Enjoy fresh fruits, spicy scallions, crunchy almonds, and tender chicken in this delicious and refreshing Orchard Chicken Salad recipe with apples. Perfect for sandwiches, salads, or lettuce wraps.
This chicken salad with grapes and apples is one of those miracle recipes. You can stir in a multitude of spices, herbs, fruits, and veggies and come away with a myriad of amazing flavor combinations.
It took me awhile to learn this. My old standy-by chicken salad contains cheddar cheese, celery, and dill weed. I was happy to stay right there in terms of chicken salad. And then I ventured out.
This Orchard Chicken Salad was my first real experiment in non-comfort zone Chicken Salad. But since we had an abundance of apple and red grapes, I thought I would experiment. This is the yummy result, chock full of fruit and seasoned with thyme.
Now there are chicken salads that go well in sandwiches and there are those that are better served as a salad. While I think this works well on a soft roll, I prefer to serve it in lettuce wraps or atop a bed of greens. It just kind of invites you to dig in with your fork.
What is in chicken salad?
You really can customize chicken salad to what you have on hand. With spices, fruits, different veggies, and herbs you can come up with your own amazing flavor combination. For this chicken salad recipe with apples and grapes I used:
- cooked cubed chicken
- red grapes
- green onions
- dried cranberries
- fresh diced apples
- mayonnaise
- apple cider vinegar
- thyme
- black pepper
How do you make homemade chicken salad with apples?
In a large mixing bowl you want to combine your cubed cooked chicken, grapes, onions, cranberries, and apple.
Then in a smaller bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, thyme, and black pepper. And pour over your chicken mixture and toss to coat it together. You want to make sure to refrigerate until ready to serve.
If you are making this for a salad, then divide the two cups of salad greens onto two plates. And divide the chicken salad mixture. Then top each plate with 1 Tablespoon of sliced almonds. This is also good as a sandwich filling.
How long does chicken salad last?
Chicken salad can last for 3 to 5 days as long as you keep it covered and in the refrigerator.
If you leave the chicken salad out, do not leave it out for more than 2 hours at room temperature otherwise you will need to toss it!
How to make this chicken salad recipe with apples and grapes good and cheap:
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. For instance, when I see a great price on dried fruit or chicken, I’ll buy 4-5 packages/containers and stash them for later.
- Use a whole chicken! Cooking a whole chicken (or buying one that Costco roasted for you) can be more economical than buying chicken pieces. Plus, you can use the carcass to make homemade stock. You can easily make this salad with turkey when the whole birds go on sale in the fall.
How I make this recipe easy:
Since one of you mentioned getting a rotisserie chicken every time you go to Costco, I’ve started doing the same. What a game changer! Having a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken makes my prep work a lot easier. The cost of the chicken is comparable to a whole chicken uncooked — and they taste great! Plus, the work is done for me.
Having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:
- plastic cutting boards – I have blue boards for veggies and white boards for meat.
- Ergo Chef chef’s knife – I’ve had my set for several years and they work well.
- salad spinner – I love this large model salad spinner with a salad serving bowl.
Orchard Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cup chicken (cooked and cubed)
- ½ cup red grapes cut in half
- 2 green onion chopped
- ¼ cup dried cranberries use unsweetened for whole 30
- 1 apple for 1 cup diced
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In large mixing bowl, combine chicken, grapes, onions, cranberries, and apple.
- In smaller bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, thyme, and black pepper. Pour over chicken mixture. Toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- For a salad, divide two cups of salad greens onto two plates. Divide chicken salad mixture. Top each plate with 1 Tablespoon sliced almonds.
- Also good as a sandwich filling.
Notes
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. For instance, when I see a great price on dried fruit or chicken, I’ll buy 4-5 packages/containers and stash them for later.
- Use a whole chicken! Cooking a whole chicken (or buying one that Costco roasted for you) can be more economical than buying chicken pieces. Plus, you can use the carcass to make homemade stock. You can easily make this salad with turkey when the whole birds go on sale in the fall.
Nutrition
Originally posted October 4, 2010. Updated May 14, 2017.
Angie
I love chicken salad with apples and grapes. Looks good!
Shell
This also works with Tuna Salad. Don’t know why men don’t like things that are sweet and savory. I thought that’s why they marry us.
Saralyn
We love tarragon in ours:
4 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 cup grape halves
1 cup celery
1/2 cup almonds
1 cup mayo
1 tsp. sugar
4 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. tarragon
This is oh-so-delish on croissants, and I bet would be wonderful on gigantic butterhorns.
Kaycee
Your husband is a wise man. Savory and sweet do not mesh. Exception(s) being P B & J and/or a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup!
sarah k. @ the pajama chef
this sounds great! i should make this for my school lunches next week. i love fruit in chix salad.
Danielle
We do one with apples, grapes, raisins, mayo and curry powder.
Ashley
Oh my that sounds so good! I love fruity chicken salad but have only had it with grapes. The apple sounds great in it. I’m sure it adds a wonderful crispness.
Anne
Your hubby and mine were cut from the same cloth! He always wrinkles up his nose at apples in chicken salad 🙂 I love it, though; I’ll have to try your version.