Sweet, savory, and crisp chicken salad – perfect for Autumn. Tender chicken breast coated in a flavorful dressing, sweetened with flecks of crunchy pecan, crisp apple, and tart dried cranberries. This cranberry pecan apple chicken salad tastes like something you would order at a bistro, but lightened-up.
All about this cranberry pecan apple chicken salad
I love a good chicken salad! It’s the perfect meal prep for lunch – it’s quick to assemble, requires minimal cooking and time in the kitchen, it doesn’t need to be reheated before eating, and it lasts really well in the fridge. It’s also super versatile. If one day you feel like having a sandwich, go right ahead – another day maybe you’re more in the mood for crackers and a veggie platter, that works perfectly too!
I have tons of other chicken salad recipes – some of my favorites are the following:
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BLT Chicken Salad (this is my most popular recipe ever!)
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Thai Chicken Salad (this one doesn’t call for mayo!)
For this recipe, I was really inspired by the flavors of fall. I love a good crunch and textural element in my chicken salads, and I love the balance of sweet and savory that this salad offers. The pecans and cranberries scattered throughout this salad are like little jewels of yumminess, and finding a little bit of apple in each bite gives you that sweetness and crunch you’re craving.
The addition of these ingredients also provides some sweetness without any sugar or honey, keeping the WW points and calorie count lower.
How-To Video
How I make chicken salad lower calorie and lower point
It took me trial and error to figure out how to lighten up chicken salad without making it super dry and boring. Chicken salad should be moist and creamy, and usually that requires a ton of mayo! A lot of lightened-up chicken salad recipes call for yogurt in place of mayo, which I can appreciate. But mentally I couldn’t get over the fact that the salad was primarily yogurt. I just felt like I was tasting that yogurt tang.
Over time I have realized that a 1:1 ratio of light mayo and Greek yogurt provides the perfect base for chicken salad! The yogurt just kind of helps stretch the mayo, without changing the flavor whatsoever.
These are the brands of yogurt and mayo I swear by:
The other elements of a good chicken salad
Ok – so we’ve got the dressing covered, now let’s talk about what else chicken salad needs:
- flavor
- texture
The flavor part is relatively easy: add some spices and a splash of vinegar to your dressing to give it that extra pop of flavor. Here, I use red wine vinegar for some good acidic flavor, and for spices, I use celery seed (a classic chicken salad flavoring) and kosher salt.
I also love the addition of diced raw white onion for an extra kick of flavor, without being overpowering. For texture, I add chopped pecans for crunch, diced honeycrisp apple (with the skin) for crispness, and dried cranberries for that tart sweetness and chewy texture.
Making cranberry apple pecan chicken salad
Poaching the chicken
I’ve included step-by-step instructions on the recipe card below for how to poach chicken.
I have been poaching my chicken for chicken salads for a while now. Not only is it SUPER easy, but the chicken comes out super moist.
As always, for any of my recipes that call for poached chicken, you can use a cooked rotisserie chicken, you can use canned chicken, or you can roast your own chicken. Whatever is easiest for you, or whichever method you prefer!
I personally like poaching chicken because I use six chicken breasts for my chicken salad recipes (one breast per serving), and making my own cooked chicken breast is much more budget-friendly than buying three rotisserie chickens.
When you’re poaching chicken, you can add any flavor you want to your pot. For example, when I make my Thai chicken salad, I use ground ginger and lime in the water. For this recipe, I kept it simple with some dried bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt. This is the basic recipe I use for most of my chicken salads, since it can work with most flavor profiles.
Another key piece of advice is to invest in a meat thermometer. I use this one from OXO. It is a lifesaver in the kitchen! This is the best way to tell when you’re chicken is done.
Note: if you skip the poaching chicken step, you can use fully cooked chicken breast in place (six cups, or 4 cooked chicken breast).
Putting it all together
Once the chicken is cooked, (or if you are using cooked chicken), the rest of this recipe is so easy to throw together, no cooking required. Simply combine the yogurt and the mayo together in a large mixing bowl, add your vinegar and seasonings, and then add your other ingredients: chopped onion, chopped celery, the cooked chicken, diced apple, cranberries, and pecans. That’s it!
Cranberry Apple Pecan Chicken Salad: for meal prep
As always, this chicken salad was part of my weekly meal prep. Each serving is one heaping cup (that’s a VERY generous portion of chicken salad!). I store mine in these meal prep containers from Ello – since they’re glass, I typically don’t have any issues with food spoiling. I swear it’s the glass!
You can also store this in in a large mixing bowl, covered, in the fridge, and portion out your servings as you go throughout the week.
Cranberry Apple Pecan Chicken Salad
Equipment
- large pot
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
Poached Chicken - you can omit these ingredients and use 6 cups of cooked chicken breast
- 3 lbs chicken breast, raw, boneless, skinless
- 2 bay leaves, dried
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- kosher salt
Chicken Salad
- 1/2 cup light mayo
- 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/2 honeycrisp apple, diced
- 1/2 cup celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
Instructions
Poached Chicken
- You can skip this entire step and use 6 cups of cooked chicken breast (about 4 chicken breasts).
- Place the chicken breasts in a large stock pot. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt. Cover with water.
- Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a low boil or simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
- Set the chicken aside on a cutting board and chop or shred.
Chicken Salad
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayo, yogurt, celery seed, salt, pepper, and vinegar.
- Add the chopped chicken and toss to coat, ensure every piece of chicken is coated.
- Add in the chopped celery, chopped onion, cranberries, pecans, and diced apple, and fold in to combine.
Notes
- 6 WW points (green plan)
- 4 WW points (blue and purple plans)
Nutrition
Other yummy chicken salads:
Love this one! So tasty. Made it twice already and I’m sure I will make it many more times! Thanks!
This Chicken salad is absolutely amazing!!!!!!
One of my favorite chicken salads!!!!
So good! Lasted the whole week after prepping and didn’t get bored of it. I added halved red grapes and served with greens, no dressing needed. Will definitely make again!
Absolutely the best chicken salad. Made a huge batch and meal preppred with lettuce greens for the week. Tasted like fall. 🙂
Absolutely LOVED this salad. Perfectly for Fall and over a bed of mixed greens. Yum!
This is such a classic chicken salad recipe, easy to throw together, and absolutely delicious! 10/10 would recommend!
I made this a couple of weeks ago and it is one of my favorite lunches!!
This is such a great recipe! I shared it with family and they enjoyed it as much as I did. Great for meal prep!
Love this! I’m usually not a chicken salad person at all and I prefer hot lunches but this is so yummy! Ate mine in 2 mama lupe low carb tortillas.
Couldn’t wait to eat this everyday. It was like Christmas came early each day this was for lunch.
This is the most amazingly delicious combination of flavors and textures. It’s my very favorite lunch prep and I look forward to it every day it’s on my menu.
I love this recipe! I looked forward to eating it every day the week I made it.
This was so yummy and refreshing! Thanks for sharing these wonderful recipes!
This was so light and refreshing to eat. It was filled with so many wonderful flavors. I looked forward to lunch every day.
Delicious! I am in love.
I absolutely enjoy your Recipes although I only made your pancake bake and your incredible muffins so far. I love this new format. So much friendly to use.
So yummy!! Thanks!
This is unreal! I have made it now four times in a row for meal prep lunches. It keeps all week perfectly and is good on its own, on a wrap, over spring mix, and with crackers. Thanks for sharing Steph 🙂
This is one of my favorite go to Chicken Salads. So delicious..
This is my FAVORITE chicken salad!!! It’s so easy to prepare and is delicious day after day! I’m about to make it again for lunches this week! Thank you!!!
I love this! This is so yummy with my homemade bagels!
So good and the portion is very filling! The chicken by itself according to her poaching instructions is even delicious. Great meal prep!
So good! The flavor combos are great and it’s so versatile to serve over lettuce, on a sandwich or with crackers!!
This chicken salad is my FAVORITE! Love the crunch of the apples and the sweet cranberries. It all comes together perfectly. You definitely can’t taste the yogurt. I was worried about that. I make this almost every other week for lunch!
Just made this chicken salad and it’s FABULOUS!!!!! Super easy and super delicious, will definitely make again 🙂
Delicious! Love this spin on chicken salad!
I’ve been hooked on this salad everyday for the past month! It is beyond delicious. I would never have thought to pair apples and (I use) cranraisins (8g=1pt)in a chicken salad. But it totally works and the flavor is bomb 💣!!
Love this recipe and how versatile it is; eat as a sandwich, a wrap or with crackers. Never would’ve thought to add cranberry.
Quick, easy, and delicious! I’m an oatmeal lover so it’s always nice to have new recipes.
Thank you!
Oh duh 🙄
This is supposed to be for the new oatmeal bake.🤷🏻♀️
But I just finished making this salad too and it’s in the fridge for lunch. The tastes I took while mixing were delicious.😋🤨🤨
This was delicious my husband and I devoured it! Next time I think I’ll add a little more apple and grapes since they’re free on ww… definitely going to make again!
Love, love, love this recipe!!! It was the first one I tried from your website and I’ve been hooked on your recipes ever since.
Delicious! So easy to make as meal prep and stays well in the fridge for the week.
This is so good!!!
Another favorite chicken salad to prep for work which I look forward to every time I know its going in the fridge. The apples and walnuts give it that great crunch I love in a salad. Whether I put it over some arugula or on a wrap, it’s always amazing!
I’ve definitely eThe crunch and variation of flavors in this is perfection! Hands down another favorite chicken salad.
This is truly one of my favorite recipes!! The flavors are so good! Absolute winnter!
This is truly one of my favorite recipes!! The flavors are so good! Absolute winner!
Hi! I am using rotisserie chicken. I am unsure how many ounces of cooked chicken is equivalent to raw chicken. Can anyone help?
Just made this recipe today for this week’s lunches, and I can’t believe I waited so long to try this! Delicious and flavorful, and I like the added crunch that you get from the celery and apple. Thank you Steph!
I made this numerous times last fall! Hit the spot every time.
Made this for a group of ladies I had over this past weekend. I got asked if I had catered it out! Beyond delicious! This one will be on repeat!
This is SO good! It tastes just like a much higher calorie version that I used to get at a local cafe. Looking forward to having it again today!!
Just made this and it’s definitely delicious and only 4 points. Another wonderful chicken salad. I’ve made 3 of them and they are all scrumptious. Thanks again Steph!!
So delicious! And such a great serving size. Love the apples, I subbed almonds bc it’s all I had. Definitely a keeper
I just made this today for my lunches for the week! It is so so delicious! Thanks again for another great recipe!!!
Love Steph’s recipes. They are on my menu every week.
Absolutely love! Prepped everything in the time it took to roast chicken. Eat lunch for the week with the versatility of doing a salad, sandwich, pita, etc!
Love the cranberry and pecans!
THIS IS THE BEST CHICKEN SALAD IVE EVER HAD…homemade and restaurant. I made it tonight for lunch preps and could not stop snacking. Highly highly recommend!
Holy cow, this is so delicious! I made it this evening for meal prep for the rest of the week and I could NOT stop taking “test” bites! I can only imagine it will get better as the ingredients gel together overnight. It’s just so deliciously creamy and flavorful! Thanks for a great recipe and a win for easy, WW point friendly lunches this week.
Enjoying this recipe this week for lunch. I am very picky about chicken salad, but this is definitely a keeper!
Delicious! Made this for the first time today and didn’t have pecans so I subbed slivered almonds. Will definitely be making again!
This is absolutely delicious🥰
Another chicken salad recipe to add to my rotation!! So easy to make, healthy, flavorful and filling!
Enjoyed this one…sweet, savory, crunchy…ticks ALL the boxes!
I’ve tried a lot of the chicken salads now (and they are seriously all amazing), but I think this is my absolute favorite! Such great flavor! So easy to make!
This was fantastic! I love chicken salad but don’t love the high calories it comes with. This recipe was a wonderful discovery for a healthy chicken salad!
Really enjoyed this. Very tasty. For sure will be a standing recipe
Amazing chicken salad!!! I put my chicken in my food processor to chop it up. I didn’t have celery or an onion, but did have scallions so I used them. Soooo delicious!!! Portion is huge!!! It is all I ate for lunch, and I am full. Two thumbs up from my family!
So Dang Good!! I made this for meal prep last week, and was so excited to eat this each day. I’m pretty sure it’s the best chicken salad I’ve ever had. Love!! Will be making this again soon.
Dare I say this is my favorite chicken salad recipe to date. Fresh flavors, good crush, a tad sweet from the apple and dried cranberries. Thank you, Steph! Well done. So good. Hubs took a bite and said oh my gosh that is so good. Winner winner chicken salad is for dinner.
This is SO GOOD! I normally don’t gravitate to chicken salad recipes so for me I took a risk when making this but so glad I did! I liked it so much that I’ve meal prepped my lunch with it for 3 straight weeks and still haven’t tired of it! Delicious!
This chicken salad is amazing.
I never leave comments on recipes (I know; I’m not helping!). However, this is such an excellent Chicken Salad that I am compelled! I don’t even like chicken salad! The flavors come together beautifully and I find I could possibly eat the whole bowl in one sitting! Definitely give this a try! You will not be disappointed!
Yummy!!!! Made this light night for an easy lunch while working at the hospital & it’s heavenly!!! Enjoyed it with some poppables and Sara Lee 45 calorie bread!! Will definitely put this in my lunch rotation😋
Absolutely delicious! One of my favorite recipes so far. Easy to pack for work lunch. Loved it!
Prepped this for lunches this week and I’m loving it – such good flavor! A creamy chicken salad has always been one of my favorites but they are usually so high in WW points that I avoid them. This recipe gives you a big portion of deliciousness for not many points, it’s perfect!
I made this for the week….sooo good! I’m on vacation this week and want to have something prepared for lunches to avoid getting takeout or eating “whatever” out of hunger! Love this!
I subbed apples for grapes and it’s so good! I’m looking forward to lunch everyday!
This is amazing!!! Thank you for another great recipe!
I saw you make this on Instagram the other day and thought, I just have to make it! I made it just now (you know just meal prepping in the new year….) and I took a bite and literally said, DAMN STEPH. It’s so good! And was beyond easy to make, especially because I used rotisserie chicken. Creamy, crunchy, flavorful, just delicious. I’m already looking forward to lunch at work next week. Thank you!
Finally! I finally made this! Oh my! It is wonderful. I used rotisserie chicken from Costco and pretty much followed the recipe from there. It was a hit!
Absolutely love this recipe!! Currently following WW and it fits perfectly in to my daily points and is scrumptious!
This chicken salad is outstanding!! Not only can I make a beautiful sandwich with it, I love to put the chicken salad on a bed of romaine, along with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers and it doesn’t need any salad dressing, so I gain points for all the vegetables and save points on the dressing. Win-win! Thank you Steph.
I really wanted to love this one! I followed the directions exactly and it looks nothing like the picture! It’s so dry! I used 3 pounds exactly! I don’t understand how if 3 pounds of chicken was used in the picture recipe along with just the 1/2 cup of Mayo and 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt (of course everything else too) how it was sooooo dry!
Great recipe! I used cashews instead of pecans and that worked well also.
My favorite chicken salad!
By far my favorite chicken salad recipe! Made another batch today. Steph, her recipes and meal prep has been such a blessing to me!
My family is obsessed with this chicken salad. This is my 3rd time making it in 2 weeks. My 2 highschool age sons come home from school or the gym and take a heaping bowl until dinner. Love your recipes!
Thank you for your time and commitment for making such tasty and nutritional recipes my entire family loves!
I absolutely love this chicken salad! Your right you cannot tell there is yogurt in it!
Made this today! Su yummy and healthy!
Love it!
So good!
Steph’s chicken salad recipes are delicious and this one did not disappoint. The flavor combination is amazing. Took this dish to a family event. It was a crowd pleaser.
Absolutely delicious!!!
Absolutely delicious!
Made this tonight for the first time
Delicious! Will definitely be put in to my rotation
Wow!!! This chicken salad was delicious!!! I’m def making this over and over again! Thank you💜
Excellent!!!!!