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Life Currents
Home » Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

July 23, 2013 by Debi 45 Comments

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Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad is Sweet tart cranberries mingling with crunchy nutty pecans all with protein filled chicken.

It’s great as a sandwich. Try it with crackers as a spread. It’s perfect on its own in a potluck!

chicken salad being served up out of a bowl.

We appreciate your support

Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

Baby Shower Party Food

I made this Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad for my sister in law’s baby shower because both my mom and the mother to be love chicken, and chicken salads go over so well with them.

My sister in law had asked for more protein filled salads due to the possibility of gestational diabetes.

And, my menu was all about easy pre-made salads that I could just take out of the fridge and serve; no muss no fuss on the day of the shower! I served many things including Black Olive Tapenade and Wild Rice Salad.

Since the baby shower, we’ve made this Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad many times, and it’s always a hit.

Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad Recipe - easy - delicious - budget-friendly

Easy to make & budget-friendly recipe

This recipe is so easy; I bought a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. The whole cooked chicken was only $5; a pretty good deal!

All I had to do was clean the chicken, shred the meat into the bite sized pieces, and then do a little mixing. Like I said, easy!

My grocery store’s deli even carries shredded cooked chicken, so you could buy that and save yourself the step of having to clean the chicken yourself.

close up on Chicken Salad on a white plate with the title

Great for warm weather

My Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad is a perfect warm weather lunch or dinner accompaniment.

Chicken tastes just as good cold as it does warm, which makes it a great choice for summer. And the ingredients include pecans and cranberries so this dish is sweet, savory and crunchy all at once.

It’s quick and easy to toss this recipe together first thing in the morning and have it chilled and ready to eat for lunch.

It’s also great on bread, so you can make a sandwich if you prefer.

Check out this great Southern Chicken Salad for a different flavor spin!

Childhood memories

This is the kind of salad I would eat on crackers. My mom used to make a cream cheese and chicken salad that we would serve with crackers. Or sometimes she would stuff it into crescent rolls for a Crescent Chicken Packets dinner.

This salad totally reminds me of that chicken salad.

Kind of makes me nostalgic.

Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad Recipe - easy - delicious - budget-friendly

Pinterest

This recipe has been pinned on Pinterest over 450,000 times! That’s right, over 450,000 times and counting! And there are lots of “tried its”.

Make sure you pin it too!

Just like Grandma made

I found this recipe from Yesterfood, but I’ve seen countless others on Pinterest and Facebook, all having their own special ingredients. I’ve even gotten many comments about how Grandma used to make this with apples or grapes.

It seems that this is a special recipe for lots of people who become very nostalgic with it! And I think, that’s really cool!

Cranberries

Cranberries are a tangy northern American fruit that have become more popular over the years, moving out from their humble place as something we only served at Thanksgiving to a fruit that can be used fresh or dried in a range of dishes.

They are great in cakes and cookies or made in to a sauce to serve with a wide assortment of meats including pork, beef or chicken.

You can buy cranberries that are sweetened, or try simple unsweetened ones. Once you become accustomed to the tang of a cranberry, nothing else will do but a real cranberry with nothing in it.

Cranberries are also great fruits that may protect us from various forms of cancer.

The little red globes of fruity goodness help prevent urinary tract infections!

All of the health benefits from cranberries are substantially improved when you eat the whole fruit rather than an extract or in some other processed form.

These fruits are also great sources of vitamin E, manganese and fiber.

Pecans

Pecans are also one of the ingredients in this health conscious salad. Nuts contain plenty of anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories, as well as lots of vitamins and minerals. So make this salad, and plenty of it, to add something nice and healthy to your day.

chicken salad on a white plate with a green napkin.

Recipe variations:

  • grapes that have been cut in half
  • any kind of nut
  • raisins instead of cranberries
  • add a little curry powder
  • Greek yogurt instead of mayo
  • splash in a dash of ranch
  • throw in chopped apple
  • leave the celery out

Other great chicken recipes you’ll love

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
Tender moist Mexican shredded chicken made super easy in the crock pot or slow cooker. These Crock Pot Chicken Tacos are perfect for any taco bar party or taco Tuesday dinner.
Check out this recipe
looking down into a chicken taco with some cilantro
Crescent Chicken Squares
This is a recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid; it was one of my favorites. Chicken and cream cheese wrapped in crescent rolls. So family friendly. So easy, and so good.
Check out this recipe
Crescent Chicken Squares - Chicken and cream cheese wrapped in crescent rolls. So family friendly. So easy, and so good.
Brined and Roasted Chicken
Deliciously moist and flavorful chicken or turkey that easy to make, and clean up's a breeze
Check out this recipe
Italian Apricot Chicken
An easy weeknight, and kid-friendly chicken recipe!
Check out this recipe

cranberry pecan chicken salad recipe family favorite

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Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad is perfect for any party! And it's really easy to make. https://lifecurrentsblog.com

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Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad by Life Currents

Recipe

Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad Recipe an easy and delicious addition to lunch or any potluck

Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

Debi
A budget-friendly delicious and easy to make chicken salad that’s perfect for parties or lunches on the go! Use the servings slider to easily adjust the amounts.
4.84 from 30 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 10 minutes mins
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings
Calories 421 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • ¾ cup chopped celery
  • ¾ cup chopped pecans
  • ½ cup dried sweetened cranberries
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Instructions
 

  • Combine all ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for an hour to allow flavors to combine. Serve chilled.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 421kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 17gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 432mgPotassium: 251mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 100IUVitamin C: 0.6mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 0.8mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Keyword chicken, recipe, salad
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Filed Under: Appetizers, Chicken, Lunch, Main Dish, Mother's Day, Popular, Salads Tagged With: baby shower, celery, chicken, Cooking, cranberries, Food, gluten-free, lunch, mayo, pecans, recipe

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about debi

ABOUT DEBI

Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read more...

Previous Post: « Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Albacore Tuna
Next Post: Lemon Verbena Simple Syrup »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. denise

    November 6, 2022 at 11:08 am

    5 stars
    Very good w/ additions: needed more mayo and to this added 2T each whole grain mustard, apple cider vinegar & honey (to taste). Also, added finely sliced green onions. Deelish!!

  2. Tara

    July 17, 2023 at 1:50 pm

    5 stars
    So easy and truly delicious!

  3. Pamdory

    October 1, 2023 at 7:11 pm

    5 stars
    I loved it. My friend cannot eat pecans so I used apple which was good. My leftovers for me will get pecan. I will make this many times

  4. Alicia

    October 1, 2023 at 7:11 pm

    5 stars
    Yes I Made It And I Love It. Great Flavor!

  5. Melissa

    August 17, 2024 at 6:22 am

    5 stars
    Came out great! We have enjoyed this version so much! ~ Melissa via Pinterest

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4.84 from 30 votes (15 ratings without comment)

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Hi! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents, where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes with some great desserts and other goodies mixed in! Read More >>>

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