The best chicken salad recipe is this one! My favorite Tarragon Chicken Salad is creamy, savory, a bit sweet, and filled with dried cranberries, nuts, and herbs.
It’s easy to make this recipe with cooked chicken and a few other delicious ingredients. Enjoy this homemade chicken salad with tarragon on a sandwich, stuffed into a buttery croissant, or with crackers as an easy lunch!
A bit of fresh tarragon takes chicken salad to a whole new level! This uncommon herb is a little bit fancy, seen mostly in French food like bearnaise sauce. It turns a regular bowl of creamy chicken salad into a gourmet tarragon chicken salad that is perfect for lunch or a light dinner.
This recipe makes enough to serve up to 10 people, so it’s a great choice for a brunch party, baby shower, or luncheon too.
Be sure to check out my Chicken Salad with grapes and almonds, Curry Chicken Salad, and my Tuna Salad recipes too. Any of these salads are amazing when stuffed into buttery, flaky croissants!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Made in One Bowl – I love any recipe that is mixed all in one bowl! Who wants to do more dishes than they have to? Make the dressing in a large bowl, then stir in everything else – it’s so easy!
- Fresh Tarragon – Fresh tarragon has such a unique flavor. It’s similar to anise and fennel and goes really well with chicken. If you’re looking for a hot chicken dish rather than a salad, be sure to try my Tarragon Chicken with an amazing creamy sauce.
- Versatile Recipe – Chicken salad recipes are very forgiving. Feel free to leave out any ingredients that you don’t like, and add in extra veggies or herbs that you do!
Ingredients In Tarragon Chicken Salad
Here’s what you need to make this fancy chicken salad with tarragon:
- Cooked Chicken: Already cooked chicken, cut into small pieces is the main ingredient in Tarragon Chicken Salad. Use leftovers, or chicken that you’ve cooked just for this occasion.
- Creamy Dressing: Start with mayo, and then add Dijon mustard, freshly squeezed lemon juice, a bit of honey, salt, and pepper. It’s a simple mixture, but well-balanced.
- The Best Mix-Ins: Fresh chopped tarragon is the flavor star in this salad. Diced onion and celery add fresh crunch, and dried cranberries and toasted pecans add even more texture and interest.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Tarragon Chicken Salad
Making homemade chicken salad is truly as simple as making the dressing and then stirring everything together! Here’s a quick step-by-step with photos:
- Mix the Dressing: In a large bowl, combine the dressing ingredients (mayonnaise, dijon mustard, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper) and whisk until well combined. Use a bowl that’s large enough to hold the entire salad, this way you only need one!
- Add the Ingredients: To the same bowl, add the diced chicken, celery, onion, cranberries, pecans, and chopped tarragon.
- Stir and Chill: Mix well, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to meld.
Tip!
Give the tarragon chicken salad at least 30 minutes to chill in the fridge after making it. The flavors will meld together perfectly in that time!
Recipe Tips
- Any cooked chicken will do. This recipe can be used with leftovers from last night’s dinner, the meat from a grocery store rotisserie chicken, or chicken that you’ve cooked just for this purpose. I prefer breast meat, but dark meat chicken makes a delicious chicken salad as well.
- Be sure to chop the chicken small enough so that the chicken salad is easy to eat. You can also shred the chicken if you like that texture better.
- To poach chicken breasts for chicken salad, follow my simple recipe!
- Adjust the mix-ins if you’d like. Leave out the pecans for a nut-free salad, or replace them with slivered almonds if you prefer. Instead of dried cranberries, use fresh grapes, cut in half.
- For a really amazing, creamy texture, make your own mayonnaise from scratch. Regular store-bought mayo is fine, but the homemade stuff makes this salad extra special.
Storing Tips
Keep homemade tarragon chicken salad in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It should stay fresh for up to 3 days this way.
When you’re ready to eat the salad that’s been stored in the fridge, stir in a little bit of extra mayo so that it’s nice and creamy again.
Be sure to keep this mayonnaise-based salad in the fridge, and avoid leaving it out for any length of time.
What To Serve With Tarragon Chicken Salad
I love a delicious sandwich made from this chicken salad and fresh croissants from the bakery! You can also try it on homemade flatbread, or bread machine wheat bread.
Want to make your meal even more amazing? Try pairing your tarragon chicken salad with a bowl of soup! Fresh Zucchini Soup would be delicious with chicken salad, as would my simple White Bean Soup.
Recipe FAQs
Tarragon adds a beautiful and sophisticated flavor to this recipe, but if you can’t find it, you can still make a delicious chicken salad with other herbs like parsley or basil.
I don’t suggest it, since this recipe isn’t cooked, the dried herbs won’t have time to soften into the sauce. If you want to try it, the general rule for tarragon recipes is to use ½ teaspoon of dried tarragon for each tablespoon of fresh herbs that the recipe calls for.
Of course! Feel free to scale the recipe up to feed as many as you need to.
I don’t recommend freezing this recipe for chicken salad. It becomes watery and unpleasant after it’s thawed. You can make chicken salad with frozen chicken though! Freeze diced leftover chicken and keep it in the freezer to use in this recipe. Thaw it before mixing.
More Easy Sandwich Recipes
All Sandwiches →
I hope you enjoy this easy way to make chicken salad super special! Tarragon Chicken Salad is a lunchtime favorite at my house, and It will be at yours too.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Tarragon Chicken Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (180 ml) mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 ½ cups cooked chicken breast diced into ½ inch cubes or shredded
- ½ medium red onion finely diced
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ cup unsweetened dried cranberries
- ½ cup toasted pecans roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped tarragon
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the dressing ingredients (mayonnaise, dijon mustard, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper) and whisk until well combined.
- To the same bowl, add the diced chicken, celery, onion, cranberries, pecans, and chopped tarragon.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to meld. Serve on lettuce, toasted bread, crackers, or use tarragon chicken salad to stuff croissants.
Notes:
- Any cooked chicken will do. This recipe can be used with leftovers from last night’s dinner, the meat from a grocery store rotisserie chicken, or chicken that you’ve cooked just for this purpose. I prefer breast meat, but dark meat chicken makes a delicious chicken salad as well.
- Be sure to chop the chicken small enough so that the chicken salad is easy to eat. You can also shred the chicken if you like that texture better.
- To poach chicken breasts for chicken salad, follow my simple recipe!
- Adjust the mix-ins if you’d like. Leave out the pecans for a nut-free salad, or replace them with slivered almonds if you prefer. Instead of dried cranberries, use fresh grapes, cut in half.
- For a really amazing, creamy texture, make your own mayonnaise from scratch.
- To Store: Keep chicken salad in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Add a bit of mayo if needed to make it creamy again after storing.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Erin says
Love the flavors and textures in this chicken salad! My go-to summer salad!
Little Sunny Kitchen says
That’s so great to hear, Erin! Thank you so much!
Sharina says
I love the texture of this Tarragon chicken salad! Tarragon enhanced the classic flavor of my chicken salad, making it more delicious and satisfying. Must-try!
Little Sunny Kitchen says
I’m so happy to hear that, Sharina! Thank you for the great review!
Sam says
My family loves chicken salad but I’d never made it with tarragon before. Delicious! Such a yummy change from my usual recipe.
Little Sunny Kitchen says
I’m so glad you liked this recipe, Sam! Thank you for the kind review!