipe. If you can have egg based mayonnaise, I recommend Dukes or Blue Plate brands..but whatever you like will work :)

Chicken Salad

2 1/2 cups of diced baked chicken (about 1.5 lbs) (I bake chicken breasts with olive oil and heavily season with salt and pepper, let it cool and chop or shred). A rotisserie chicken would also work if you are short on time 

1 1/2 stalks celery finely diced

1 1/2 cups of seedless red grapes cut in half (reduce if you want less fruit)

3/4 cup of mayo

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper (sometimes I use more). Start with this amount and add s & p to taste after tasting

Place chicken, celery and grapes in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, add salt and pepper to your mayo and stir- this will ensure that your salt and pepper is evenly distributed throughout your chicken salad! Add mayo and seasoning mixture to your chicken bowl, and that's it!

Some other variations would be to reduce your grapes to 1 cup, and add 1/2 cup craisins. You can also add crushed almonds to either variety for nice crunch and added protein. If you prefer a smoother chicken mix, simply puree your chicken in a food processor then add the other ingredients. If you don't like a peppery chicken salad, simply leave it out.

I may or may not have just eaten some of this while writing this post. Its so good! I eat it plain, but is also great on toasted bread, croissant, or crackers. 

Happy Summer!

Leah