I first visited Chicken Salad Chick during a lunch break at a work conference in Alabama. The line wrapped around the building, but everyone assured me it was worth the wait. When I finally tried their signature “Classic Carol” chicken salad, I understood the hype immediately. That perfect balance of tender chicken, creamy dressing, and subtle seasoning had me plotting how to recreate it at home before I finished my meal!
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After several attempts and tweaks, I’ve finally perfected this copycat Classic Carol Chicken Salad recipe. It’s everything I loved about the restaurant version – simple yet incredibly flavorful, with that distinctive texture that makes it stand out from ordinary chicken salad. Whether you’re miles from the nearest Chicken Salad Chick location or want to enjoy this Southern favorite at home, this recipe won’t disappoint.
Chicken Salads at Chicken Salad Chick Restaurant
The Chicken Salad Chick restaurant prepares scratch-made chicken salad every day. It offers traditional, savory, fruity, nutty, and spicy chicken salad, as well as delicious pimento cheese salad and egg salad.
Are you looking for an excellent recipe for chicken salad? This freshly made and full-flavored copycat Chicken Salad Chick recipe will soon become your favorite. Did I mention it is easy to prepare?
Why This Recipe Works
What makes this copycat version so spot-on? Several key elements:
- Using only chicken tenderloins creates the perfect texture
- Poaching the chicken in stock adds depth of flavor
- The secret ingredient (dry Ranch mix) provides that distinctive Chicken Salad Chick flavor profile
- Finely dicing the celery ensures the perfect balance in each bite
- Chilling time allows all the flavors to meld together beautifully
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- Chicken tenderloins – Creates the perfect shredded texture that’s distinct from breast meat; the shorter fibers give the salad its signature texture
- Low-sodium chicken stock – Infuses the chicken with flavor while poaching, adding depth to the final salad
For the Dressing:
- Mayonnaise – Provides the creamy base that binds everything together while adding richness, Chicken Salad Chick uses Duke’s mayonnaise
- Celery – Adds a fresh crunch and subtle flavor that complements the chicken without overpowering it
- Dry Ranch salad dressing mix – The secret ingredient that gives this salad its distinctive flavor profile
- Salt – Enhances all the other flavors and balances the creaminess
- Ground black pepper – Adds a subtle spice that rounds out the flavor profile
How to make Chicken Salad Chick Classic Carol Chicken Salad
- Place the chicken tenders and chicken stock in a large pot.
- Heat the pot over medium heat, letting the chicken poach for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Ensure the chicken is fully cooked before proceeding.
- Once the chicken is cooked, shred it. You can use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or manually shred the chicken tenders using two forks.
- Mix celery, mayonnaise, dry Ranch dressing, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl. Stir the chicken mixture until it is well blended.
- Add the shredded chicken into the bowl and stir until it’s fully incorporated with the other ingredients.
- Transfer the chicken salad to an airtight container.
- For optimal taste, prepare the chicken salad and chill it a few hours before it’s needed. This allows the flavors to meld together.
How to serve Classic Carol Chicken Salad
- Wrap: Roll in a tortilla with lettuce and thin cucumber slices for a portable lunch.
- Restaurant Style: Serve a generous scoop on a bed of leaf lettuce with fresh tomato slices and crackers on the side.
- Sandwich: Spread between two slices of buttery croissant, soft white bread, or whole grain bread with lettuce and tomato.
- Stuffed: Fill a hollowed tomato or avocado half with chicken salad for an elegant, low-carb option.
The other way you can have chicken salad is on a sandwich. Their sandwiches come with leaf lettuce and ripe tomatoes.
You can also stuff the chicken salad inside a tomato or an avocado. It’s entirely up to you.
What to serve with chicken salad
Here are some ideas on what to serve with chicken salad:
- A simple and quick option that adds a satisfying crunch. You could go for classic potato chips, kettle chips, or even veggie chips for a healthier twist.
- Another quick option is serving it with crackers.
- A hot bowl of soup can complement a chicken salad sandwich quite nicely. Tomato soup, vegetable soup, or chicken noodle soup are great choices.
- A cold pasta salad with plenty of fresh veggies could be a refreshing side dish.
- Dill pickles or sweet gherkins can provide a tangy contrast to the creamy chicken salad.
- Slices of fresh fruit or a mixed fruit salad can be a refreshing and healthy side. Melons, berries, apples, or grapes would work well.
- A side of coleslaw can be a great match, as its tangy flavor can balance out the creaminess of the chicken salad.
- A simple green salad with a vinaigrette dressing can provide a light and refreshing contrast.
- Grilled veggies such as zucchini, bell peppers, and eggplant can add a smoky flavor that complements the chicken salad nicely.
- Potato Salad is a classic side dish for any sandwich and can be made in many different ways, with the addition of ingredients like dill, mustard, or even bacon.
- Bacon Baked Beans can add a sweet and smoky flavor, contrasting the creamy and savory chicken salad.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- Food Safety: Always keep chicken salad refrigerated, and don’t leave it out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Refrigerator Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Do Not Freeze: Mayonnaise-based salads don’t freeze well as they tend to separate when thawed.
- Make-Ahead: This salad actually improves after sitting in the refrigerator for 24 hours, making it perfect for meal prep.
Chicken Salad Chick Classic Carol Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
- 32 ounces low sodium chicken stock
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons finely minced celery
- 2 teaspoons dry Ranch salad dressing mix
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the chicken by poaching in chicken stock. Fill a large pot with the chicken tenders and chicken stock. Poach over medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Shred chicken, the chicken can be shredded with a stand mixer by using a paddle attachment. Or you can shred the chicken tenders with two forks.
- In a medium sized bowl add celery, mayonnaise, dry Ranch dressing mix, salt and black pepper. Stir until well blended.
- Add shredded chicken and mix in well. Store chicken salad in an air tight container.
- The chicken salad tastes better if prepared a couple of hours before it is consumed.
- Serve in a sandwich or on a bed of lettuce.
Video
Notes
Expert Tips for Perfect Chicken Salad
- Don’t skip the chilling time – This allows the flavors to meld and the dressing to infuse the chicken fully.
- Dice the celery extra fine – The texture should be noticeable but not chunky, just like at the restaurant.
- Use room temperature mayonnaise – It blends more efficiently and creates a smoother dressing.
- Don’t substitute chicken breasts – The tenderloins are key to achieving the right texture.
- Pat the chicken dry after shredding – This prevents the salad from becoming watery.
- Too dry? Add a tablespoon of mayonnaise at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
- Too wet? Add a bit more shredded chicken, or let it sit in the refrigerator uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Flavor not quite right? A pinch more Ranch mix or a dash of garlic powder can help enhance the flavor.
- Texture too chunky? Next time, chop your celery more finely or try grating it for a more subtle texture.
Nutrition
Scaling the Recipe
- For a Crowd: Double or triple all ingredients proportionally. This recipe scales up beautifully for parties.
- For Meal Prep: Make a large batch on Sunday and portion it into individual containers for ready-to-go lunches.
- For a Smaller Batch: Halve all ingredients if you cook for one or two.
Make It Your Own: Variations Inspired by Chicken Salad Chick
While this recipe recreates the Classic Carol, you can use it as a base to make other Chicken Salad Chick favorites:
- Dixie Chick: Add 1 tablespoon finely minced white onion
- Buffalo Barclay: Mix in 2-3 tablespoons buffalo sauce and a dash of cayenne pepper
- Olivia’s Old South: Add 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish and 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs
- Sassy Scotty: Mix in 1 tablespoon finely minced jalapeño and a pinch of cayenne
- Fruity Fran: Add ¼ cup halved red grapes and 2 tablespoons diced apples
- Cranberry Kelli: Stir in ¼ cup dried cranberries and ¼ cup chopped pecans
More tasty chicken salads
- Applebees Oriental Chicken Salad
- Chicken Salad Chick Grape Salad Recipe
- Cracker Barrel Grilled Chicken Salad
- Newks Chicken Salad
- Pecan Chicken Salad
Popular chicken recipes
- Alice Springs Chicken
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Chicken Katsu
- Chicken Madeira
- Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
- Hunan Chicken
- Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Olive Garden Chicken Scampi
Find the best copycat salad recipes and restaurant chicken recipes to make and enjoy.
Conclusion: Why This Classic Carol Chicken Salad Will Become Your Go-To Recipe
There’s something truly special about a perfectly executed chicken salad – it’s comfort food that feels both indulgent and light at the same time. This Chicken Salad Chick copycat recipe captures everything that makes the original Classic Carol so craveable: the ideal texture from using chicken tenderloins, the subtle crunch of celery, and that distinctive flavor profile that keeps fans coming back.
I gave mine a little more kick. I don’t like boiled chicken too much, so I took a breast and added sea salt and red and black pepper flakes. I brushed on some Hoisin sauce and Sweet Chili sauce.
I seared one side and did the above ingredients on the top side and then seared that side. Once chicken was cooked and rested I chopped it up and put into my Kitchen Aid with the dough attachment.
Set it on low and gradually increased to medium.
Halfway through I added the celery, some onion and green onion then the ranch seasoning and the mayo and again started on low and worked my way to medium until perfect consistency.
It was delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
What do you do with the chicken stock in which you poached the chicken? Can it be used to make chicken noodle soup or some other recipe? Any ideas ? Thank you, in advance. Sheila
You could save the stock in an airtight container, and place it in the refrigerator and use it for cooking. I would only shore this for 3 days before discarding.
This tastes just like chicken salad chick. I added about half of a small minced onion and about a tablespoon of minced green onion. Additionally I didn’t have any ranch season so I made my own with season all, pepper, and garlic and onion powder. It was great! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi! What could be used instead of mayonnaise? Cream cheese?
I don’t know what else to use, Mayonnaise as flavoring that cream cheese, or even sour cream would not have.
I live in England it is difficult to find dry ranch dressing so I used equal amounts of mayonnaise and ranch dressing and it is delicious thanks
I made this two weeks ago and it was the first time I ever made chicken salad. It was absolutely delicious!!! I followed the directions exactly except I used boneless chicken breast instead of chicken strips. I also added finely minced onions along with the celery. I had to add more mayonnaise I think due to the amount of chicken I used. My mother-in-law lives with my husband and me and she absolutely raved about it. I love Chicken Salad Chick and this taste exactly like the Classic Carol! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! ❤️
Thank you for this recipe..I used rye bread and it’s delicious..!!! My first time making it with Duke Mayonnaise. I Love it
I’m so excited to try this. I just recently discovered CSC about an hour from my home and have made excuses to go that direction just to stop there!
breaded or non breaded chicken tenders? also, i looked up organic ranch dressing packets and every one of them is different. for instance, some have buttermilk, some don’t. which ranch seasoning is the best for this recipe?
You use non-breaded raw chicken tenders. I have used Simply Organic Ranch and Hidden Valley Ranch with very similar results.
Thank you for this recipe! Classic Carol is my favorite and this tastes just like it! They use Duke’s mayo but I used Blue Plate and it tastes just as good! Wonderful recipe ❤ my family and I love it!
Loved this recipe.
Just made this tonight as Classic Carol is my fave from CSC. I did chicken tenders in the crockpot and then 1/2+ cups of Duke’s. It’s exactly the same as the restaurant! I ate quite a bit room temp on saltines, but I can’t wait to eat it cold tomorrow maybe as tea sandwiches. This is a perfect recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!
Very good & so easy! Tastes just like Chicken Salad Chick recipe!!