Simple Chicken Salad
Preparing a big stash of chicken salad for school lunches is often one of my routine tasks over the weekend now that school is back in session. I make it about every other weekend so my kids don’t get bored of it, but it’s a fairly regular school lunch option for our family. Everyone loves it, it’s relatively easy and fast to pull together, it’s filling, and it’s fairly healthy as far as school lunches go. It’s so tasty and yummy-looking that the other students at school even ask me to bring some for them too!
A delicious recipe always starts with the highest-quality, most nutrient-dense ingredients. Whenever possible, source meat from local farmers. Our favorite locally is Grand View Farm. They have the best ethical practices and exceed organic standards – we just love them. If you don’t have farmers close to you, it’s worth researching online options like ButcherBox.
Celery is on the Dirty Dozen list, so buy organic if you can find it. Ranch dressing is super easy to make at home with clean ingredients, and there are lots of good mayonnaise options available today (Sir Kensington’s and Primal Kitchen generally get good reviews). We like to serve this chicken salad on organic wraps with lettuce, sliced cheese, bacon, and Old Bay sprinkled on top, but it would also be great on sandwich bread or with crackers (Simple Mills has delicious seed crackers).
The chicken is absolutely fantastic smoked. If you have a smoker, I highly, highly suggest using it to cook the chicken for this recipe. It adds a unique flavor that set the chicken salad apart and makes it truly spectacular. If you don’t have a smoker, grilling is a nice second option. Roasting the chicken in the oven at 350 degrees works also, but the smoker, by far, produces the best result.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds organic & pasture-raised chicken breast
- 4 stalks organic celery
- 1/2 cup homemade ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
Instructions
- Salt and pepper the chicken breast, and then cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 165. If you have a smoker, I highly suggest smoking the meat for the added richness of flavor, but grilling is an excellent 2nd choice. Baking also works at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, but it's my least favorite option.
- Refrigerate the chicken for several hours or overnight. Don't skip this step!
- Chop the chicken into small bite-sized pieces and place in a medium mixing bowl.
- Slice each celery stalk into 3 pieces lengthwise, and then chop those pieces at approximately 1cm intervals to create small pieces. Add to the chicken.
- Add the 1/2 cup of ranch and the 1/2 cup of mayonnaise to the chicken and celery. Mix until well combined.
- The chicken salad can be eaten immediately, but refrigerate it for a few hours beforehand if you have time. Serve on sandwiches, crackers, or (our favorite) wraps. We like to add a slice of bacon and sprinkle Old Bay on it for a little extra oomph.
