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This Tarragon Chicken Salad is simple, flavorful, and just might be my favorite chicken salad ever!!!
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!
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!
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
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!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a regular in our meal rotation. SO DELICIOUS!
Love this one! Make it for trips all the time. I sometimes add some chopped pecans.
So good!! It does not get old! I’ve made it the past couple of weeks for my husband and I. We’re new parents and it’s been so nice to have something prepared to grab!!
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.
Didn’t have fresh tarragon so I subbed basil from the garden with a little dried tarragon and it was delicious!
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 ???
yes, correct!! lemon zest! 🙂
What would you sub for chicken to make vegan (aleks you have vegan mayo)?
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?
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!
Can I use miracle whip ? Also dried tarigon if so how much
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. 🙂