Southern Chicken Salad Recipe
This Southern Chicken Salad is the best old-fashioned recipe. Black folks chicken salad is made with mayo, pickle relish, spices, and more. Feel free to toss in eggs if you prefer.
Pair this with our Mango Habanero Sauce, Grilled Mango, Southern Fried Shrimp, and Seafood Dressing, Fried Chicken recipes!
What Type of Chicken to Use
This recipe is typically made using chicken breasts. You can also use chicken thighs, leftover rotisserie chicken, or store-bought fully cooked chicken breasts/cubes.
How to Cook the Chicken
I like to air fry the chicken. Check out this Air Fryer Chicken Breast Recipe. You can also roast the chicken. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Add 2 chicken breasts to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake the chicken for 16-20 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Use a meat thermometer.
Can You Use Canned Chicken?
You can use the same amount of chicken noted in the recipe if you wish to use canned chicken.
How to Make Southern Chicken Salad
Detailed measurements and full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Combine cooked chicken, mayo, relish, celery, onions, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl.
- Stir and served chilled or warm.
What Type of Mayo to Use/Can You Use Miracle Whip
Duke's Mayo is a Southern favorite and can be found in many recipes. The best mayo to use is your personal favorite. You can use Miracle Whip if you wish.How to Substitute Mayo
If you are looking to make the recipe with no mayo, use plain Greek yogurt or sour cream instead.
Substitutions and Other Add In Ideas
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Boiled Eggs
- Mustard
- Grapes
- Apples
- Almonds
- Pecans
- Pickles
- Bell Peppers
- Avocado
How to Serve the Chicken Salad
- Slices of Bread as a Sandwich
- Croissants
- Crackers
- On a Bed of Lettuce
What to Pair With the Salad
Air Fryer French Fries
Garlic Butter Sweet Potato Fries
Plantain Chips
Apple Chips
Fried Mushrooms
Sauteed Asparagus
Homemade Pita Chips
Vegan Cornbread
Cajun Stuffed Chicken
Instant Pot Southern Collard Greens
Fried Green Tomatoes
How Long it Will Last in Fridge
Store the chicken salad in the fridge tightly covered and sealed for 3 days
Watery Chicken Salad
Leftover chicken salad will get watery as it absorbs the moisture from the salad ingredients. You can drain the excess water and give the salad a stir.
Can You Freeze It?
You can freeze it, but I wouldn't recommend it. In general, mayo does not freeze well and usually develops ice crystals.
Southern (Black Folks) Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken breasts Shredded or chopped into cubes. You can use rotisserie chicken, cooked chicken, or roast your own chicken breasts.
- ½ cup mayo
- 1 celery stalk Finely chopped
- ¼ cup finely chopped onions Add more/adjust to taste as necessary.
- ¼ cup pickle relish I used sweet relish. Use what you prefer.
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir. Taste repeatedly and adjust the spices to suit your taste.
- Serve chilled or warm.
Notes
- Feel free to add cooked, boiled eggs to the salad.
- When using rotisserie chicken, I remove the skin from the breasts. You can leave it if you wish.
- The consistency of this chicken salad is thick and creamy. If you like a really creamy salad, add additional mayo.
- If you are looking to make the recipe with no mayo, use plain Greek yogurt or sour cream instead.
- Leftover chicken salad will get watery as it absorbs the moisture from the salad ingredients. You can drain the excess water and give the salad a stir.
I’ve had this for lunch the past three days! The rotisserie chicken from Costco is a great hack to make this a simple meal I can prepare and have multiple times. Only thing I added that isn’t noted above was some hot sauce.
Perfection!
Hot sauce sounds so good!
What a great delicious recipe, easy to make, even solo with out the bread or wraps. I'm doing it a little different now by only the mixing mayo & spices & let it sit in the fridge for the flavors to set in the mayo. I'm not a heat fan, but. my family & friends are. Walmart has sweet & hot relish in their brand. Ready to go any time of the day. Hot or sweet. On a bed of vinegar base coleslaw or add the pre coleslaw mix in when making.
That sounds so good!
Used our leftover rotisserie chicken for this and added the chili lime seasoning from Trader Joe’s and it was yummy and easy! I also had some apples in there for the crunch and added sweetness. Delicious, a great way to spice up leftover chicken!
I love that spice blend!
Made this earlier in the week and it was delicious. The relish was a game changer! So glad my kids don’t like chicken salad so it was all mine lol. Thank you again Brandi for sharing a yummy recipe.
haha! You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
This chicken salad is the best,l just made it and now this is my favorite recipe,
I spread slices of avocado before making a sandwich which made it even more yummy 😋
Thanks a bunch!
You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
ty for "specifying" what type of recipe this is! If I read one more chicken salad recipe with nuts and grapes...
Yes!
@A Kay A, thank you for showing who and what you really are on the comment section of a recipe 🙄
@Nicky, what do you mean?
This is our family recipe, and we are white folk. ✌
Kudos.
@Jennifer Barker, you want a cookie or something? Girl please, Y’all stuff do not be seasoned.
@Jerry, yours just be season with season salt and AXEcent
@Jerry, you right and I’m white 🤣🤣
That’s the only reason why I came for the recipe cause of the title🤣❤️
haha Great!
@Jerry, It's sad you think all white people are the same.
Did it with Sam's chicken (definitely seasoned as shown above) and family loves it. This is good 👍🏿
Kells, we're so happy that you enjoyed this!
I am not black but we are southern (Alabama) and we loved this simple chicken salad recipe the only things I did different was double the recipe (I had a lot of leftover baked chicken) and I only had dill relish so I didn't use sweet/heat (we love it also) next time. Thanks so much for this recipe! I look forward to trying a lot of your other recipes too!
I hope you enjoy them!
This is it!!! Delicious and easy.
Thanks Monica; so happy you like the recipe.
Made this with a rotisserie chicken we had leftover. I added a little curry powder and chopped bell pepper and it was delish.
Thank you Y Bryant! So happy you liked the recipe 🙂
Excellent change from the regular old chicken salad.
I ate mine on Ritz crackers and it was a delightfully light lunch.
Thank you!
Thank you, Cheryle! So happy you liked the recipe 🙂
This was the perfect lunch for a busy week. I needed a cold lunch and something I could eat on the go. It tasted good and left me feeling full.
So glad to hear it!
White people from Ky. make it this way too.
Thanks for letting us know.
Another 5 stars from a white folk for your black folks chicken salad!
Like some of the other reviewers I don't like all the weird things that some people put in chicken salad. Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome!
That’s the way my Mama made it except she added hard boiled eggs. It’s yummy.
This is a great recipe but I wonder why you only use chicken breasts? My mom always used meat from the entire chicken. The dark meat seems to add more of a chicken-y flavor to the salad. But maybe that's just me. In any case, keep up the good work and much more success to you!
Thanks Cliff! Such a great idea to use the entire chicken.
Grew up in NC in the 40's.......this is exactly as I remember it......Don't believe we even had garlic powder or onion powder but he rest was superb and I have looked for a recipe for years.. This is it ! Thanks.....wonderful
This was really good! I added boiled eggs to mine.
Great recipe - this is the same as my mother fixed 60+ years ago. It's not black folks, it's not white folks recipe, it's a Southern recipe!
@Helen,
Nope, it's definitely a Black folks' recipe. It being Southern just doubles down on the Blackness of it.
Yummy, the salad almost missed the fridge. I will definitely use this chicken salad recipe again.
How do you feel about adding a bit of Tony Chacheries, and a Mayo question -I am in NC, Dukes is a religion here, what's your favorite?