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Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is an easy recipe that a whole family would love! It's a great side dish or light dinner. This salad makes a wonderful meal for the holiday menu, especially Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is one of the best chicken salads you'll ever taste! The homemade, easy-to-make poppy seed dressing makes this salad quite special. Give yourself and your family a treat - scroll down to the recipe and make this salad!
Great recipe for leftovers
Not only is this salad great with chicken, it will also work great with leftover turkey meat since Thanksgiving is coming up!
Ingredients for the salad
The salad has only 4 simple ingredients: cooked chicken, dried cranberries, chopped pecans, and chopped green onions.
Simple homemade dressing
What makes this salad really special is the homemade dressing, made with mayo, sour cream, a touch of Dijon mustard, honey, and poppy seeds! It's delicious!
Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoon honey softened
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- salt to taste
Salad
- 4 cups chicken breast , cooked, chopped (about 2 chicken breasts)
- 1 cup pecans , chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 4 green onions , chopped
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine all dressing ingredients. Whisk until well combined. Add salt, to taste.
- In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients. Add salad dressing and toss to coat. Add salt, to taste.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This was delicious! It will be in my regular summer salad rotation. Thank you it was so good.
Pam, I am so flattered by your comment! Glad the recipe was enjoyed!
Absolutely delicious! No need to wait for a holiday or season to make this gem.
Rhonda, I just love your comment - thank you for taking the time to share such positive feedback! 🙂
Omg. This is delicious! I’m vegetarian so I swap chickpeas for chicken. Amazing! The dressing is so yummy you’ll want to lick the bowl
Ruth, your comment made my day! I am so glad you've enjoyed this recipe! And, thank you for sharing that you made it vegetarian by using chickpeas instead of chicken!
Could I use a different poppy seed dressing on this salad? I have a homemade version that we love but use mainly for green salad.
Of course, you can!
I have never made this recipe but it looks good. My question is it says it is 6 servings but what are you calling a serving? A cup? Thanks
I am not sure if one serving is a cup, probably. I would just divide the salad into 6 equal servings.
I have made this recipe several times and love it. Not only does my family like it, but I have served it to company a few times, too, and everyone has liked it. I serve each item separately so everyone can take the ratio and ingredients they like. I also serve quinoa and sweet potatoes with it. We eat it all as grain bowls.
Jennifer, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! What a great way to serve it! Quinoa and sweet potatoes sound delicious on the side!
I made the dressing for another salad... EXCELLENT!!! Can't wait to try the salad too!
Patty, I am glad you loved the dressing!
Just saw this on Facebook. Can’t wait to make this. It’s one of my all-time favorites!
Hope you like it!
This is so good and a great way to use up leftover chicken or turkey. I’ve also made it using fresh sliced strawberries.
Kathleen, so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Strawberries sound delicious in this salad!
This has become our favorite chicken salad recipe. I agree that adding grapes,bell peppers and celery would also be great favor and crunch.
I am so glad to hear that! Thank you for the comment and the 5-star review! I really appreciate it! 🙂
I love this recipe. I have made it about 5 times
& its delicious.
Pam, I am so happy to hear that! 🙂
I absolutely love this chicken salad recipe. It’s so delicious. I only made two small changes. I add finely chopped celery and instead of green onions I use cilantro as I’m not much of a fan of the onion flavor with the rest of the ingredients. I love eating this on its own or in a croissant with some lettuce and it looks beautiful to serve. Always a crowd pleaser. I’m salivating just thinking of this recipe.
I am so happy you've enjoyed this recipe! Love your addition of chopped celery and cilantro - sounds delish!
Hi, Julia.
What do you mean by softened honey?
Thank you,
Arianna
I soften the honey by briefly microwaving it for 5 or 10 seconds (or longer) - when softened, the honey blends much smoother with other ingredients.
This is a great salad, but next time I'll add halved grapes, diced celery, and diced yellow, orange, or red bell pepper for some extra flavor and crunch.
Kimberly, love your additions! And, thank you for 5-star review - I really appreciate it! 🙂
Note to self: Next time add Romain lettuce
Can you sub cashews for pecans? I cannot eat pecans or wallnuts?
Yes, cashews would taste great here!