Michigan Cherry Chicken Salad
A fresh take on the traditional chicken salad recipe. Full of lots of crunchy nuts and vegetables as well as the sweet addition of dried cherries.
Equipment
- 1 cutting board
- sharp knife
- storage and or mixing bowl
- measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts thighs, or dark meat works as well, or a rotisserie chicken, you want to have 6 full cups of chicken after cooking, dicing/shredding
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper for seasoning chicken before baking
- 1 cup dried cherries chopped
- 1 cup finely, chopped onion I prefer, sweet, red, or Vidalia onion for this recipe.
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup pecans, toasted walnuts, slivered almonds, or whatever your preference is work as well
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 whole lemon, juiced 2-3 tablespoons approximately
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp dried dill if using fresh dill use 1/4 cup chopped dill
- 1 tsp salt more to your taste preference
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper more to your taste preference
Instructions
preheat oven to 400°
- Place chicken breasts on baking pan, drizzle olive oil over chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool, cut into small pieces. Or shred with forks.
- Chop cherries, onion, and celery add to bowl with chopped chicken, toss.
Toasting nuts: after removing chicken from oven. place nuts on a clean baking sheet or pan and place them in the oven for 5 minutes. no longer. remove and chop.
Dressing
- Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, sugar, salt, pepper, and the juice of 1 lemon.
- Pour dressing over chopped ingredients and fold together.
- Add toasted and chopped nuts to salad. Place in refrigerator for up to one hour before serving.
Notes
Place chicken salad in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. Best if made a day before serving. Serve with croissants or buttery rolls. Also makes pretty mini sandwiches if you are doing sandwich trays.
Store Chicken salad in an airtight container in refrigerator for 3-4 days.
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