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Southern Canned Chicken Salad Recipe

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This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Nut Thins. 

Canned Chicken Salad with eggs, relish, celery and mayo. Meal prep this classic southern recipe because canned chicken recipes are easy!!

classic southern recipe with chicken, mayo, eggs, celery, and relish

Southern Canned Chicken Salad 

Looking for an easy meal prep idea for your busy week? Look no further than this gluten free traditional southern recipe!

How to make chicken salad with canned chicken?

I grew up on this southern recipe. There’s something about this recipe that’s so comforting and delicious, and it couldn’t be easier to toss together in ONE BOWL.

  • Step 1: Get out a big bowl. Drain your chicken in the sink, add the chunks to bowl, and shred with a fork.

  • Step 2: Add mayo and season with salt and pepper; gently stir in relish, celery, and hard boiled eggs.

  • Step 3: Dig in! Eat straight out of the bowl, serve on a bed of greens or your on top of your favorite crackers. 

Ingredients for this recipe

  • Canned chicken (I use white meat chunked)
  • Hard boiled eggs
  • Celery
  • Relish
  • Mayo
  • Salt and pepper

easy lunch recipe that's perfect for meal prep

While I love. love. love a good Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad with Grapes made with incredibly tasty lemon yogurt, nothing takes me back like this southern mayo-based recipe. 

I like using premium white meat chicken for this recipe because it actually makes the salad juicer with less need for mayo.

And this lunch recipe = low carb, high protein

creamy and juicy southern chicken salad recipe with eggs, mayo, celery, and relish

I’m not a mayo-phobe {it is eggs and oil after all} but I don’t like gobs of it smothering my chicken. Maybe canned chicken is a nostalgic thing for me too since mom always used it in her recipe, it just doesn’t taste right without it.

Also, let’s chat nutrition for this recipe. Per serving, this tasty lunch idea contains…

  • 26g protein

  • 9g fat

  • 7g carbohydrates

  • 6g sugar 

Low carb, high protein lunch FTW!

easy chicken salad lunch recipe with eggs, mayo, celery, and relish

Best way to eat canned chicken salad?

We hardly ever make traditional sandwiches with this recipe; instead eat this stuff right out of the bowl with crackers.

So be sure to pair this southern creamy recipe with your favorite snacking crackers, like these Nut-Thins.

What’s traditional about this southern chicken salad?

The combo of hard boiled eggs, mayo, and relish is what gives this chicken egg salad a traditional twist! Putting eggs in chicken salad is basically a must – it’s not the same without them! 

The hard boiled yolk mixed with the mayo creates the creaminess in this traditional recipe. 

southern homemade recipe with mayo, eggs, celery, and relish

Best high protein wraps for lunch? 

If you’re not eating this stuff out of the bowl, might as well wrap it chicken  up in a tortilla for a high protein lunch! It’s also slightly more filling when served as a lunch wrap. 

With lots of wraps in the market these days, some are higher in protein than others. A Chick Fil A Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap has 42 grams of protein per wrap and an Oven Roasted Chicken Wrap from Subway has 38 grams of protein.  

Honestly, I might stick with this chicken egg salad out of the bowl with 26 grams of protein per 1/3 cup. And life is better when you eat right out of the bowl, right? Dig in. Make life and meal prep simple with this classic southern chicken salad recipe.

More chicken salad recipes?

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Chicken Salad made Southern-Style....hard boiled eggs, relish, celery and mayo. Make life and meal prep simple with this classic recipe.

Southern Canned Chicken Salad Recipe

★★★★★

4.9 from 8 reviews
  • Author: Kristina LaRue
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 0 mins
  • Total Time: 5 mins
  • Yield: 3 servings 1x
Print Recipe

Description

Canned Chicken Salad with eggs, relish, celery and mayo. Meal prep this classic southern chicken salad recipe because canned chicken recipes are easy!!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 12.5 ounces canned white chunk chicken, drained
  • 3 tablespoons mayo
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 hard boiled eggs, diced
  • 1/4 cup diced celery
  • 1/4 cup relish
  • Artisan Flax Seed Nut Thins

Instructions

  1.  Get out a big bowl. Drain your canned chicken in the sink and add canned chicken breast chunks to bowl, and shred with a fork.
  2. Add mayo and season with salt and pepper; gently stir in relish, celery, and hard boiled eggs.
  3. Dig in! Eat straight out of the bowl, serve on a bed of greens or your on top of your favorite crackers.

Notes

Note: Nutrition facts do not include crackers

  • Category: Lunch
  • Method: No Cook
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/3 recipe
  • Calories: 225
  • Sugar: 6g
  • Sodium: 717mg
  • Fat: 9g
  • Saturated Fat: 1g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 7g
  • Fiber: 0g
  • Protein: 26g
  • Cholesterol: 156mg

Keywords: canned chicken salad, canned chicken recipes

 

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Comments

  1. Sunshine says

    I just made this with a few little twists for my fiance’s lunch tomorrow! It’s absolutely delish! 😋
    Thank you for sharing!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  2. Beth Neels says

    My mom just loves chicken salad and eats it almost everyday for lunch! She will just love this Southern version! I can’t wait to make it for her!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  6. krissy says

    i make canned chicken sandwiches all the time. why ive never thought to add eggs and other seasonings and sauces besides mayo is kind of silly right?! i made this version and i will never go back. this was so good.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  7. Sonya R Lee says

    I like for my chicken to be flaked a little more but the recipe was good. I tweaked it a little bit by adding dill and sweet relish, a little ranch dressing and no mustard.

    Reply

  8. Danielle says

    Just made this for lunch, added a little cayenne pepper, but that is all! Perfect and delicious!

    Reply

  9. Mary Ellen says

    Do you use sweet relish? Your photo looks like bigger chunks of pickles. Do you make it with sweet pickles or dill pickles? Which works better? I’m thinking sweet.

    ★★★★

    Reply

  11. Teffy @ Teffy's Perks says

    This looks delicious! Love the addition of eggs in this!

    I’ve never used (or seen) canned white chicken, so I’m assuming I can just sub for poached and shredded chicken? I imagine they’re quite similar! X

    Reply

  12. Cassie S. says

    Kristina, I just made this for lunch this week — it’s AWESOME (and I don’t even eat Chicken Salad). I have only had it one other time, and I didn’t like it. This was SO good – filling, light, and quick to make. I used dill relish (I don’t like bread & butter) and Olive Oil and Cracked Pepper Triscuits. SO YUMMY! (And only 8 points on WW, if you’re doing it). Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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