With a delicious herbaceous and nutty flavor, this Pesto Chicken Salad is a fun, easy and absolutely tasty recipe that you don’t want to miss out on.
I love chicken salad and I love pesto, so why not combine the two into this Pesto Chicken Salad?
I love sandwiches, which you can absolutely make this into, but you can also use it as an appetizer like a dip as well.
With easy to find ingredients, this takes minimal time to throw together and makes generous servings for a nice dinner or lunch recipe.
But as we all know we can double this recipe to have more on hand to serve more people or save for later.
This is great for spring and summer, gatherings, picnics, cookouts or just because.
If you have been looking for a twist on your normal chicken salad, then this Pesto Chicken Salad is one you will love.
Some of our other favorite sandwich recipes that we have on our site include: Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken, Tuna Melt and Grilled Italian Sausage Sandwiches.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Minimal ingredients and time help this come together quickly.
- There are other add-ins that can be used to make it how you like.
- Easily double this recipe to serve more people or to save for later.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
Cooked chicken
Basil pesto
Mayonnaise
Greek yogurt
Celery
Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
Salt
Black pepper
Basil
Croissants, for serving (optional
Romaine lettuce, for serving (optional)
HOW TO MAKE PESTO CHICKEN SALAD, STEP BY STEP:
- Add pesto, mayo, yogurt, diced celery, salt, and pepper to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
- Fold in chicken, then parmesan cheese.
- Cover and refrigerate for a minimum for 30 minutes.
- Give a good mix, top with fresh basil, then serve.
- Serve as is with dippers or on a croissant with romaine lettuce.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO EAT PESTO CHICKEN SALAD?
We personally love eating it as a sandwich. We love to put it on croissants with some romaine lettuce.
You can also serve it as is as a dip with crackers or bread as a dipping vessel.
CAN I ADD ANYTHING ELSE TO THIS SALAD?
Of course! This is really a basic recipe that you can build off of. Some other ideas of what you can add to the salad itself include:
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Toasted sliced almonds
- Toasted diced pine nuts
- Dried cranberries
- Freshly sliced grapes
- Chopped onions
Whatever you really like to add to your chicken salad you can, just make sure that it compliments the pesto flavor.
CAN I USE MIRACLE WHIP INSTEAD OF MAYONNAISE?
Yes, there is a really big debate on what people really like to use in salads like this.
We use both, so if you are a miracle whip person, go ahead and use in instead of the mayo.
DO I HAVE TO USE COOKED CHICKEN?
If you do not feel like using cooked chicken you can use canned as well, although not as fresh it will taste fine.
You can also use rotisserie chicken, just make sure that you shred it or cube it.
HOW TO STORE:
The salad can be stored in an airtight container where it will keep for up to 4-5 days.
We do not recommend freezing this recipe as mayo is an ingredient that tends to like to separate.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Serve this as is if you’d like with dippers.
- Make these into sandwiches with croissants, bread and some romaine lettuce.
- We do not recommend freezing this recipe.
- You can add other things to your salad, see above for some ideas.
- Easily double this recipe to have more on hand.
- You can use canned or rotisserie chicken for this as well.
- Miracle whip can be substituted for the mayo.
- Serve this chilled or warm.
When it comes to a delicious twist to a recipe, you have to make this Pesto Chicken Salad!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
- The Best Chicken Salad
- Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese
- Chicken Salad Pinwheels
- Easy Cashew Chicken Pasta Salad
If you’ve tried this PESTO CHICKEN SALAD or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Pesto Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chicken shredded or cubed, cold
- ½ cup prepared Basil pesto I used Rao’s
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup celery finely diced
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese finely shredded
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons fresh Basil chopped
- Croissants for serving (optional
- Romaine lettuce for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Add pesto, mayo, yogurt, diced celery, salt, and pepper to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
- Fold in chicken, then parmesan cheese.
- Cover and refrigerate for a minimum for 30 minutes.
- Give a good mix, top with fresh basil, then serve.
- Serve as is with dippers or on a croissant with some romaine lettuce.
Notes
- Croissants and romaine lettuce is not included in nutritional value.
- Serve this as is if you’d like with dippers.
- Make these into sandwiches with croissants, bread and some romaine lettuce.
- We do not recommend freezing this recipe.
- You can add other things to your salad, see above for some ideas.
- Easily double this recipe to have more on hand.
- You can use canned or rotisserie chicken for this as well.
- Miracle whip can be substituted for the mayo.
- Serve this chilled or warm.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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