01.04.21

Tarragon Chicken Salad

This Tarragon Chicken Salad is simple, flavorful, and just might be my favorite chicken salad ever!!!

Tarragon Chicken Salad

If you never buy tarragon and use it in recipes– you gotta start getting it! Tarragon is a leafy green herb widely used in French cooking (and the French know how to cook!!!) Its flavor is strong and has an anise/licorice taste to it. But don’t let that deter you if you hate licorice (because I hate licorice). Adding fresh tarragon to a dish can immediately elevate it and take something typically mundane and transform it into something magnificent.  For example, this simple chicken salad is restaurant worthy– and I give all the credit to the tarragon! 

Tarragon Chicken Salad

If you are from Dallas or San Antonio and have had the Chicken Salad from Bird Bakery— that is where the inspiration for this salad came from. It’s savory, yet the touch of dried cranberries gives it a bit of sweetness and tartness that leaves you wanting MORE! 

Tarragon Chicken Salad

It may seem odd, but the key to making this salad mix so well to become so creamy and delicious is using a mixer. You can certainly just stir the heck out of it if you don’t have a mixer– but I love throwing mine in my Kitchen Aid mixer and letting that do the work. It makes the chicken shred ultra-fine and the end results are just so delicious!

Tarragon Chicken Salad

Tarragon Chicken Salad
Serves: 4 people
Print
5 from 15 votes

Ingredients

  • 4 cups cooked chicken, loosely shredded I use rotisserie chickeen
  • 1/2 cup finely diced celery
  • 1/2 cup finely diced sweet onion yellow onion is ok, too
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 4 tbsp homemade mayo
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • kosher salt, to taste
  • black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer and using a paddle attachment, mix until very well combined and the chicken is finely shredded. Taste and add salt and pepper, according to your taste buds!
    *If you do not have a stand mixer no worries! Just be sure to shred the chicken really fine using your hands and then mix it *really well* when you stir to combine.
  • Refrigerate to chill and serve as desired! I love to serve mine over a bed of lettuce with veggies for dipping!

57 Comments

  • Reply
    Katy
    August 24, 2022 at 2:46 am

    5 stars
    Another home run!! This is a keeper and I’ve shared it with several people. I love the addition of the mustard. I’m a huge fan of tarragon chicken salads and so glad I tried this.

  • Reply
    Susan Farley
    April 29, 2022 at 5:17 pm

    Didn’t have fresh tarragon so I subbed basil from the garden with a little dried tarragon and it was delicious!

  • Reply
    CLV
    January 31, 2022 at 4:38 am

    Amazing recipe !!! I made this recipe last week for my husband and I ( I doubled it) and it was gone within 24 hrs lol I’m planning on doing it again this week.
    I just can’t help but ask what are the yellow looking things I see in your salad? Lemon zest ???

    • Reply
      Alex
      January 31, 2022 at 6:43 pm

      yes, correct!! lemon zest! 🙂

  • Reply
    Amanda
    December 13, 2021 at 6:31 pm

    What would you sub for chicken to make vegan (aleks you have vegan mayo)?

    • Reply
      Alex
      December 14, 2021 at 12:46 pm

      I don’t cook Vegan much, so I am not a huge help here I am sorry; however, perhaps you could drain and rinse some chickpeas and mash them up with the recipe and use vegan mayo?

  • Reply
    Sarah
    October 27, 2021 at 8:51 pm

    5 stars
    Love this recipe! Always a favorite in our house. The recipe is very open for customization. Sometimes we throw in chopped jalapeño or dried cherries instead- whatever we have on hand!

  • Reply
    Debi
    August 29, 2021 at 11:28 am

    Can I use miracle whip ? Also dried tarigon if so how much

    • Reply
      Alex
      August 29, 2021 at 9:14 pm

      I don’t recommend using Miracle Whip, as it has such a different taste than most mayo. But if you like the flavor of it, than it should be fine to use. As far as dried tarragon– I really recommend using fresh here to liven up the chicken salad! But if you use dried, I think 1 tsp. should be good. 🙂

  • Reply
    Liz
    August 23, 2021 at 9:10 pm

    5 stars
    I order a $23 tarragon chicken salad with watermelon a couple of days a week b/c it is delicious. Clearly this is too much so I decided to fill my addiction at home by trying this recipe. Oh my lord, this salad (ex celery, which is the devil) + baby kale + homemade lemon dressing + cubed watermelon + feta + sliced almonds = dead, so good! I had it for two out of 3 meals today. YAAAAASSS

    • Reply
      Alex
      August 23, 2021 at 11:30 pm

      haha, i’m so happy to hear– Except the celery is the devil part (hahaha) i am a celery LOVER!

  • Reply
    Cynthia
    July 12, 2021 at 10:49 pm

    5 stars
    Soooooo good! I had to sub canola mayo and sweetened cranberries, but it was so delish!

  • Reply
    Bethany Graham
    June 2, 2021 at 1:01 am

    Would this recipe freeze well?

    • Reply
      Alex
      June 2, 2021 at 11:54 am

      I don’t think that recipes that use mayo freeze well.

  • Reply
    John
    May 22, 2021 at 10:01 pm

    I had some zante currants I threw in in place of the cranberries. Great substitute! This was awesome!

  • Reply
    Alyse Tucker
    March 22, 2021 at 5:39 pm

    Any idea the nutritional information for this? I’m mostly curious how many calories are in a serving.
    It’s delicious!!

  • Reply
    Abby
    March 22, 2021 at 1:11 am

    5 stars
    This is DELICIOUS! I love the finely shredded style at Chicken Salad Chick, but have had trouble replicating it. I also HATE shredding chicken, so this is an amazing hack that will be helpful for many recipes.

  • Reply
    Allie
    March 12, 2021 at 6:05 pm

    5 stars
    Wow wow wow! This was SO good, Alex! The tarragon adds such an interesting flavor and everything works together well. I’m not sure serves 4 people is accurate though because my husband and I could eat this in one sitting between the two of us haha. I will practice self restraint and save the rest for tomorrow’s lunch ;). Thanks as always for an amazing and creative recipe!

  • Reply
    kari
    February 10, 2021 at 8:16 pm

    loved this so much!!! added to the lunch rotation for sure. thanks, alex!

  • Reply
    Robyn
    February 6, 2021 at 5:30 pm

    5 stars
    This is so delish and comes together quickly! Will be going in the regular rotation!

  • Reply
    Brittany K
    January 31, 2021 at 5:29 pm

    5 stars
    This was my first time making chicken salad and my husband and I are obsessed!! We have made it three weeks in a row. We serve it over spinach with Simple Mills crackers. Or we scoop it up right out of the container 🙂 Insanely delicious!!

  • Reply
    Catherine
    January 26, 2021 at 8:31 pm

    5 stars
    SO GOOD! This is my first time making chicken salad and I was surprised at how easy it was. I do not have a mixer so I used my vitamix which shredded it perfectly. I also subbed halved grapes for the cranberries!

  • Reply
    rmc
    January 26, 2021 at 5:58 pm

    5 stars
    Such a delicious chicken salad! I’ve been making one like this for years from an old recipe I found in Southern Lady magazine, it’s a favorite! I added sliced almonds to your recipe, so good! Thank you Alex 🙂

  • Reply
    Leesh
    January 25, 2021 at 2:39 am

    5 stars
    My faith in humanity is restored.

    • Reply
      Michelle
      January 4, 2023 at 6:51 pm

      Can you sub yogurt vs Mayo? Thanks!!

      • Reply
        Alex
        January 4, 2023 at 7:21 pm

        Yes!! Yogurt works well here.

  • Reply
    Monica S.
    January 20, 2021 at 10:10 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing! Ive already made it twice. Great with crackers, in a wrap or on a bed of greens. Don’t skip the fresh tarragon. Sooo good!

    • Reply
      Alex
      January 20, 2021 at 11:20 pm

      Yes!!! so glad, and NEVER skip that delightful tarragon. it’s just so good.

  • Reply
    Stephanie Masta
    January 19, 2021 at 5:38 pm

    I made this (along with the homemade mayo) and it is amazing! So so good. And it feels very light and healthy. Thank you!

  • Reply
    Ellie Heidorn
    January 18, 2021 at 11:56 pm

    DANG SO GOOD. I did 2 chicken breasts in the oven and shredded them with my mixer before making! I ate it wrapped in lettuce and with carrot sticks. I also used Primal Kitchen Garlic Mayo (they were out of the regular at my store) and surprisingly loved it! 10/10 will make this dish again! Super easy to meal prep too- I made it Monday and kept it in the fridge until it was gone on Friday!

  • Reply
    Hannah
    January 14, 2021 at 2:26 am

    Wonderful! My little family loved it, even my picky 8 year old! Thank you Alex! Also, cranberries with no sugar added are REALLY hard to find!

    • Reply
      Ellie Heidorn
      January 18, 2021 at 11:53 pm

      5 stars
      I had to specialty order them from Thrive Market!! So tough to find no sugar added. I did recently find them at Trader Joes however!

      • Reply
        Alex
        January 19, 2021 at 12:30 pm

        it is so tough to find dried cranberries without added sugar! I also find them at Natural Grocers in their bulk section.

  • Reply
    EJ
    January 12, 2021 at 9:06 pm

    How many calories would you say one serving of this is?

    • Reply
      Alex
      January 12, 2021 at 10:40 pm

      I am not sure but someone may have calculated already and can share!

  • Reply
    Pam
    January 12, 2021 at 5:52 pm

    5 stars
    I’m not normally one to comment on recipes, but HOLY $#!&$^ this is good! Can’t wait to add it to my normal meal prep rotation.

  • Reply
    Katherine
    January 11, 2021 at 6:11 pm

    5 stars
    super delicious and actually really light amount of mayo for how much it makes which is awesome

  • Reply
    Kelsey
    January 9, 2021 at 5:18 pm

    Can you use dried tarragon? Apparently Raleigh is either having a tarragon shortage or everyone already bought it all to make this recipe.

    • Reply
      Alex
      January 10, 2021 at 3:24 am

      haha, yes I am sure you can!! I am not sure how much, I haven’t really cooked with dried tarragon much to be honest.. But i’d start off with 2-3 teaspoons and you can always add more if it’s not coming through.

  • Reply
    Alison
    January 7, 2021 at 1:09 am

    Made this recipe for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delish! I love your recipes and cookbook! ❤️

  • Reply
    Wendy Zogg
    January 6, 2021 at 11:21 pm

    Just made this and the Mayo! Delicious 😋

    • Reply
      Kate Dejana
      January 6, 2023 at 2:54 am

      Any store bought mayo substitution you can recommend?

      • Reply
        Alex
        January 6, 2023 at 7:45 pm

        I recommend Sir Kingsington Avocado Oil mayo

  • Reply
    Erika
    January 5, 2021 at 3:12 am

    Where can I find the homemade mayo recipe?

  • Reply
    Alex T.
    January 5, 2021 at 2:39 am

    Think it would taste equally as good using Primal Kitchen Mayo, or do you recommend home making it? Love ALL your food so want to do it right 🙂

    • Reply
      Alex
      January 5, 2021 at 2:40 am

      You can totally make it with PK mayo– i just love the clean taste of homemade. The PK mayo is a great option, but I find it has a unique after taste that can be strong!

  • Reply
    Julie
    January 4, 2021 at 10:08 pm

    Where do you find unsweetened cranberries?

    • Reply
      Alex
      January 5, 2021 at 2:41 am

      I have bought mine from both Thrive Market + Natural Grocers!

  • Reply
    Kristen
    January 4, 2021 at 6:27 pm

    Can you make it without the tarragon?

    • Reply
      Alex
      January 4, 2021 at 8:44 pm

      yes, but it wouldn’t taste near as delicious.

  • Reply
    Lauren Serra
    January 4, 2021 at 5:49 pm

    How do you think this would work with Tuna?

    • Reply
      Alex
      January 4, 2021 at 8:43 pm

      yes for sure!

  • Reply
    Ann
    January 4, 2021 at 5:41 pm

    Do you have the nutrition information?

    • Reply
      Alex
      January 4, 2021 at 8:43 pm

      I do not!

  • Reply
    Dani
    January 4, 2021 at 5:03 pm

    Where do you find whole30 compliant rotisserie chicken?

    • Reply
      Leslie
      January 4, 2021 at 8:53 pm

      Whole Foods Original rotisserie chicken is compliant -just salt, pepper and chicken. And on sale every Saturday!

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