Make Ahead Chicken Salad
Nutmeg adds some savoury notes and dried cranberry bit are counterpoints. Your slow cooker does all the work. Mix it up and allow it to rest to meld the flavours.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 376kcal
Ingredients
- 16 oz chicken breast skinless, boneless
- 4 oz light cream cheese
- 2 sprigs fresh tarragon or 1Tbsp dried
- ½ cup light mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup celery finely chopped
- ¼ cup toasted almonds
- ¼ cup dried cranberries rough chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Arrange chicken breasts in slow cooker. Top with cream cheese and tarragon sprigs. Cook on high about 4 hours.
- Remove tarragon sprigs and take the leaves off the stem. Discard the stems. Shred chicken with 2 forks while warm. The cream cheese and tarragon leaves will be incorporated as you shred the meat.
- Add the celery, cranberries. Mix in the mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg. When well combined add in the toasted almonds.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight to allow flavours to mix.
Notes
Notes: Cooking the chicken breast in the slow cooker keeps them moist. If you prefer you can poach them instead. Bring breasts to a strong simmer in a pot of water and cook about 25 minutes.
You can omit the tarragon if you don't have it.
Don't skip the nutmeg if you can help it. It adds a subtle depth of flavour to the salad.
Nutrition
Calories: 376kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 1091mg | Potassium: 729mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 461IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 138mg | Iron: 1mg