Discover the Southern charm of Chicken Salad Chick’s beloved Fancy Nancy chicken salad with this authentic copycat recipe that brings together tender shredded chicken, crisp Fuji apples, sweet grapes, and crunchy pecans in perfect harmony. This fruity twist on classic chicken salad has earned its place as one of the most requested varieties at the popular Southern chain, and now you can recreate this crowd-pleasing favorite in your kitchen.
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Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Special
Chicken Salad Chick understands that everyone has their vision of the perfect chicken salad, which is why they offer more than a dozen varieties ranging from simple to nutty, fruity, and spicy. Their Fancy Nancy stands out as the ultimate fruity option, combining the satisfying protein of tender chicken with the refreshing sweetness of fruit, the delightful crunch of pecans, and the crispness of celery.
Ingredients for Homemade Chicken Salad
For the Chicken Base:
- Chicken tenders – Provide tender, easily shreddable meat with superior texture and flavor
- Low-sodium chicken stock – Infuses the chicken with additional flavor during the cooking process
- Salt and pepper – Season the chicken properly for enhanced taste throughout
For the Salad Components:
- Mayonnaise – Creates the creamy base that binds all ingredients together smoothly
- Dry ranch salad dressing mix – Adds distinctive savory character and herbaceous depth
- Red seedless grapes – Contribute sweet, juicy bursts that complement the other fruits
- Fuji apple – Provides crisp texture and natural sweetness that holds up well
- Pecans – Deliver satisfying crunch and nutty richness that enhances the overall experience
- Celery – Adds subtle crunch and fresh flavor when finely minced
How to Make Chicken Salad with Apples, Grapes, and Pecans
- Cook the chicken in chicken stock until done. Use two forks or a stand mixer to shred chicken.
- Add the remaining ingredients to another bowl.
- Add shredded chicken and stir to combine. For the best flavor, make the salad a couple of hours in advance. Keep salad refrigerated until serving.
- Serve on top of lettuce or in a sandwich.
Serving suggestions for homemade chicken salad?
You may wonder what you should eat your chicken salad with or what you should put it on. Let’s cover how you can turn it into a copycat for Chicken Salad Chicken.
- A bed of leaf lettuce if you want to enjoy it as a scoop, be sure to serve with some wheat Keebler crackers
- A croissant with leaf lettuce and sliced fresh tomatoes
- Wheat Berry bread with leaf lettuce and sliced fresh tomatoes
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerator Storage: Store in airtight containers for up to 3-4 days for best quality and food safety
- Temperature Safety: Never leave at room temperature for more than 2 hours due to the mayonnaise content
- Serving Temperature: Serve chilled for optimal flavor and food safety
- Freezing: Not recommended as mayonnaise and fruits don’t freeze well, and the texture will be compromised
More Chicken Salad and Salads with Chicken Recipes
- Original Chicken Salad Recipe
- Applebee’s International, Inc. Oriental Chicken Salad
- Arbys Salads Grilled Chicken and Pecan
- Panera Salads Green Goddess Cobb Salad
- Jason Deli Nutty Mixed Up Salad
- Subway Orchard Chicken Salad
- Mediterranean Grain Bowl Recipes
- Very Berry Salad
- Chicken Salad Recipe with Fruit and Nuts
- Copycat Chick-fil-A Chicken Salad
Top Copycat Recipes
Be sure to check out more of my easy salads and the best restaurant copycat recipes.
Copycat Fancy Nancy Chicken Salad from Chicken Salad Chick
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
- 32 ounces chicken stock
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise Chicken Salad Chick uses Duke's
- 2 tablespoons celery finely minced
- 2 teaspoons dry ranch salad dressing mix
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup red seedless grapes
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup Fuji apple chopped
Instructions
- Place the chicken tenders and chicken stock in a large pot. Poach over medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Shred the chicken. The chicken can be shredded with a stand mixer by using a paddle attachment. Or shredding the chicken tenders using two forks works well also.
- In a medium-sized bowl, place the celery, dry ranch dressing mix, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. Blend well.
- Add the shredded chicken and mix in thoroughly. Add in the grapes, chopped apples, and pecans. Stir until blended.
- Serve on a bed of lettuce or in a sandwich.
Absolutely the best chicken salad! Taste just like Chicken Salad Chick restaurant – maybe
even better!! Any recipe I have made from your site has been amazing. 😊Thank You
I love this recipe! I make it quite often as my meal prep for lunches for the week. It makes a lot – my husband and I each get 3 or 4 lunches with this. I don’t change anything about the recipe. It’s delicious! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Can you share why the ranch dressing mix? I would love your thinking on this. Can you share?
Sure it has some flavor augmentation in it, you need something to deliver a punch of flavor, the Ranch dry mix seemed to do the trick.
I liked this chicken salad, the grandkids ate it right up, and wanted more.
I’m drooling over this recipe and no chicken in the house. I can’t wait to make it. Not sure about the ranch seasoning, as I need to seriously cut sodium. But nothing sounds more like summer than this pretty fruity salad/chicken! Thanks!
Have you ever tried to find the secret to Boston Market’s chicken salad? Wish you would.
Thank you for your email, I haven’t tried the Boston Market Chicken Salad, it is getting harder and harder for me to find these restaurants, but I will keep your suggestion in mind.
Excellent! I will probably reduce the salt and pepper the next time I make this but that’s just my personal preference. Great recipe!!!
This is my favorite chicken salad! I could eat it every day!
They are wheat crackers by keebler, club crackers
This is the best chicken salad I have eaten definitely a 5 star recipe.
Oh it’s a winner!
Costco’s Chicken Salad
Chicken, Cranberries, Mayo,Celery, Pecans
Loved this chicken salad. I served it with croissants like they do.
Great flavor but mine was dry. Should I have put some of the chicken stock in the chicken when I shredded it? Family loved it and I have saved to my favorite recipes
I am glad you were able to make the recipe work for you.
Made a big batch about a week ago. I roasted the pecans for about 9 min at 400 degrees. To keep it lower carb I used blueberries and red raspberries with a dusting of Stevia. Keep ’em coming!
I am glad that worked for you 😉 BTW I finally found some tarragon vinegar 😉
Thank you! Can you make the Dixie Chick salad now?
So happy to see this one! It’s my favorite salad there.
Please please share their recipe for the cookies! Oh and the strawberry lemonade!
The ingredients are what I have been using in Chicken Salad for years, BUT in this recipe, cooking the chicken in chicken broth (unless it’s low sodium) infuses waaay too much sodium per serving, to be ‘healthy’.
You could use low sodium broth if you like. One of the best things about cooking at home is you get to modify the recipe the way you like.
This is a copycat recipe. Sorry you had to find out this way but fast food is usually pretty salty. Like OP said just use low-sodium stock or bouillon.
Maybe people don’t want healthy.
Tastes spot on! I wished I could find their crackers now!
My mother in law loved this recipe!
I have made your chicken salad recipe for years and it’s delicious. I just boil my chicken in water instead of beef stock and I add pineapple. And I don’t I add the ranch dressing mix, but I want to try that it would be good