Our easy rotisserie chicken salad sandwich recipe with dill pickles is packed with flavor and our favorite lunch. It’s great for a picnic eaten on crackers or made into air fryer sandwiches.
Jump To
- Chicken Salad Sandwich with Rotisserie Chicken
- Can You Make Chicken Salad with Leftovers?
- What is the secret to the best chicken salad?
- How do you make chicken salad?
- Toppings
- Should you shred or cube meat?
- How to Serve
- Rotisserie Chicken Salad Sandwich Recipe
- Can you freeze homemade chicken salad?
- How to save leftovers
It’s summertime which means picnics, BBQs, and potlucks with friends! I have made this every week this month and with pickles it is a dish that everyone raves about. Try it yourself, I bet you will get asked again and again for the recipe (and feel free to share). 😉
We are outside a lot when summer comes around. Whether we are taking road trips, going on a hike, or going to a park, we are always on the go. That’s when this dish comes in handy. If you don’t buy one at the store, this is How Long to Bake a Whole Chicken at 350 so you can start from there when done.
Chicken Salad Sandwich with Rotisserie Chicken
Easier yet though this is something I make with either leftover chicken from the night before, or I will shred up some rotisserie chicken bought at the store for dinner when I am just wiped out and don’t have much energy to cook but want a protein packed meal.
Can You Make Chicken Salad with Leftovers?
Absolutely!! If you have leftover breasts or chicken thighs those will totally work. If you have shredded chicken to use up this would be a great option, that is typically what goes into ours. Keep them cold with two slices of bread or if you like them warmed go for toaster oven sandwiches with it.
Often times when I am in a rush I make it with canned meat. I always have some of that on hand in my pantry so it’s kinda’ my go to fast protein packed meal.
What is the secret to the best chicken salad?
Can you tell what our “secret ingredient” is?? If you love pickles you’re going to go crazy over this one. Jarred or using homemade pickles this takes it over the top. Our preference is dill but you could go with sweet too. Another secret, diced red onions!! I am not an onion lover BUT this is a must with this dish, hands down.
How do you make chicken salad?
You only need 4 ingredients to make this chicken salad recipe for sandwiches. Eating low carb? Just omit the bread and make lettuce wraps with this as the filling! Just dice the meat, add your pickles or onions and mix with mayo.
Toppings
- The toppings (that make it over the top delicious) are
- slices of fresh avocado
- cheese of course in our house (Munster is my favorite)
- fresh baked bread like Squaw is so good
- you could even add dried cranberries
- sliced almonds might be on your list of musts
All of which can be found at your local grocery store, and of course you should add whatever you love!
Should you shred or cube meat?
I mean that is subjective but typically for me it is easier to prep and eat if it is cut into small bite size pieces like you see here. You would make the same way if in shreds in the bowl though, that wouldn’t change the process.
How to Serve
Get out a large bowl to mix all your ingredients together. If you have one with a matching locking lid that is great for saving what leftovers you might have later. Then I just scoop on to a toasted piece of bread for open faced or make Air fryer bread and use two slices or air fryer garlic rolls and avocado with a slice of muenster cheese. It’s great on crackers too or eaten all by itself! Another favorite when picknicking or barbecuing is our bacon pasta salad, enjoy them all!
Other favorite lunch recipes you will love are our Cream cheese pinwheels which are great with kids for some finger foods. They love these and can be taken to a park kept cool the same way as we transport this.
Rotisserie Chicken Salad Sandwich Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Bowl
- 1 cutting board and knife to dice meat
Ingredients
- 3 cups rotisserie chicken, precooked, about 2 breasts worth dice into bite size pieces
- 1/3 cup red onion, diced
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise, more or less depending on your preference
- 1 whole pickle, dill, diced, I make them larger chunks. pour on a paper towel to remove liquid before adding
- 1 tbsp pickle juice, optional to thin out mix if desired
Instructions
- Dice your onions and pickles. Pour diced pickles on a paper towel to remove liquid before adding into your bowl.
- Cut cooked chicken into bite size pieces. Add everything into a bowl with your mayo and tbsp. of dill pickle juice from your pickle jar.
- Mix well. Put on bread or rolls with cheese and avocado too if you like. Great on crackers too or eaten all by itself!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you freeze homemade chicken salad?
Prepare it as you usual would and then you can pack it into a freezer safe baggie or container. Make sure to remove as much air as possible before closing though. Then it can stay in the freezer for up to three months. Keep in mind that freezing and defrosting anything will change the texture of your dish, not in a great way so only do it once.
Defrost it in the refrigerator up to a day before serving. Personally I like to just make what we are going to eat in the next 2 days or so. I will then enjoy on bread as is or inside an air fryer grilled cheese to add meat.
How to save leftovers
If you are going on a picnic or to the park there is an easy way to package up this chicken salad and keep it cold. Just use 1 small plastic container and fill it up with your mixture.
Then put it inside a larger plastic container with ice surrounding it. Top both containers and put it into your picnic basket or backpack.
It will be chilled when you get there! Put your package of sliced Sargento® cheese next to this container filled with ice so it keeps your cheese cool too! The rest of your cheese (if there is any left) can be a snack for later. 😉
