Let's make the best chicken salad recipe with eggs you've ever had. This is a super simple and easy recipe made with shredded chicken, eggs, apples, and walnuts. It's one of my family's all time favorite meals!
Every week as I plan our menu, our favorite chicken egg salad usually always makes the cut. It's one of our favorite meals, and I love that we can make it with whatever type of chicken we have on hand, whether it's fresh, canned, or rotisserie chicken.
While we love making Asian chicken salad for appetizers, we've pretty much stuck with this easy open-faced chicken salad sandwich for weeknight dinners.
Why You'll Love This Easy Dinner
- It's got healthy, wholesome ingredients; and it's fairly low carb (without the bread), so it's a really healthy option for Dan, who usually eats it on a bed of spinach or lettuce.
- You'll love the crisp, tarty flavor the apples bring to this dish.
- This is one meal that's easy to make ahead of time or on the fly, especially when your chicken and eggs are already cooked.
Ingredient and Substitution Notes
- Cooked Chicken – You can cook fresh chicken, or you can make this chicken salad recipe using canned chicken or store bought rotisserie chicken. We've made this a canned chicken salad recipe many nights when we just didn't remember to get chicken out of the freezer.
- Hardboiled eggs – Probably the easiest way to boil your eggs is to put them in a saucepan and cover them with water; bring the pan to a boil over medium to high heat on your stove, and once it's reached a full rolling boil, set a timer and continue to boil for 6 to 8 minutes. Another way you can boil eggs is with an electric egg cooker; this is quite the handy tool for making easy hard-boiled eggs, and I love that it also poaches eggs. Finally, you can also boil eggs in the Instant Pot, which is super easy and simple to do, as well.
- Celery – I prefer to mince this up really well and make it smaller. It adds a lot of crunch to chicken salad.
- Apple – My grandma used to make her chicken salad with apples and pickles, and it was always so delicious.
- Green onions – Again, it's all about flavor. All of these ingredients really meld together to create an amazing flavor to the salad.
- Mayo and Mustard – If you don't have mayonnaise, you can use Miracle Whip; but we much prefer the flavor that real mayonnaise gives to chicken salad. Mustard just gives a little extra kick.
- Chopped Walnuts – These are totally optional, and a lot of times, we'll substitute chopped pecans instead.
- Bread – Again, this is optional. The best bread for chicken salad, though, is definitely sourdough. Toasted sourdough makes a delicious chicken salad sandwich.
Remember, all of the ingredients you’ll need and their amounts are listed in the printable recipe card below.
How to Make a Chicken Salad Recipe with Eggs
Before you mix up your chicken salad, you'll need to shred up whatever type of cooked chicken you're using and smash the hard-boiled eggs. Also, wash and chop the celery, green onions, and apple; and chop up the walnuts.
Now Mix up the Salad
- In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, hard-boiled eggs, celery, apple, walnuts, and green onions.
- Next, measure out the mayo and mustard, and mix it into the chicken mixture. If you like a “wetter” chicken salad, you can add more mayo.
- If you feel like it needs it, you can add in a dash of salt and pepper. Otherwise, it's ready to eat and enjoy!
Then Make It into an Open-Faced Chicken Salad Sandwich
I like to do the following, but you can change this up to make it your own.
- Toast a piece of sourdough bread (or gluten-free bread).
- Spread on a little Miracle Whip.
- Add a small pile of lettuce, and pile on the chicken salad to make the most delicious open-faced chicken salad sandwich recipe ever. It's so tasty and so good!
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ's
It should definitely be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Chicken salad will usually keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.
Alternative Chicken Salad Ingredients and Variations
We've tweaked this recipe over the years. Sometimes we add things, other times we don't.
Here are a few options for you to think about when mixing up the ingredients…
- Mince a little dill or sweet pickle to add into the ingredients. We love adding in dill pickle. I imagine bread and butter pickles or pickle relish would be really good too.
- Instead of mayo, you can use Miracle Whip or plain Greek yogurt.
- Instead of regular mustard, using Dijon mustard or stone ground mustard.
- In place of walnuts, you can use pecans or almonds.
- Add chopped up grapes for a yummy chicken salad with grapes.
However you choose to make this chicken salad, it's sure to be a hit with your family. We usually have zero leftovers with this quick and easy meal.
More Egg and Chicken Salad Recipes:
If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. And subscribe to my email list too!
Chicken Salad Recipe with Eggs
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken cooked and shredded
- 4 large hardboiled eggs mashed
- 2 stalks celery minced
- 1 large apple diced or chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 2 green onions
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the shredded chicken, hard-boiled eggs, celery, apple, walnuts, and green onions.
- Next, measure out the mayo and mustard, and mix it into the chicken mixture. If you like a "wetter" chicken salad, you can add more mayo.
- If you feel like it needs it, you can add in a dash of salt and pepper. Otherwise, it's ready to eat and enjoy!
To Make an Open-Faced Chicken Salad Sandwich:
- Toast a piece of sourdough bread or whatever type of bread you prefer.
- Spread a layer of mayo or Miracle Whip.
- Add a small pile of lettuce, and pile on the chicken salad to complete your chicken salad sandwich.
Lisa, You are a very rude woman! Did someone urinate in your Starbucks this morning? Shame on you!
New to group. But loving what I’ve tried so far.
The list of gadgets, bowls, cutting boards et al is ridiculous!
Boil your eggs in a quart-size pot, run them under very cold water or, if you want to be fancy then add ice cubes to cool eggs.
Surely everyone has an old, well-loved cutting board! Not sure what/or you were trying be but your post isn’t worth pinning.
Lisa, I am sure your are probably a good cook and still know how to prep for a recipe or meal. Young people just starting to cook or old people like myself need assistance. I have always been told I am a great cook. As I get older I am getting forgetful. I will mash the eggs and then go to chop the celery and onions and I forgot the cutting board. Then I stare at the counter trying to remember what I need next. Oh yeah, I need a chopping knife, not a paring knife. Other times I just wiz through a recipe with no problem at all. Good days, bad days. Do I enjoy being this way, heck no. I will be 79 yrs old in two months. I have a friend 103 yrs old, and she is twice as sharp as I am. Sometimes it gets very frustrating.
Back to prepping for a recipe or meal. I hope you never get like I am. I also hope you think twice before you open your trap to make fun of or insult someone. More and more posters are adding the prep items. If you do not like it, go somewhere else.
Have a great day Lisa and please learn some manners….Granny Jean
I love open faced sandwiches and these look so good. I love the ingredients. Thank you for sharing at Inspire Me Monday.
Thank you so much, Amy! And thank you for hosting Inspire Me Monday!