Strawberry Poppy Seed Pecan Chicken Salad

This Strawberry Pecan Chicken Salad with poppyseeds is a delicious salad with all the flavor and crunch. Only about 10 minutes to prep! Crisp celery, pecans and poppy seeds give this simple chicken salad a fun twist on the traditional chicken salad recipe.

This recipe was originally published June 2018 and copy was updated to include process photos and updated copy.

Summer time means a lot of things but in the kitchen it means a whole lot of berries to me! And I love all the berries in my chicken salad!

I love grabbing a rotisserie chicken because in our house that always means leftovers. This crunchy strawberry pecan chicken salad is my repeat recipe all summer. ( But if it's soup weather, then all my rotisserie chickens are going into this Chicken Noodle Soup 100%!)

Any recipe that allows me to use up leftover food is a hit. I like to use up every last morsel in the fridge if I can! Less food waste is best!

Fresh and crunchy--that is where it's at with this one!

Why You Will Love This Strawberry Pecan Chicken Salad:

• Only 10 minutes to prepare. Chop up a few ingredients, shred your chicken and stir all the ingredients together. Not much to this strawberry chicken salad--it will probably take more time gathering the ingredients than actually making the recipe!
• Full of crunch. If you love crunch, this chicken salad is for you! Pecans, celery, poppy seeds--just the right amount of crispy crunch that you will love.
• A great way to use up leftover chicken. The thing I love most about this recipe is that it is a great way to reduce food waste. I don't like eating the same old chicken every night, so using up the grilled chicken or leftover rotisserie chicken to make this salad allows another day out of it but in a whole different way!
• Great for your weekly meal prep! This salad is great to munch on throughout the week. It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days so you can make it a sandwich, eat it on crackers, and more after making it early in the week.

Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions:

• chicken: rotisserie chicken is our preference but any chicken that can easily be shredded will work. Leftover chicken is great as long as it is not seasoned in a way that may not work with these flavors.
• celery: a touch for crunch
• strawberries: fresh strawberries, not frozen. The berries are best added just before serving if you are not eating this strawberry chicken salad until the following day as the red color really bleeds into the salad. If that doesn't bother you, add them when you make it.
• onion: green onion, very thinly sliced. Red onion is also a good option, but go light, very thin diced and only about 1-2 tablespoons.
• pecans: raw pecans or unsalted roasted for best results. You can lightly toast the pecans if desired.
• poppy seeds: these add great crunch and a light nutty flavor. Grab them in the spice aisle at the grocery!
• mayo: your favorite mayonnaise will work great--lots of arguments over Miracle Whip in my house growing up, but classic mayo is my preference.
• Greek yogurt: I prefer the full fat for all the flavor and tang. You can also use sour cream if you don't have any yogurt on hand. Extra mayo is another option
• dijon mustard: this adds just the right amount of flavor to the chicken salad. If you don't have any dijon mustard, a bit of ground mustard can still add a touch of the flavor you may get from the dijon.
• lemon juice: freshly squeezed is ideal but you can use the bottled stuff if needed
• salt/pepper: you can really add these to taste!

I always have just about all of this in the house other than chicken. So when I grab the chicken--I already know the plan!

How to make this recipe:

• Add the chicken, poppy seeds, celery, pecans, pepper, and onion into a mixing bowl. Toss to combine. (steps 1 and 2)
• Add in the mayo, dijon mustard, Greek yogurt and lemon juice. Stir to combine. If you don't have Greek yogurt, it is fine to just use all mayo. I love the extra tang you get from the Greek yogurt personally. I would not recommend skipping the dijon mustard though. (step 3 and 4)

• Fold in the strawberries. Enjoy right away or chill for about 30 minutes to allow the flavor to really kick in. If you aren't serving this rotisserie chicken salad within the hour or so, I suggest holding off on the strawberries until serving. (steps 5 and 6)

Strawberry Pecan Chicken Salad Storage Instructions:

To store this strawberry chicken salad, add to an airtight container and refrigerate for about 3-5 days. If the salad dries out a little when in the refrigerator, stir in a tablespoon or so of mayonnaise before serving.

Freezing is not recommended as the texture and consistency of the mayo isn't quite the same after thawing.

How to Serve This Strawberry Chicken Salad:

• Crackers! That's one of my musts when it comes to a good chicken salad.
• Toss this pecan chicken salad on some toast and you have got a nice sandwich with all the more crunch.
• Add some color by adding the chicken salad to lettuce wraps.
• Add it on top of a big salad.
• Eat it straight from a spoon--no extra anything required!

Other Salads To Try:

• Ramen Cabbage Salad
• Tortellini Caprese Salad
• Simple Pasta Salad with Grilled Lemon Garlic Zucchini
• Strawberry Arugula Goat Cheese Salad with Pretzel Crusted Chicken
• Simple Mayo-Free Egg Salad
• Chickpea Avocado Salad
• Caprese Farro Salad

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