Best Chicken Salad Croissant Recipe
This is the best Chicken Salad Croissant recipe that I’ve been using for years and it’s perfect for entertaining, group gatherings or a light lunch on a hot day!
It consists of tender bites of roasted chicken breast nestled in a sweet, creamy and tangy homemade poppy seed dressing with crunchy celery, red onions(optional), almonds and red grapes all tucked into a buttery croissant!
I think you’ll agree that a delicious, homemade Chicken Salad is always a crowd pleaser at group gatherings like lady luncheons, wedding showers, baby showers, Graduation parties or or even at a “working” lunch.
This chicken salad croissant recipe is inspired from a variety of sources including Whole Foods Market’s™ “Sonoma Chicken Salad” and the delicious chicken salad served at Neiman-Marcus’ restaurant, “The Zodiac Room”, created by Helen Corbitt.
Helen Corbitt’s “Chicken Salad Supreme” was a mainstay on the Neiman’s menu for years, due to its sweet poppy seed dressing.
Why this recipe works
- Versatile – you can substitute any of the chicken salad ingredients to suit you and your guests
- Great way to use leftover roast chicken or, use a deli rotisserie chicken to reduce the total time!
- Flavorful– hints of sweet, savory and lots of flavor and crunch from the celery and grapes – but you can put whatever you want in yours
- Light and filling entree you can serve on a crisp bed of lettuce, as a side dish, or as a hearty sandwich nestled in a buttery croissant!
- The sweet poppy seed dressing is what really sets this recipe apart from the others with a hint of sweet and tangy. You can use a little lemon juice if you don’t have apple cider vinegar.
- Make appetizer sandwiches with mini croissants! Perfect for parties, luncheons, showers or a working lunch menu!
What you’ll need
For super delicious chicken salad croissant sandwiches, you’ll want to buy fresh croissants – full size or mini croissants, depending upon how you’ll be serving them. I usually get the fresh baked croissants found in the delicatessen department at my grocery store. These are the most tender, flavorful and flaky croissants
- Chicken breast – I prefer homemade baked chicken breasts, but you can use roasted chicken from the deli
- Celery – fresh, crisp and crunchy
- Grapes – I use seedless red grapes, but you can use green grapes if you like
- Red onion – this is optional, but the sweetness of the onion pairs beautifully with the honey dressing and it also provides a nice texture
- Apple cider vinegar – this adds a little acidity to the chicken salad dressing
- Honey – just a little bit for added sweetness
- Whipped cream – this is either heavy cream that you whip yourself in a stand mixer, or a store-bought whipped topping like Cool-Whip
- Poppy seeds-these are optional, but they do add a slight unique flavor and look pretty in the chicken salad
- Almonds- optional; if you’re serving a group, be aware some may have nut allergies so in this case, omit any nuts; you could substitute with roasted, salted sunflower seeds
Red onion and Nuts are optional. I like to put sliced almonds or chopped pecans in mine because they add a nice crunch to the recipe, but if nut allergies are a concern to you, you can eliminate nuts.
Some recipes call for sour cream, but I’ve found the mayonnaise poppy seed dressing is my favorite way to make this.
You can use canned chicken, but I find it loaded with sodium and a weird after-taste…another option is to use deli or rotisserie chicken or, some grocery stores offer containers of chopped or pulled cooked meat.
The beauty of making a homemade recipe is that you can put whatever you want in it, but the secret’s in the chicken salad dressing and the buttery, flaky croissants!
How to make it
I recommend baking chicken breasts for this recipe-this is my favorite method because the chicken turns out flavorful and juicy. You can use meat from a whole chicken (deli chicken) or canned chicken, but for the best flavor, use baked chicken breasts.
Shred or dice cooked chicken breast and place in a large mixing bowl
Use a separate cutting board to chop the celery and grapes (never co-mingle meat and veggies on a cutting board)
Add chopped celery and halved grapes to shredded chicken; set aside
In a separate bowl, make the honey-poppy seed dressing. (You can either make homemade whipped cream or use a prepared whipped topping, like CoolWhip or ReddiWhip.) Add mayonnaise, vinegar, honey and poppyseeds to bowl; fold in whipped cream
Drizzle a little dressing/sauce over ingredients; combine well; taste for seasonings; add more dressing if desired
Allow to rest in fridge for at least 15 minutes; adjust seasonings (you may want to add a little salt or black pepper)
Serve as a side, entree, or as a sandwich on a full or mini-croissant
Recipe tips
How to bake chicken breasts
Preheat oven to 350ºF; pat dry chicken breasts; lightly season with salt and pepper; place in lightly oiled baking dish; cover with foil. Bake until internal temperature reaches 165ºF.
Allow chicken to cool then cut into cubes or shred.
Making chicken salad for a crowd?
The ingredient proportions for this recipe are based on 2 pounds of shredded meat, which results in about 6 cups of salad.
If you’re making full-size croissant sandwiches, allow about 1/4 cup salad per sandwich
If you’re making mini croissant chicken salad sandwiches, allow about 3 tablespoons of salad per croissant.
Storage and make ahead
Make up to 3-days in advance and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can make the entire salad and store it, or prep all the ingredients and refrigerate the ingredients individually.
- To make in advance chop/shred the chicken and store it in the fridge.
- Chop and measure out the other ingredients and store in fridge.
- Make the poppy seed salad dressing and store it in the fridge, too.
About an hour before it’s time to serve, mix everything together and assemble the croissant sandwiches and place on a pretty serving platter.
Variations
If you don’t have the exact ingredients and want to make this salad in a flash, feel free to incorporate any of the following:
- Fruit: diced red or green apples, green grapes, raisins, golden raisins
- Nuts and Seeds: toasted almonds, chopped pecans, walnuts, candied pecans, smokehouse almonds, honey roasted peanuts
- Vegetables: watercress, radish, bell pepper, water chestnuts, green onions
- Other foods: fried “Chow Mein” noodles, toasted sesame seeds, dry roasted pumpkin seeds
- Don’t have mayonnaise: Use plain greek yogurt
- Looking for a healthier option or want a low carb option or keto version? Serve this classic chicken salad as lettuce wraps!
- Herbs and seasonings: you can toss in a little fresh dill, a teaspoon of garlic powder, a little oregano or marjoram
- No apple cider vinegar? Use fresh lemon juice; add it in 1/2 teaspoon increments until it’s tangy enough for you.
I think you’ll find this is one of the easiest and best chicken salad croissant recipes out there!
More cold salad and sandwich recipes
- Southern Pimento Cheese
- Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Mayo-Free Coleslaw
- Classic Egg Salad
- Classic Tuna Salad
- Broccoli Crunch
- Deviled Ham Spread
- Watermelon Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
- Homemade Mayonnaise
♥ If you make this recipe, please scroll down and leave a rating and comment. I love to hear from you!
Best Chicken Salad Croissant Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken , cooked, white, cubed or shredded
- ¾ cup chopped celery
- 2 cups seedless red grapes , cut in half
- ¼ cup red onion , diced (optional)
- ½ cup sliced almonds optional
Dressing/Sauce Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ cup whipped cream , homemade or use a whipped dairy product like CoolWhip or ReddiWhip
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds optional
- salt and pepper , to taste
Instructions
Prep
- Shred or cube cooked chicken; set aside2 pounds chicken
- Dice celery; slice grapes in half and finely chop onion (optional); set aside¾ cup chopped celery, 2 cups seedless red grapes, ¼ cup red onion
- Put cooled shredded or cubed chicken, celery, grapes, almonds on diced onion in large mixing bowl; mix it up with a big spoon or spatula2 pounds chicken, ¾ cup chopped celery, 2 cups seedless red grapes, ½ cup sliced almonds
Make the Dressing
- Combine mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, honey and poppyseeds in a mixing bowl; fold in whipped cream; combine well1 ½ cups mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey, ½ cup whipped cream, 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- Drizzle some of the dressing over chicken mixture; combine well; taste for salt and peppersalt and pepper
- Add more dressing/sauce if desired
- Place covered in fridge for 30 minutes
- Remove from fridge 30 minutes prior to serving; add salt and pepper to taste
- Use a serrated knife and slice croissants in half; scoop chicken salad onto bottom croissant, place top croissant on; plate and serve
Made this for a baby shower on mini croissants and everyone raved about it! Best chicken salad recipe I’ve come across!
Do you whip the cream before adding, or just use whipping cream?
Do you usually have leftover dressing?
If using lemon, do you recommend 2 Tablespoons ?
Looks great. Thanks for your input and sharing!
You want to add whipped cream to the dressing mixture – this is either homemade whipped cream or a whipped cream product like CoolWhip or ReddiWhip. I suppose you can add plain “whipping” cream that hasn’t been whipped, but I’ve not tried that so I can’t really comment. I usually have some dressing leftover and, if you use lemon instead of apple cider vinegar, add it in 1/2 teaspoon increments until you get it “tangy” enough for your tastebuds.
How many sandwiches will this make for 1x, 2x, 3x ?
In the post, I address “making chicken salad for a crowd.” As stated there, “the ingredient proportions for this recipe are based on 2 pounds of shredded chicken which results in about 6 cups of chicken salad. If you’re making a full-size sandwich, allow about 1/4 cup per sandwich. If you’re making mini chicken salad sandwiches, allow about 3 tablespoons of salad per mini croissant.”
As for how many actual sandwiches this recipe yields, it would be hard to calculate considering folks shred chicken differently, there are different sizes of bread, etc.
Hope this helps.
I made this 1st for my Husband who loved it. The following day my In-Laws came for dinner. Fresh croissants & the flavors of the wonderful dressing & the chicken salad contents just complemented each other perfectly. I’d also made a fancy vegetable pasta salad with capers, Kalamata Olives, & fresh small sweet tomatoes. Together, the flavors were perfect. I added vegetable sides for color. Only empty plates existed! I love the Poppy Dressing.
Thank you!
Thank you! I’m glad to hear everyone enjoyed the chicken salad!
I made this today. It’s in the fridge chilling. It tastes marvelous!!!
Oh good! I’m glad you like it:)
I’m going to miss this when I’m at college!!!