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So I have to admit, I ate store bought chicken salad; there i said it! BUT this one wasn’t so bad AND it wasn’t “mystery” meat either. Sadly, with the current pandemic, taking trips to Sam’s isn’t ideal especially with the boys.
So, I decided to try to make it on my own at home to see if I can even come close. I added a few extra ingredients to make it extra yummy, but it turned out PERFECT! If you like your chicken salad mild in flavor, but still have that distinct “twang” THIS is your recipe.
Copy-Cat Sam’s Club Chicken Salad with a Twist
Ingredients
- 5 boneless, Skin ON chicken thighs
- 4 stalks of celery, diced
- 3/4 cup Blue Plate mayo
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp dry dill
- 1-2 tbsp pepper
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- 3 tbsp Tony's chachere's seasoning
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup Dried cranberries – Craisins
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Marinate the boneless chicken thighs with the olive oil and Tony's seasoning. Cover and let marinate in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut up the celery into bite size pieces and cut the onion chives into small pieces as well.
- Mix together the milk, mayo, garlic salt, dill, and pepper. You may not use it all, but it is better to have too much than not enough
- Take the chicken out the fridge. Heat up a cast iron pan to medium heat, drizzle some oil into pan. Cook the chicken all the way through. Make sure you crisp up the skin (the twist)
- When the chicken is done cooking, set it aside to cool down completely. Meanwhile, add the celery, walnuts, green onions, and craisins into a large bowl. Once the chicken has cooled, shred it into the same bowl.
- Add the mayo mixture in slowly. You can put as much or little as you like. Mix everything to coat it. Keep it in the fridge until ready to eat
Notes
- Traditionally chicken salad is made with Rotisserie chicken and you can totally do that. Just exchange my thighs for the easy rotisserie chicken method. Use the mayo mixture because it is sooo delicious.
- Omit walnuts if allergic
- You can use fresh grapes instead of the dried cranberries, but since I wanted this to last us I wanted to use a sweetness that wouldn’t get mushy with time.
I LOVE this recipe. It’s refreshing and so easy to make. It keeps well in the fridge 3-5 days. Just do not freeze it. If you are serving it for a party, don’t keep it out for more than 2 hours at room temperature as this can spoil the mayo.
Hope yall enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
