Tarragon and Cranberry Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is one of those things that I used to hate. Like super hate. It’s slimy. And makes me think of soggy sandwiches and grocery store deli counters. Revolting.

However, I almost always have leftover chicken from our weekly roast and I needed new ways to use it up. Chicken salad is one of those ways, plus it really is great to have in the fridge for quick lunches.

This tarragon and cranberry chicken salad recipe is my favorite way to make chicken salad. I do not like mayonnaise. Yes, foodie friends, not even the homemade French version. I just don’t like it. But I do like cream cheese. So, replace the mayonnaise with cream cheese in a chicken salad, and it goes from slimy and gross to creamy and delicious.

Ingredients:

Most of the time I just toss these ingredients into a bowl without measuring. This recipe has measurements with it, but it’s also something that can just be winged.

Chicken - I roast up a whole chicken almost every week. We eat the roasted chicken for dinner one night and then I chop or shred up whatever is left and use it for various recipes. One of the recipes I use it for is this Tarragon and Cranberry Chicken Salad. I use a mixture of dark and light meat, it all works together nicely with all the other flavors.

Cream cheese - You can use homemade kefir cream cheese in this recipe, or just regular cream cheese from the grocery store. I’ve done it both ways, and it’s delicious. If you want to make your own kefir cream cheese, just strain your milk kefir through a tea towel or yogurt bag until it’s thick. You might need extra salt if you use this method.

Red wine vinegar - This adds a much-needed acid to brighten up and balance out the creamy richness of the cream cheese. I always buy organic red wine vinegar.

Olive oil - Olive oil adds a subtle viscosity and rounds out the flavors. When buying olive oil look for cold-pressed, organic, and make sure it’s in a dark bottle so it doesn’t go rancid with light.

Terragon - Terragon is an underappreciated herb. It has an almost licorice flavor but is not as strong as fennel. I love to use fresh tarragon in this recipe, but dried is just as good. Dried herbs are more concentrated and potent than fresh herbs, so if you are using dried tarragon you will only need about a teaspoon.

Dried cranberries - The perfect sweet and tart addition. You can get cranberries sweetened with apple juice if you are concerned about sugar. If you are avoiding industrial oils, watch out for those bad boys here.

Pecans - I soak our nuts in salt water and then dehydrate them to make them more digestible. This is optional, so if that seems a bit extra to you just go with regular pecans. Toasted are also nice. I have also used almonds when I didn’t have any pecans. I bet other nuts would be nice as well.

Celery - Celery and pecans add a bit of crunch and texture change.

Serving

I love this tarragon and cranberry chicken salad on fresh sourdough, in a lettuce wrap, on crackers, or just on a spoon. It’s best chilled.

Author: Corey Dunn