What to Serve with Chicken Salad

Everyone knows that chips and a pickle go great with a chicken salad sandwich but what else could you serve with chicken salad?

There are endless options to serve with chicken salad, from green salads, to French fries. Depending on the time of year also, some things like soups for instance would go really well with chicken salad in the colder months.

Whereas a fruit salad would be so refreshing during the warmer months. I am going to give you all kinds of options to help spruce up your chicken salad and pair it together with things to make it a meal.

All of these go great with my chicken salad recipe without celery.

What is chicken salad

Chicken salad is a chicken that gets shredded or diced up into small pieces and then mixed together with mayonnaise and whatever seasonings you like to season it with. I like to keep it pretty simple with salt and pepper and some dried basil.

Chicken salad is most commonly served as a sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes and on a garden salad to add some protein. Either way, it is very refreshing and can be served in so many ways.

You can get creative and mix in all kinds of things to change up the flavors. Halved red grapes, craisins, raisins, walnuts, pecans, celery, bacon, or eggs. Mix in some curry or mustard to change it up too.

You can never get bored with chicken salad because there are so many options to spice it up. Whether you are serving a crowd with a platter or making lunch for one you need something to eat with it, so here we go.

Do you know what goes great on one of these sandwiches is lettuce, learn how to cut romaine lettuce.

Best bread to serve chicken salad on

You cant go wrong with a refreshing chicken salad sandwich but what bread is the best to put it on? I would say most commonly people like good old sliced white bread, but there is so much more out there.

When you are having a gathering of any sort, chicken salad finger sandwiches are always a great way to serve up a lite lunch.

A few of my favorite breads to serve with chicken salad are…

Flaky croissant
Crusty French baguette
Pita bread
Crunchy multigrain or whole wheat bread (toasted)
Flavored Tortilla wrap
Finger sandwich rolls

9 best sides with a chicken salad

The sky is the limit when it comes to what to serve with chicken salad sandwiches. Depending on how heavy or light you want to make it. Here is a list of options ranging from light to heavier.

1. Fresh green salad

Chicken salad can be heavy in itself so serving it with a nice light salad can be really refreshing. Having salad is a nice option.

You can either have a nice little side salad with your chicken salad sandwich or you can skip the bread and have a scoop of chicken salad right on top of your greens.

Add in whatever fresh veggies you want and a nice light vinaigrette to compliment the creaminess of the chicken salad.

2. Fruit salad

A bowl of freshly cut-up melons, blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, mangos, grapes, and oranges, or whatever combination you have on hand is great served with chicken salad.

This is a perfect combo on a hot summer day. Not only is it healthy but it’s tasty too with all of the sweet and savory flavors together.

It is quick and easy to prepare and the sweetness and tartness balance out the creamy savory flavors of the chicken salad well.

3. Chips

Of course, chips go well with chicken salad, especially chicken salad sandwiches. The salty crunch complements the creamy salad without taking away from it.

Really almost any flavor of chips goes well with chicken salad. Whatever your favorite is, plain, bbq, salt and vinegar, Doritos, Sweet potato chips, it doesn’t matter.

They aren’t filling but add that crunch that you would otherwise be missing.

4. Dill pickles

Dill pickles go great with chicken salad. They add a little crunch and they’re juicy. There are lots of ways you can use dill pickles with chicken salad.

You could serve spears on the side with your sandwich. The juiciness adds a refreshing touch to any sandwich really.

You can also put dill pickle chips in the sandwich as a topping, or while making the chicken salad you could chop them up and add them into the chicken salad.

5. Soup

Soup and salad or soup and sandwich is a common menu option at restaurants. That’s because they go together like cookies and milk! My favorite is chicken noodle soup.

Whether you are having chicken salad on a salad or in a sandwich you can serve the soup with it as a great side. The hot and cold components make them work so well together.

Not only that but bread and soup are so good together. Dip your bread in and soak up some of the flavors with your chicken salad. YUM!

Soups that go great with chicken salad

Tomato soup
Italian wedding
Chicken noodle
Minestrone
Potato bacon
Carrot ginger
Butternut

6. Cheese and crackers

A great snack or even an appetizer to have when having people over is cheese and crackers. Well, you can serve cheese and crackers with chicken salad as well.

A cracker, slice of cheddar cheese, and a little scoop of chicken salad on top is a yummy treat and won’t fill you up too much.

I prefer a buttery cracker with chicken salad and cheddar cheese is my go-to for anything cheese-related. Gouda, Havarti, or even Gruyere would be great topped with a dollop of chicken salad.

7. Veggie platter

Great for when you are having a party and serving a veggie platter, add a bowl with chicken salad on the side and people can enjoy the crunch of the carrots, peppers, and broccoli with a softer bite of chicken salad.

It adds something a little different rather than just having ranch dip in the middle. You can make your veggies pieces bigger than normal too, like the bell peppers, and use them as a scoop to eat your chicken salad.

8. French fries

Usually, when you think of French fries you probably think of a burger or chicken tenders. Serving French fries with chicken salad really makes it into a meal. You will be sure to be full after.

They aren’t lite, but the warm salty crunch of French fries goes just as well as chips do. Add a little ketchup to dip them in and enjoy this great meal of chicken salad and French fries.

9. Pasta salad

Any refreshing pasta salad goes well served with chicken salad. Macaroni salad adds more creaminess to your meal whereas a Greek pasta salad has a vinaigrette so it will be a little bit lighter.

Something to keep in mind when you are serving pasta salads with chicken salad. This is a great option in the warmer months because most pasta salads are refreshing.