Diced chicken, red grapes, toasted pecans, celery, and red onion go into a mayo-sour cream dressing with lemon juice and fresh dill, then spoon onto halved croissants. The salad takes 25 minutes to assemble with pre-cooked or rotisserie chicken. It serves 6.
The chicken goes in diced, not shredded. Shredded chicken blends into the dressing and the finished salad ends up paste-like, with no texture to distinguish one bite from the next. Diced pieces hold their shape, and each forkful carries a distinct chunk of chicken alongside the grapes and pecans.
The chicken has to be chilled before anything else. Warm chicken releases moisture as it cools, which loosens the dressing and turns the finished salad watery before it reaches the croissant. Fully chilled chicken keeps the mayo-sour cream base at the right consistency from the first scoop to the last.
Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwich Recipe
Course: LunchCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy6
servings20
5
minutes437
kcalChicken Salad Croissant Sandwich Recipe: diced chicken, red grapes, toasted pecans, celery, and a mayo-sour cream-dill dressing. 25 minutes, serves 6
Ingredients
- Chicken Salad
1 lb cooked chicken breast, 4 cups diced
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
1 cup celery, sliced (from 2 to 3 stalks)
½ cup red onion, finely chopped
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
- Dressing
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped (or chives or parsley)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
- To Serve
6 croissants, halved
Directions
- Toast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, tossing frequently, until golden and fragrant. Transfer to a cutting board, let cool, then coarsely chop.
- Dice the chilled cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces. Halve the grapes, slice the celery, and finely chop the red onion.
- Make the dressing: stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, dill, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl until combined.
- Combine the chicken, grapes, celery, onion, and pecans in a large bowl. Add the dressing gradually and stir to coat. Serve right away or cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours for the best flavor. Spoon onto halved croissants and serve.
FAQs
Can rotisserie chicken replace poached breast in this recipe?
Rotisserie chicken is a direct substitute and the fastest way to reach the 4 cups of diced chicken this recipe needs. Because rotisserie meat carries more moisture than poached breast, start with slightly less dressing and stir in more if the salad looks dry. One large rotisserie bird typically yields 3 to 4 cups of usable meat depending on its size.
What can replace the grapes if none are available?
Diced apple, pear, dried cranberries, or raisins all work in the same 2-cup quantity as the grapes. Firm fruit like apple adds extra crunch alongside the pecans; dried fruit like cranberries adds concentrated sweetness rather than juiciness. Use whichever is in the kitchen, since the dressing holds the salad together regardless of which sweet element goes in.
Can the pecans be left out for a nut-free version?
Omitting the pecans still produces a cohesive salad, but the crunch they contribute needs something to replace it. Sunflower seeds or pepitas work at the same quantity and, like pecans, benefit from a few minutes of toasting before they go in. Larger pieces of celery or diced apple also add crunch without any nut allergy concerns.
What version of this sandwich uses dried fruit instead of fresh grapes?
Dried cranberries produce a sweeter, more concentrated fruit note than halved grapes and pair naturally with toasted nuts in this style of salad. A cranberry chicken salad sandwich on this site uses rotisserie chicken and pecans with dried cranberries on a croissant. The two sandwiches cover the same buttery-croissant format but pull the sweetness in noticeably different directions.
What if the goal is a chicken salad sandwich with hard-boiled eggs in the mix?
Hard-boiled eggs folded into chicken salad add protein and a denser texture than chicken alone. A chicken egg salad sandwich on this site combines shredded chicken and chopped eggs with Dijon, celery, and green onion in a dressing ready in 20 minutes. The egg version sits heavier on the croissant but keeps covered in the refrigerator for 3 days.