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Home / Main Dishes / Chicken

Copycat Chick-Fil-A Chicken Salad

5
/5
10 minutes
21 Comments
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By: The Chunky Chefpublished: 05/13/2020

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

larger pin image for copycat chicken salad
pin image for copycat chicken salad

This copycat chicken salad is creamy, savory, a little sweet, and perfect for piling up on some toasted wheat bread or just grabbing a fork and digging in!

This Copycat Chicken Salad is one of those recipes I’m so happy to have on hand.  We love making our own versions of restaurant favorites at home… like this Copycat Wendy’s Frosty, and Honey Baked Ham.  This is one of my Copycat Recipes you’ll definitely want to keep on around!

pin image for copycat chicken salad

CHICKEN SALAD RECIPE

Back in 2017, a tragedy happened.  Okay, not really a tragedy per se, but I was certainly upset about it.  Chick-Fil-A discontinued their chicken salad sandwich.  Insert sad face here!

That sandwich, and their coleslaw (also discontinued – recipe coming soon for that one!), were my ultimate go-to when we’d hit up the drive-thru.

Thankfully, Chick-Fil-A released their recipe for the famous chicken salad around the time they stopped serving the sandwich.  Of course, I immediately had to try it.  It was good… verrrry good.

But of course, their recipe involved using their chicken.  Delicious, but not super convenient right?  So I’ve been playing around and put my spin on their chicken salad but using regular chicken (leftovers, rotisserie, etc), a bit more mayo, and I usually go easy on the egg as well.

I’m sharing my version, and in the recipe notes section, I’ll also share… word for word… what Chick-Fil-A released back in 2017.  Since everyone has their own version of the perfect chicken salad… use this as a base and add what you like!

how to make copycat chicken salad from chick-fil-a

HOW TO MAKE CHICK-FIL-A CHICKEN SALAD

  1. Add ingredients to food processor.  Give it quick pulses to chop, not puree.  If you know you tend to go too far with the processing (like I did in these photos to be honest)… try adding the celery, then pulsing a few times.  Then add the chicken and pulse a few times.  Then add the remaining ingredients and pulse until it’s reached the consistency you want.
  2. Toast bread and serve.  No one likes a soggy sandwich, so the secret is in toasting your bread slices.  Add the chicken salad and lettuce, then serve!

ADDITIONAL PREPARATION TIPS

  • FOOD PROCESSOR – the original restaurant recipe called for using a food processor, which is what I did here, but it ended up over processed and the texture wasn’t quite what I wanted.  So my advice would be if you’re using a food processor, I’d pulse the celery first, then add the chicken and pulse, then add the remaining ingredients.  Alternately, you could chop the ingredients and stir them together (plus no food processor to clean afterwards).
  • EGGS – I felt like it was honestly a big egg-y when prepared according to the restaurant recipe, so if you’re not a huge fan of hard boiled eggs, I’d try this with just 1 egg.
  • ORIGINAL FLAVOR – for a more true to Chick-Fil-A flavor, try going through their drive-thru and picking up 4 chicken breasts (2 original and 2 grilled is my personal fave combination), and chopping them up.  Not the most convenient option, but if you’re looking for a perfect replica, it’ll do the trick.

two halves of chicken salad sandwich

VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE

  • ONION – not traditional in the Chick-Fil-A version, but I love to add a bit of grated onion or very finely minced yellow onion to my chicken salad.  You won’t need much!  Another option is to mince some green onion or chives and toss those in the salad.  You could also serve the chicken salad sandwiches with some sliced red onion as well.
  • SWEETER – you could add a 1/2 tsp of granulated sugar to the chicken salad if you prefer a sweeter version.
  • DILL – some folks don’t like the sweetness of the sweet pickle relish, so feel free to try dill relish instead.
  • LOW CARB – if you’d rather ditch the extra carbs and go bread-less, try picking up some Bibb lettuce (or Living lettuce) and serving this chicken salad up in lettuce cups!
  • BREAD OPTIONS – I went with hearty whole wheat bread here since that’s what Chick-Fil-A used to use, but my favorite way to have chicken salad is on a slightly toasted croissant.  I take the croissant halves and heat them cut side down in a skillet that’s been sprayed with cooking spray and heated over MED HIGH heat.  Once they’re golden brown, I let them cool slightly and then make my sandwich.  Toasted bagels are another great option (everything bagels are my fave).

two halves of chicken salad sandwich, stacked on top of each other

MAKING CHICKEN SALAD AHEAD OF TIME

I love making this chicken salad a day or so ahead of time.  Not only does it mean we get to eat our sandwiches faster, it means all the flavors have plenty of time to mesh together as it’s hanging out in our refrigerator.

STORAGE

Leftover chicken salad should be refrigerated in an airtight container and consumed within 3-5 days.

Holding a chicken salad sandwich

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE

  • Food Processor – I love this model for its large capacity.

BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT OTHER READERS’ COMMENTS FOR TIPS AND REVIEWS.

AND DON’T FORGET, IF YOU’VE MADE THIS RECIPE, LEAVE A COMMENT AND PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING LETTING ME KNOW HOW YOU ENJOYED IT!

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!

two halves of chicken salad sandwich, stacked on top of each other

Copycat Chick-Fil-A Chicken Salad

5 from 10 votes
Author: The Chunky Chef
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Calories: 392
Servings: 4 servings
(hover over # to adjust)
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Ingredients

  • 2 cups chopped cooked chicken cooled
  • 1/3 cup chopped celery
  • 1/4 - 1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
  • 2/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 - 2 hard boiled eggs chopped
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • pinch garlic powder (optional)
  • whole wheat bread
  • green leaf lettuce

Instructions

  • In a food processor, add chicken, celery, relish, mayo, eggs, salt and pepper. Lightly pulse a several times, until mixture reaches desired consistency.
  • If you want to make sure you don't end up with overly mushy chicken salad, you may want to add celery first, then pulse a few times to finely chop. Then add chicken and pulse a few times. Then add relish, mayo, eggs and seasonings and pulse until combined.
  • Toast bread slices. Serve chicken salad on toasted bread, topped with lettuce, then the other bread slice. Repeat with remaining bread slices, lettuce and chicken salad.

Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!

Chef Tips

This is my adaptation of the original Chick-Fil-A recipe... straight from the restaurant itself.  I also like to add some red onion slices to my sandwiches, but that's just how I like it 🙂
Their version is:
4 Chick-fil-A chicken breasts (original or grilled), cooled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2.5 oz. celery (approximately 1.5 full stalks, washed, trimmed, and cut into 1 inches pieces)
1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 hard boiled eggs (cooled and peeled)
  1. Using a food processor, mix chicken, celery, mayonnaise, and relish on low/ medium for 5 seconds.
  2. Begin adding eggs, one at a time, and continue processing for up to 10 additional seconds, or until salad is chopped to desired consistency. 
Total processing time needed is 10-15 seconds. 

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

Did You Make This?Tag @the_chunky_chef on Instagram and hashtag it #thechunkychef so I can see what you made!
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Meet The Chunky Chef

Hey there! I'm Amanda. Wife, mother, photography nerd, and bacon lover! I believe that delicious meals should be easy to make. Now that you’re here, stay a bit, browse a few recipes, and let’s get cookin’!

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Recipe Rating




  1. Michael says

    Posted on 2/26 at 6:44 pm

    I do not have a food processor. is there another way to mix this?

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 2/26 at 9:07 pm

      Yes, you can just chop everything very finely and stir it together 🙂

      Reply
  2. Elizabeth says

    Posted on 7/24 at 7:36 pm

    This is so so good! I added the sugar as you suggested and it is amazing!

    Reply
  3. Kelley says

    Posted on 6/14 at 5:23 pm

    Have made this a couple of times and LOVE it!

    Reply
  4. Jessica says

    Posted on 5/11 at 8:15 am

    My husband asked me if we could add chicken salad to our meal rotation. And I was like… there’s umpteen different ways to make that. Do you have a preference? And he specifically said, “Chick-fil-A style.” Thanks so much for making this available! <3

    Reply
  5. Fred C says

    Posted on 3/12 at 8:47 pm

    I like your recipe very much, I have a question though. The original chick filet salad had certain flavor to it, of an herb or spice that made it stand out from the rest. What do you suppose it was, maybe their grilled chicken they used to make it.

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 3/13 at 9:28 pm

      Thank you! I believe that comes from using their chicken, so you could pick up some of their chicken and use it in place of this recipe if you’d like 🙂

      Reply
  6. Judy Timmerman says

    Posted on 2/12 at 11:04 am

    Chick-fil-a did not use celery

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 2/12 at 9:29 pm

      This recipe came straight from Chick-fil-A when they discontinued serving chicken salad.

      Reply
    • fred c says

      Posted on 3/12 at 8:49 pm

      In high school a friend of mine worked there and he claims they used powered celery. who knows they might have.

      Reply
      • Debbie D says

        Posted on 1/22 at 2:48 am

        What is “powered” celery? I’ve never heard of that. 😳

        Reply
  7. Traci says

    Posted on 12/3 at 3:24 am

    I have not tried it yet but after reading all the comments and seeing the reviews, I’m really excited about it! Gonna use my leftover roasted thanksgiving turkey! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  8. Julie says

    Posted on 6/2 at 9:23 am

    This recipe is healing my broken heart after Chick discontinued their chick salad sandwich!
    I have made it 4 times in the last weeks. I’m starting to tinker with it just a tiny bit. I found it to be tastiest/easiest using rotisserie chicken but other forms of chicken work!
    It makes a lot so I often use it for enchilada filling when I am tired of sandwiches.
    Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  9. Carolyn Harris says

    Posted on 4/3 at 10:01 am

    Very good Chicken Salad!!!

    Reply
  10. Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says

    Posted on 5/16 at 9:19 am

    This copycat chicken salad is seriously making me hungry!

    Reply
  11. Sara Welch says

    Posted on 5/15 at 2:58 pm

    Love a good copycat recipe, and this was no exception! Easily, a new family favorite dish!

    Reply
  12. Catalina says

    Posted on 5/15 at 7:28 am

    My favorite salad! I can’t resist to this salad! Yummy!

    Reply
  13. Cathy says

    Posted on 5/14 at 10:41 pm

    Love all things Chick Fil A and this did not disappoint!

    Reply
  14. Kimberly says

    Posted on 5/14 at 7:29 pm

    This is so good! Making a double batch next time so I have enough for leftovers! 🙂

    Reply
  15. Beth Pierce says

    Posted on 5/14 at 6:52 pm

    I made this for my husband for lunch and he loves this! Thank you!

    Reply
  16. Jen says

    Posted on 5/14 at 5:13 pm

    Woohoo! You just saved about an hour for me every week where I no longer need to sit through the LONG line at CFA to get this yummy sandwich! Love that I can make my own now. 

    Reply

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