How to Make Cool-as-a-Cucumber Chicken Salad

Serve cool chicken salad at your next big event.

When we think of family picnics, company luncheons and bridal showers, we typically think of wonderful food and drinks that guests enjoy while spending time together. As the host or participant of such an event, you might need to prepare foods, such as chicken salad, that are crowd pleasing. Served as a side dish or on bread and crackers, chicken salad uses only a few ingredients and takes about 30 minutes to prepare.

Things You'll Need

• 2 cups chicken
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 1 cup chopped celery
• Mixing bowl
• Mixing spoon
• Measuring cups
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Bread
• Crackers
• Lettuce
• Serving platter

Instructions

1. Cook two cups of chicken thoroughly. For added flavor, roast or grill the chicken. Add salt and pepper to the chicken as you cook it to taste.

2. Cube or shred the chicken. Cubing the chicken will create a chunkier salad while shredding it will create a smoother texture. If you are not sure how your guests will prefer the salad, you might want to make half of the salad with cubed chicken and half with shredded chicken.

3. Place the cubed and/or shredded chicken in the mixing bowl.

4. Chop the celery into small pieces on a cutting board. This ingredient helps add crunch. Keep pieces somewhat big if you want extra crunch in your salad. Otherwise, keep the pieces small if you prefer more of the celery taste without a lot of crunch.

5. Add the celery to the chicken in the mixing bowl.

6. Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing with the chicken in a mixing bowl. Add more mayonnaise or salad dressing if the mixture seems dry. Stir until all the chicken and celery are covered.

7. Refrigerate the salad for a few hours and serve chilled.

8. Arrange the salad on a bed of lettuce or offer the chicken salad as finger sandwiches or as a spread for crackers. Place on a serving platter.

Tips & Warnings

• This recipe serves four.

• Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken salad, if desired.

• Add other ingredients, such as 1/2 cup sliced grapes or cucumbers, for a cool, refreshing taste.

• Add texture and an additional crunch by adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup of nuts, such as walnuts or almonds.

• Add herbs, spices or lemon juice to add more flavor.

• Substitute 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon celery salt for celery if you want more of the celery flavor than the crunch. Adjust the amount of mayonnaise or salad dressing as necessary.

• As you add different ingredients to the mix, ensure that the chicken flavor prevails. Adding too many other ingredients cost the salad its chicken flavor, so make sure half of the salad is chicken.

• Prevent food poisoning by placing your chicken salad platter on ice because the mayonnaise can spoil quickly. Refrigerate within two hours after preparation.

References

• All Recipes: Chicken Salad
• Better Recipes: Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Dried Fruit
• Mayo Clinic: Food Poisoning Prevention