This easy French rotisserie chicken salad or Salade de Poulet in French, turns leftover or rotisserie chicken into a fresh, flavorful meal in just 20 minutes. Tender chicken is tossed with crisp celery, lightly toasted almonds, and fresh greens, then finished with a delicious homemade orange mayonnaise dressing. It's a simple French-inspired salad that's quick enough for a weeknight lunch yet special enough for entertaining.
Make these entertaining salads next: Red Cabbage Coleslaw, Mediterranean Lentil Salad, or Spicy Thai Salad.
🔍 Quick Look: Rotisserie Chicken Salad
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 20 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 4 servings
- 📊 Calories: ~468 kcal per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cook Method: No cooking
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: This salad is fresh, creamy, citrusy, savory, and lightly nutty, with a nice contrast of textures.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy, suitable for beginners.
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Why You'll Love Rotisserie Chicken Salad
- Quick: It comes together in about 20 minutes.
- No cooking required: Start with leftover or store-bought rotisserie chicken. No need to heat up the kitchen!
- Fresh and crunchy: Celery, greens, and toasted almonds give the salad plenty of texture.
- A little different: The orange mayonnaise is what sets this chicken salad apart.
- Perfect for leftovers: It's an easy way to give cooked chicken a delicious second life.
- Versatile: Serve it as a light main dish, lunch, appetizer, or first course.
What Makes This Chicken Salad French?
French cooking is often less about adding lots of ingredients and more about making a few good ingredients work beautifully together. This salad is a good example.
The combination of chicken, almonds, fresh greens, and a citrus-scented mayonnaise creates a balance of savory, creamy, crunchy, and fresh flavors without complicating the recipe.
It also follows a very French approach to salads: use fresh ingredients, pay attention to texture, and let the dressing bring everything together.
For another look at the French approach to building a great salad, see my How To Make Salads: Complete Handbook.
Key Ingredients
So for anyone who loves nuts, you will go nuts for this one. But did you know that almonds, pistachios, and cashews are not true nuts?
For the Chicken Salad
- Cooked chicken: Rotisserie chicken makes this recipe especially convenient, but leftover roasted or poached chicken works beautifully too. Cut or tear the chicken into small pieces so it combines easily with the dressing.
- Watercress or salad greens: Watercress gives the salad a slightly peppery flavor and delicate texture. If you don't have watercress, use another tender salad green.
- Celery: Finely chopped celery adds freshness and a satisfying crunch.
- Slivered almonds: Toast them lightly before adding them to the salad. This small step brings out their natural nuttiness and makes a noticeable difference in flavor.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper: Keep the seasoning simple and adjust it to taste.
For the Orange Mayonnaise
- Mayonnaise: My quick and easy homemade mayonnaise is wonderful here, particularly if you make it with an immersion blender, as I recommend, right in the jar for storing. A good-quality prepared mayonnaise can also be used when you're looking for maximum convenience.
- Fresh orange: Freshly squeezed orange juice gives the dressing its bright citrus flavor.
The Secret Is the Orange Mayonnaise
This is the part that makes this chicken salad worth making.
Instead of simply mixing chicken with mayonnaise, fresh orange juice is whisked into the mayonnaise to create a creamy, citrusy dressing.
The orange cuts through the richness of the mayonnaise and complements both the chicken and toasted almonds.
If you have a few extra minutes, make your own easy immersion blender mayonnaise. It is remarkably simple and gives you a beautiful base for this dressing.
You can adjust the amount of orange juice slightly to suit your taste. You want enough citrus to brighten the mayonnaise while keeping the dressing creamy enough to coat the salad.
How to Make Rotisserie Chicken Salad
- Toast the almonds
Place the slivered almonds on a baking tray and toast them under the grill/broiler until lightly golden. Watch them closely because almonds can go from golden to burnt surprisingly quickly. Set them aside to cool. - Prepare the greens and celery
Wash and thoroughly dry the watercress or salad greens. Cut the watercress into manageable pieces and place it in a large salad bowl. Add the chopped celery. - Make the orange mayonnaise
Squeeze the juice from half an orange and whisk it into the mayonnaise until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust if needed. - Add the chicken and almonds
Add the cooked chicken and toasted almonds to the salad bowl. Season lightly with salt pepper. - Toss gently
Add the orange mayonnaise and toss everything together gently until the chicken and greens are lightly coated. Don't overmix. You want to keep some of the texture from the greens and toasted almonds. - Garnish and chill
Garnish with a few orange slices or pomegranate seeds if desired. Chill briefly before serving.
Top Tips For Rotisserie Chicken Salad
🔸 Toast the almonds. Don't skip this little step. Toasting brings out their flavor and gives the salad a much better texture.
🔸 Dry the greens well. Excess water will dilute the orange mayonnaise, prevent the dressing from coating the greens, and make the salad watery.
🔸 Use cold or room-temperature cooked chicken. Very warm chicken can make the mayonnaise dressing loose.
🔸 Add the dressing gradually. You want enough orange mayonnaise to coat the ingredients without drowning the greens.
🔸 Toss gently. This keeps the watercress and almonds from becoming crushed.
🔸 Chill before serving. A short rest in the refrigerator allows the flavors to come together.
How To Serve Rotisserie Chicken Salad
- This chicken salad is wonderfully versatile.
- For a light meal, serve it with a simple French green salad and a piece of crusty French bread.
- It also makes an elegant starter or hors d'oeuvre, particularly when served in small portions on individual salad plates.
- And, of course, it makes an excellent lunch the following day, one of the best reasons to keep leftover chicken in the refrigerator.
📖 Recipe
Prep Like a Pro
Before you start cooking, chop, measure, and prep every ingredient, and gather your tools.
This simple habit reduces stress, prevents overcooking, and instantly improves your meals. Mise en Place - "Everything in its place."
Easy Rotisserie Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- 2 cup A bunch of watercress or greens of your choice
- 2 celery stalks cut into small pieces
- 1 lb cooked chicken meat, cut into small strips
- Salt and black pepper
Orange Mayo Dressing
- ½ orange
- ½ cup mayonnaise homemade mayonnaise recipe
Instructions
Prepare The Rotisserie Chicken Salad
- Place the slivered almonds on a baking tray and toast them under the grill/broiler until lightly golden. Watch them closely because almonds can go from golden to burnt surprisingly quickly. Set them aside to cool.
- Wash and thoroughly dry the watercress or salad greens. Cut the watercress into manageable pieces and place it in a large salad bowl. Add the chopped celery.
Make The Orange Mayo Dressing
- Squeeze the juice from half an orange and whisk it into the mayonnaise until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust if needed.
- Add the cooked chicken and toasted almonds to the salad bowl. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Add the orange mayonnaise and toss everything together gently until the chicken and greens are lightly coated.Don't overmix. You want to keep some of the texture from the greens and toasted almonds.
- Garnish with a few orange slices or pomegranate seeds if desired.Chill briefly before serving.
Notes
- Toast the almonds. Don't skip this little step. Toasting brings out their flavor and gives the salad much better texture.
- Dry the greens well. Excess water will dilute the orange mayonnaise and make the salad watery.
- Use cold or room-temperature cooked chicken. Very warm chicken can make the mayonnaise dressing loose.
- Add the dressing gradually. You want enough orange mayonnaise to coat the ingredients without drowning the greens.
- Toss gently. This keeps the watercress and almonds from becoming crushed.
- Chill before serving. A short rest in the refrigerator allows the flavors to come together.
Loved it, tweaked it, or not your "cup of tea"... I’d really love to hear how it went for you.