Last week, Rachel and I were chatting over IM during work and we decided that we needed to take advantage of the worldly culture that the great city of Chicago has to offer by bringing a picnic to a free international jazz concert in Millennium Park. It took a little bit of convincing (and the promise of a few bottles of wine) to convince her husband that a multicultural concert in the park was exactly how he wanted to spend his Thursday night, but he relented and the menu planning begun.
We had a lot of grand plans for sun-dried tomato dip, pasta salad, cheese and crackers but we also decided that we needed some form of a main course – heartier than cheese, but easy enough to transport and eat on paper plates in the park. I had chicken in my fridge and immediately knew I wanted to make chicken salad.
Because the outing was impromptu and I needed to shower, cook and finish my work (and not in that order), I didn’t want to use anything that wasn’t already in my fridge or pantry. Celery is a perfect way to add bulk and crunch to chicken salad to offset the creaminess of the dressing and the tangy cranberries add a touch of sweetness.
Serve this on whole grain bread as a sandwich, over spinach or greens as a salad or even on top of crackers for a quick lunch or light dinner.
Creamy Chicken Salad with Cranberries & Almonds
What You Need:
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/4 cup (about 2 ounces) coarsely chopped roasted almonds
How-To:
1. Poach chicken: Fill a Dutch oven two-thirds full of water; bring to a boil.
2. Wrap each chicken breast half completely and tightly in heavy-duty plastic wrap. Add the chicken to boiling water. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°. Remove from pan, and let stand for 5 minutes. Unwrap chicken and shred; refrigerate for 30 minutes or until cold.
3. Combine mayonnaise and the next 7 ingredients (through black pepper) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until combined. Add chicken, 1/3 cup celery, cranberries, and almonds; toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve over salad greens.
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{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
looks like the perfect sandwich for an outdoor picnic!
Chicken salad on crackers in a park with music and wine! Why would anyone have to be convinced? This is one of my favorite things about summer is music festivals/events and picnics in the park. Great picnic menu.
This sounds delicious. I have been eating the same things for lunch week after week, I should mix it up and make this!!
wonderful chicken salad recipe and what a cool city to be in especially in the summer
one of my favorites, yum! i haven’t made it at home though!
Wow, creative and very interesting, salted nuts and dried fruits is an awesome combination, even on its own as a snack. I wonder how well celery fitted in?
Chicken salad sandwich is one of my favorites! Love the addition of cranberries AND roasted almonds. That sounds fantastic together.
This looks really delicious! I may substitute the cranberries for green grapes, just to see if it tastes like the stuff in the grocery stores!
Neat idea – would never have thought of adding cranberries and almonds!
Looks delicious!
I’m not waiting for a picnic, this needs to be made now!
This could very well replace my favorite sandwich of all time. Yum!
Just wanna say YUM!
Wish I had this (and you!) in front of me right this very minute.
What a wonderfully gourmet twist on the usual mayo central chicken salad! I love dried cranberries and almonds in everything; looking forward to all Chicago offers when I visit in August!
ahh i love picnics in the park! chicken salad is a fabulous choice to bring. i am having a picnic with the ladies from my church and we are calling it “bring the ultimate picnic salad”!
I have been craving chicken salad lately so this post is quite timely. I really love the idea of using dried cranberries and almonds to make the chicken salad different. I know what I’m making tomorrow.
Sounds great to me, I love the punch the cranberries add. Hope you had a nice weekend.
-Gina-
Sounds like a great Thursday night! I hope the concert was good–I have only been to Chicago once, but Millennium Park was one of my favorite stops (along with deep dish pizza and the art museum, haha).
Oh I love those flavours and this could easily be made into a full veggie meal as well!
I’m a chicken salad freak! Seriously a freak… I love all kinds. I just made some with cranberries and almonds for the 4th of July, but I’ve never thought to use white wine vinegar. Great idea! Also – I’ve never cooked my chicken that way but I’m definitely going to give it a try. Thanks so much!
You have so much goodies sandwiched in between.
This would be a dream picnic for me. Music, wine and sandwich with friends in the park. I like the addition of cranberries in the sandwich .. it will add that refreshing sweet taste in every bite.
Maris, you’re reading my mind! I have lots of turkey and cranberries and was wondering what to do with them
An outdoor picnic with multicultural notes?! That’s exactly how I would LOVE to spend a Thursday night! It sounds so perfect.
This looks so mouth watering! I’m hungry for lunch now and it’s only 9am…what have you done ….
This looks much better than the typical chicken salad!
You just turned chicken salad from some boring thing that my mom used to make to something delicious and craveable!
A very delicious combination of flavours. I love chicken salad..but never tried a creamy one…the addition of nuts and cranberries must have added so much more flavours and textures to the sandwich.
Your killing me. I can’t keep up with you and your posts! I have missed like 3 since last friday? Anyway, I love love me some chicken salad. It is all I craved with my first son and it is all I am craving now while begin prego with this little one. Your version sounds perfect with the almonds and cranberries. I like a little crunch to my chicken salad too!
I love adding celery to my creamy salads! This is a great way to change up chicken salad, looks great! I’m a little jealous of your Chicago culture
We don’t have an abundance of that in my little suburban town…or maybe I need to open my eyes a little more 
love throwing something sweet like dried cranberries or cherries in chicken salad!!
Yummy! This looks so simple and delicious. I might just have to make this for lunch
I love a good chicken salad! The addition of the dried cranberries and almonds sounds delicious. We have those Jazz in the Park concerts downtown on Thursdays here also. Not as grand as Chicago’s I’m sure but fun to pack wine, food and chairs for a fun night of music and people watching
Would we call the Cuban group a jazz group? Haha.
Such a delicious looking chicken salad! So simple and delicious!
What a delicious and light chicken salad! And a perfect venue to enjoy it, I might add.
This sandwich looks like the epitome of Summer! I love that you added cranberries. I bet they add the perfect amount of sweetness to the salad.
This chicken salad sounds perfect for any outdoorsy activity, and it sounds a lot lighter than a lot of other chicken salad recipes that I have found online recently. I’m going to have to give this a shot, as I’m a huge chicken salad fan. And I love not using a TON of mayo in it. Thanks, Maris!
I love all the ingredients in this salad! So yummy… Thanks for the recipe, Maris!
this reminds me of the chicken salad at trader joes! im in love with it
I love the sweet chewiness of the cranberries with the crunch of the almonds! I use lots of these same ingredients in my tuna salad so I know this is some good stuff!
Yum! It’s been awhile since I made chicken salad–I’m going to have to try this out!
I just adore a nice chicken salad, and this one sounds amazing. I love how you’ve got sweet and savoury and crunchy all together. I can tell this would be delicious.
*kisses* HH
MMMMMMMM. I love chicken salad esp. with almonds and cranberries!!!
This is my kind of sandwich. I would pile it high and not look back!
I love the flavours going into this, a great mix!
What a fun way to spend an evening! This chicken salad looks like a good choice too- I love cranberries and almonds in mine!
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