Creamy Tarragon Chicken Salad

Looking for the ultimate recipe for creamy tarragon chicken salad? Look no further. This delicious chicken salad recipe is the perfect blend of tender chicken, creamy dressing, and aromatic tarragon.

Delicious on its own, with greens or on a sandwich, this recipe delivers a symphony of flavors and textures in every bite. If you are looking for more creamy salad ideas that work well with greens or as a sandwich topping, check out my recipes for Creamy Egg Salad with Dill or Skagenröra (Swedish Shrimp Salad). For a vegetarian salad that is very similar in spirit to this chicken salad, I recommend my recipe for Chickpea Salad.

Ingredients

• Cooked chicken is the main ingredient here. Keep reading for my favorite way to cook chicken for chicken salad, but you can also use leftover chicken that you have on hand or rotisserie chicken from the store.
• Creme fraiche and mayonnaise provide the creamy base of this salad. Sour cream or greek yogurt can easily stand in for the creme fraiche here.
• A bit of Dijon mustard and a splash of lemon juice add brightness and flavor to the creamy base.
• Chopped celery and red onion add a fresh, crisp texture.
• Chopped fresh tarragon brings it's aromatic, fresh spring taste. You can always substitute dried tarragon (only use 2 teaspoons as dried herbs are more concentrated than fresh) for the fresh or even use fresh dill, parsley, chives or basil in place of the tarragon.

See recipe card for exact amounts and detailed instructions.

Variations

• For added crunch, consider including a handful of sliced almonds in the recipe. If you'd like some sweetness, dried cranberries or halved red grapes are delicious additions!

How to Make Tarragon Chicken Salad

1. If you don't have cooked chicken on hand, begin by cooking the chicken: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place two bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves skin side up in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake until cooked through, about 40-50 minutes. Set aside to cool. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, Remove the skin and shred the chicken meat away from the bones. Discard the skin and bones. Chop the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces. You should have 3 cups of cooked chicken.

2. Combine the mayonnaise, creme fraiche, lemon juice, mustard and red onion in medium bowl and stir until smooth.

3. Fold in the celery, chicken and chopped tarragon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

4. Serve and enjoy!

FAQs

What to serve with Tarragon Chicken Salad

Creamy chicken salad is incredibly versatile and can be served in many different ways. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Serve alongside crackers or crispbread and raw fresh vegetables such as carrots and celery sticks for dipping.
• Serve it Danish style on rye bread - find the authentic recipe for Chicken Salad Open Faced Sandwiches (Hønsesalat Smørrebrød) here.
• Use on a sandwich or in a wrap with the toppings of your choice (you can't go wrong with lettuce and tomato). Chicken salad is especially nice on soft rye rolls or a croissant!
• Wrap inside of lettuce leaves for a low-carb lunch or snack.

If you tried this Creamy Tarragon Chicken Salad recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

Recipe

Creamy Tarragon Chicken Salad

Looking for the ultimate recipe for creamy tarragon chicken salad? Look no further. This chicken salad recipe is the perfect blend of tender chicken, creamy dressing, and aromatic tarragon.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 303kcal

Author: Kristi

Ingredients

• 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts halves OR 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• ⅓ cup creme fraiche or sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 2 ribs celery chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon or 2 teaspoons dried

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

1. If you already have chopped cooked chicken on hand, proceed to step 2. Otherwise, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken breasts skin side up in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through (the meat should no longer be pink and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast should read at least 165 degrees), about 40-50 minutes. Set aside to cool. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and shred the meat from the bones. Discard skin and bones. Chop the meat into small, bite-size pieces. You should have 3 cups of chopped cooked chicken.
2. Combine the mayonnaise, creme fraiche, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and red onion in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Fold in the chicken, celery and tarragon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover tightly and transfer to the refrigerator. Chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

Notes

• If you would like the red onion to have a little less bite, let it soak in the lemon juice for 15-20 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
• If your salad isn't as creamy as you would like it to be, add another tablespoon or two of mayonnaise or creme fraiche.

 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 301mg | Potassium: 548mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 204IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg

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Course: salads, sandwich

Cuisine: Danish, Nordic, Scandinavian