Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
Published Sep 01, 2025
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Cranberry pecan chicken salad features cranberries that are sweet and sour, toasted pecans, and a creamy maple and rosemary dressing, making plain chicken taste great.
Put this chicken cranberry pecan salad on croissants, wrap it up, or put it in lettuce cups, and you have a mouthwatering deli-style lunch in under 15 minutes.
🥗 Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad Recipe Details
- What it is: Deli-style chicken salad with cranberries, toasted pecans, and a maple–rosemary lemon dressing.
- Time & yield: ⏱ ~15 minutes | Serves 5.
- Best for: 🥐 Croissants, wraps, lettuce cups, or cracker boards.
- Base ratio (scale it): Per 1 cup chicken → ¼ cup dressing + 2–3 Tbsp mix-ins.
- Dressing options: Classic (¾–1 c mayo) or Lighter (½ c mayo + ½ c plain Greek yogurt) + lemon + 1 tsp maple; salt & pepper to taste.
- Core ingredients: Chicken, dried cranberries, apple, celery, green onion, toasted pecans, lemon, and fresh rosemary.
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Table of Contents
- 🥗 Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad Recipe Details
- Ingredients for Cranberry and Pecan Chicken Salad
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
- Top Tips for Cranberry Chicken Salad
- Make-Ahead Tips for Cranberry Chicken Salad with Pecans
- Recipe Questions and Answers
- Find the Perfect Salad!
- Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad Recipe
Why You’ll Love this Cranberry Chicken Salad with Pecans
Wisconsin is home to many cranberry bogs and on busy days, this cranberry pecan chicken salad checks every box: it’s fast, tastes like a deli treat, and the maple + lemon + rosemary combo makes the cranberries and toasted pecans sing.
Like our old-fashioned cranberry jello salad, this is the perfect salad for fall.
- Great crunch: toasting the pecans and chopping the celery just right gives that deli counter snap.
- Make-ahead friendly: mixes in minutes, holds 3–4 days, and works on croissants, wraps, or lettuce cups.
- Easy swaps: go lighter with Greek yogurt or try our Keto Chicken Salad and Turmeric Chicken Salad for different spins.
- Time saver: rotisserie chicken works perfectly—see our rotisserie tips in Lipton Noodle Soup with Rotisserie Chicken. You may also want to learn how long to cook diced chicken, for this cranberry pecan chicken salad recipe as well.
If you’re into deli-style lunches, browse more reader favorites in our best salad recipes. More of my favorite recipes that use cranberries include our best cranberry nut bread recipe and these delicious cranberry pancakes for fall.
Ingredients for Cranberry and Pecan Chicken Salad
For the Chicken
This Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad uses 3 cups of chicken meat.
- 3 cups diced cooked chicken ≈ 15 oz (425 g)
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken ≈ 13.5 oz (383 g)
- (Shredded packs looser than diced, so it weighs a bit less per cup.)
You can use white or dark meat, the choice is yours! I prefer dark chicken meat because of the added flavor, but if you want to save a few calories, go with all chicken breast as it is leaner.
Recipe Tip
For added convenience and to get that deli-taste in this cranberry pecan chicken salad, use a rotisserie chicken, which has a rich flavor and a soft texture. For that clean, “Costco-style” balance, keep the mayo ratio the same, chop the celery and onion very small, and add salt and lemon. (Rotisserie chicken is what makes Costco salad so good.)
What to look for and what to stay away from when buying cranberries
You can use dried cranberries that are sweetened or not. If you add dairy, keep it cold. Hot milk or cream can curdle when it comes into contact with cranberry’s acidity.
Cranberries can be too much for very bitter greens or heavy tannins unless you add a little fat or mild sweetness to balance them out.
Pro Tip
Plump up the cranberries for 10 minutes in warm lemon juice. Then, reserve that juice for the dressing. This will give the cranberry chicken salad some juicier pops of sweet-tart.
For the Dressing
You can adjust the amount of mayonnaise in this cranberry and pecan chicken salad to your liking. I like to start with ¾ to 1 cup mayo, or use ½ cup mayo plus ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, then chill and add a little more dressing, depending how it is setting up.
Toast the Nuts
Pecans add a buttery crunch. Put them in the oven at 350°F for 7 to 8 minutes, then fold them in just before serving.
Variations and Substitutions
One of the best things about this cranberry chicken salad is that you can lighten it up and customize it to your taste and dietary needs. Here are some of the hacks I’ve picked up through the years.
Deli-style or lighter dressing
You can use regular mayonnaise or mix half mayonnaise and half plain Greek yogurt for a lighter version. For every cup of chopped chicken, start with about 1/4 cup of dressing and add more to taste. A squeeze of lemon keeps the cranberry and pecan chicken salad fresh without adding salt.
Lighter Dressing (option):
- Mix 1/2 cup mayo with 1/2 plain Greek yogurt and add
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- salt and pepper
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Nut Swaps and Nut-Free choices
You can also use walnuts or sliced almonds as a substitute for pecans, or opt for roasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower kernels to avoid nuts. Or, you can leave them all out and have a delicious cranberry chicken salad all by itself!
If you use nuts, be sure to toast them first! You’ll get added flavor and crunch! Just pop them in a preheated oven at 350° for 6 or 7 minutes.
Add-ins like fruit and crunch
Like our citrus apple and grape salad, you can add chopped apples, halved red grapes, diced pears, or pomegranate arils to a chicken cranberry pecan salad. Keep the pieces small so that the texture is even.
Spices and herb add-ins
Rosemary is the favorite in the house. Thyme, dill, or tarragon also go well together. Maple, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon are all natural flavors that go well with pecans. We feature some of these flavor combinations in our blueberry and cantaloupe clean eating breakfast bowl. When you think of cranberries, think of orange or lemon zest, cinnamon, clove, ginger, rosemary, and thyme.
How to Make Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
- Chop up or shred the chicken and place in a medium-size mixing bowl.
- Finely chop the celery, pecans, and apples and and add them to the chicken. You can add the cranberries at this point, or allow them to soak in some warm lemon juice before adding them.
- Juice a lemon and and add mayonnaise, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir it all together.
- Add the mayonnaise dressing to the chicken mixture and mix until well blended.
- Chop the green onion and rosemary, then add to the chicken mixture, along with the maple syrup.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours before serving. This allows the cranberry chicken salad with pecans to firm up and for the flavors to marry one another.
Top Tips for Cranberry Chicken Salad
For Sweetness Control
If your cranberries are already sweet, don’t add any maple syrup. You can add 1 teaspoon for just a little sweetness and add more to taste, if you want Chill for a short time, then taste and change.
Customize the Dressing Ratio
Start with about ¼ cup of dressing for every cup of chicken, and then add more to lightly coat. Chill for 20 to 30 minutes, then taste it. For that deli-style texture, add a spoonful of dressing and a squeeze of lemon.
Make-Ahead Tips for Cranberry Chicken Salad with Pecans
- Adding nuts right before serving will keep them crunchy, and don’t forget to toast them lightly first. (350°, in a hot oven for 6-8 minutes will do it!)
- The salad will stay good in the fridge for three to four days.
- For a quick lunch, put it on croissants, in wraps, or in lettuce cups.
Recipe Questions and Answers
Yes. Cranberries that are sweet and tart go well with buttery pecans in chicken salad, breads, and holiday sides. To get a stronger flavor, toast the pecans before adding them to whatever it is that you are making.
Adding too much dressing, not enough acid, not enough salt after chilling, adding chicken while warm, skipping crunch, not toasting nuts, chopping everything the same size, and adding too much sugar.
It can fit a balanced meal if the portions are small and the dressing is light. You can also use unsweetened dried cranberries and Greek yogurt instead of some mayo.
Chicken and mayonnaise salads should be eaten within 3 or 4 days to avoid food bourne illness. Mayo-based salads don’t freeze well.
Find the Perfect Salad!
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Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
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Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded or chopped Chicken
- 1/2 cup dried Cranberries
- 1 Apple, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup Celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup Pecans, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 tablespoons granulated Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 2 tablespoons fresh Green Onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh Rosemary, chopped
Instructions
- Chop or shred Chicken and place in a medium size mixing bowl. Add Cranberries.
- Chop Apple, Celery and Pecans, and add to Chicken. Toss together.
- Juice a Lemon, and in a small mixing bowl mix together the Mayonnaise, Lemon Juice, Sugar, Salt and Pepper.
- Pour Mayo mixture over the chicken mixture and mix together.
- Chop Green Onion and Rosemary, and add to Chicken mixture with Maple Syrup, and mix together.
- Cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
- Serve as salad, or on croissants, bread, or with crackers. Enjoy!
Notes
- When adding the dressing, go slow and low to adjust the consistency to your liking. (Start low and add more.)
- Let the cranberries soak in warm lemon juice for 10 minutes before adding them to this cranberry chicken salad with pecans.
- Toast the nuts in the oven at 350° for 6 to 7 minutes before adding them to the salad. (Add them last.)
- Store for a maximum of 3-4 days in the refrigerator and then discard. Chicken/mayo-based salads do not freeze well
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
