With chunks of chicken, crunchy apples, celery, and grapes, and earthy walnuts, my Waldorf Chicken Salad is one that everyone will love! Whether you serve it on a bed of lettuce, stuff it into wraps and sandwiches, or eat it straight from the container, this is one you’ll want to make again and again!
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A New York Classic
Named for the iconic Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City where the Waldorf Salad was invented, the Waldorf Chicken Salad combines elements from the original salad (celery, apples, walnuts, and grapes), plus chicken, making it a meal unto itself!
Similar to how I make my classic New York deli-style chicken salad, I gently poach the chicken breasts, yielding the most tender and juicy chicken salad!
My Waldorf chicken salad is excellent in wraps, but even better on a croissant; it is also great to serve as a snack or appetizer stuffed into celery ribs or spread on crackers.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Chicken. I prefer to use breasts for chicken salad and poach them in a combo of water and low-sodium chicken base. To make this salad even easier, you can use the meat pulled from a rotisserie chicken.
- Grapes. I love the color red or purple grapes add to the salad, but you can also use green grapes if that’s what you’ve got!
- Apples. Any apple will work here, so use what’s best for you!
- Nuts. Walnuts are the nut of choice for Waldorf-style chicken salad, but pecans or sliced almonds would also be great. If you can’t have nuts, omit them or replace them with sunflower seeds for a similar texture.
- Mayonnaise. I use Hellman’s brand, but please use any mayo that works for you. I seriously cannot tell the difference between Duke’s and Hellman’s!
- Sugar. Depending on how sweet your grapes and apples are, you can use more/less, or simply omit the sugar if you can’t have it.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- In a large saucepan or pot, poach the chicken in water with the chicken base.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and chop into chunks.
- Season the chicken with the pepper, salt, granulated garlic and sugar while the chicken is still warm.
- If you prefer a less-chunky chicken salad, use your hands to shred the chunks. Add the lemon juice and mayo mixture to the chicken along with the celery, walnuts, onion, apples, and grapes, and mix well. While you can serve right away, I advise allowing it to refrigerate overnight to further develop the flavor.
Top tips
- Seasoning the chicken. Be sure to do this when the chicken is still warm for best results. The chicken can more readily absorb the flavor of the seasoning when it is warm.
- Sweetness. Yes, delis add sugar to their salads, and I do so in my Waldorf chicken salad. That being said, if you cannot have sugar, feel free to omit it. The grapes and apples, depending on how sweet they are, will add additional sweetness so you may want to take that into consideration as well.
- Let it chill. You may be tempted to eat the Waldorf chicken salad right away, and while you definitely can, it will taste better after it’s spent a night in the fridge.
More deli salad recipes
When it comes to chicken salad and deli recipes in general, you’ve come to the right place. As someone who spent years working in delis, these are the closest and most authentic to New York delis you’ll find anywhere on the internet. Here are just a few more of my favorites!
- Honey mustard chicken salad
- Creamy chicken cucumber salad
- New York deli tuna salad
- Deli-style egg salad
- New York deli shrimp salad
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Waldorf Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons Better than Bouillon chicken base
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise plus more as needed
- 1 cup celery diced
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1 whole apple cored and diced
- 1/2 cup halved red grapes
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Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan or pot of water with the chicken base so that the chicken breasts will be submerged by at least 3 inches of water. Once boiling, add the chicken breasts and cover. Bring back to a boil and once boiling, remove the pot from the heat and set aside for at least 20 minutes.
- Chop the chicken breasts into chunks and spread out on a cutting board to cool. Sprinkle the pepper, salt, granulated garlic, and sugar on top of the chicken pieces so that it absorbs the seasoning.
- In a large bowl whisk together the lemon juice and mayonnaise. Add the cooled chicken, celery, walnuts, onion, apple, and grapes to the bowl and mix well to combine.
- It is highly recommended to cover and refrigerate the Waldorf chicken salad overnight. The next day, any excess liquid should be drained, and a bit more mayonnaise can be mixed in before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Smooth vs chunky. If you like the chicken mashed up instead of chunky, mash it before adding any of the fruit and nuts so that their texture will stay as is.
- Better flavor. It is highly recommended to refrigerate overnight. The flavor will be far better and the chicken salad can be thoroughly drained to remove excess water.
- Leftovers. Waldorf chicken salad can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Really good. Love the added garlic and red onion. Definitely a keeper!
So glad you enjoyed, Debbie!