Southern Honey-Chicken Salad

FloridaNative's Note:

This is the best chicken salad I've ever made. It's a little fancier than my 'regular' chicken salad, and it's a nice presentation with whole grain crackers (like the Kashi crackers) or put a scoop on a large spinach leaf. Great for a brunch event. The different textures of the ingredients and the sweet "dressing" make a great combination. I found this recipe in The 2006 Southern Living Annual Recipes collection, hence the "Southern" name. Enjoy!

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 3 celery ribs , diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup sweet dried cranberries , coarsely chopped
• ½ cup toasted pecans , coarsely chopped
• 1 ½ cups light mayonnaise
• 1⁄3; cup honey
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. NOTE: For the chicken, I use 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, baked. You can also use a rotissiere chicken or left-over baked chicken.
2. Toast the pecans lightly in a dry frying pan over medium-low heat or in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Set aside.
3. Combine first 4 ingredients (chicken, celery, cranberries, and pecans).
4. Whisk together mayonnaise and next 3 ingredients until mixed.
5. Add to chicken mixture, stirring gently until combined.
6. Garnish with additional pecans, if desired.
7. Chill 1-2 hours before serving with crackers or on individual salad greens.

Reviews

[Marie Nixon]

I totally loved this chicken salad. I would classify it as a gourmet chicken salad because of the sweet dried cranberries and the pecans. I made it once with regular mayonnaise and another time with the light mayonnaise. I thought the regular mayonnaise tasted better.

[westtextazzy]

Made for Safari supper potluck tag, 2009. This is a very nice and "light" tasting chicken salad. I liked the addition of cranberries. I added a lot more pepper simply because we like it that way. I also added some crumbled blue cheese, and it set of the sweet and salty aspects of the cranberries, honey, and blue cheese. Very nice!

[kenkel22]

I made this recipe for a ladies lunch and I have made it again for my family within a week. It is fantastic - and has gotten rave reviews. I made it according to recipe the first time and the second time, I used chopped dried apricots that I softened by soaking in boiling water for a few minutes prior to mixing in.