The first bite of a great sandwich is one of the most magical experiences you can have. When the bread is just right, the fillings complement each other, and there is just enough sauce, a simple sandwich becomes a culinary masterpiece. I spent a long time perfecting this chicken salad sandwich recipe. I thought about the first bite and how it makes you feel. I considered the bread and the garnish because I love chicken salad sandwiches, and I wanted to make the best one I could. When you bite into this sandwich, you immediately get hit with a little pop of onion, a touch of sweetness from the carrot, freshness from the celery, and creaminess from the mayonnaise. It is everything you could want from a chicken salad sandwich to more. And I'm very excited to share it with you.
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The Best Bread For Chicken Salad Sandwiches
When it comes to the best bread for chicken salad sandwiches, there is no hard and fast rule. However, chicken salad has a mild flavour, so bread with a strong flavour would overpower it. For my chicken salad, I prefer just regular white or sourdough bread. I have celiac disease, so I typically use Promise Gluten-Free Bread or Little Northern Bakehouse Gluten-Free Bread, but any kind of natural-flavoured bread will do. Also, keep in mind the texture of the bread. With 'salad' fillings like chicken and egg salad, you don't typically want a hard bread like a baguette becasue when you bite into it, the filling will shoot out the back. Stick with a nice soft white or sourdough bread.
What are the ingredients for a chicken salad sandwich?
There are no limits to what you can put in chicken salad for a sandwich. To demonstrate this, I've included a list below of some of the ingredients I've personally seen in chicken salad sandwiches, not including the ingredients in this recipe:
- Grapes
- Apples
- Raisins
- Dried Cranberries
- Ham
- Avocado
- Cheese
- Pesto
- Fresh Herbs
- Lettuce
- Artichoke Hearts
- Curry Powder
- Pecans
- Walnuts
- Sunflower Seeds
- Bacon
- Pickles
- Roasted Red Peppers
- Olives
- Hardboiled Eggs
- Arugula
- Spinach
The point is that you can make a chicken salad sandwich as simple or complex as you want. Truth be told, simply mixing chicken with salt, pepper, and mayonnaise and spreading it on bread can be amazing if the ratio of chicken to mayo is right. As great as that simple recipe can be, I prefer a little more complexity. Just not too much. So, for my best chicken salad recipe, I include only three additional ingredients. They are onion, carrot, and celery. Typically, I use yellow onion, minced carrot and minced celery. However, red, white or green onion and celery leaves or seeds would also work. The onions add a little spiciness and bite. The carrot adds a pop of sweetness, and the celery adds a fresh, herby flavour. All of this is to complement the flavour of the chicken without overpowering it. I prefer to mince my vegetables. However, you can grate them on a cheese grater if you'd like, as I demonstrated in my Deviled Egg Salad Sandwich post.
Chicken For Chicken Salad
The best chicken for chicken salad sandwiches is leftover whole-roasted or rotisserie chicken. These have more flavour and moisture than boneless, skinless chicken breast. Plus, why buy and cook boneless chicken breast just to make a sandwich? It's expensive. In the pictures below, I've taken the breast off a leftover roasted chicken and diced it up. Truth be told, I prefer pulling the chicken meat rather than chopping it. It gives the chicken salad sandwich a better texture. When I was doing this, I got a little knife-happy, having just minced all the vegetables.
White or Dark Meat For A Chicken Salad Sandwich?
This recipe uses chicken breast, which is white meat, but honestly, adding some dark meat to the white meat will add more flavour and moisture. So, I recommend using 50/50 white and dark meat. You can use all dark meat if you'd like, but I find that chicken salad sometimes feels a bit greasy. For the skin, you can leave it on or take it off. One thing I love to do is take the chicken skin off and roast it for another 10 to 12 minutes at 375°f or until it is crispy. Then let it cool down, chop it up and add that to the chicken. It adds a lot of flavour and texture.
Making The Best Chicken Salad
There isn't much to making this chicken salad. Put the chicken, vegetables, and mayonnaise in a bowl. Mix well, and season with salt and pepper to taste. If you are really ambitious, cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for an hour before making your sandwiches. This will give the flavours time to blend together. If you do put it in the fridge first, taste and season it again before making your sandwiches.
Should you butter the bread for a sandwich?
Butter is an optional ingredient here, but it isn't really. If you aren't spreading mayonnaise or mustard on the bread when making a sandwich, you should butter it. Butter adds a lot of flavour to the sandwich, helps the bread hold its integrity, and prevents the bread from drying when you bite into it. Make sure the butter is at room temperature and spread it to every edge. Take your time and make sure that no dry bread is showing. It is worth the effort.
Assembling The Sandwiches
If you need a tutorial about how to make a sandwich, you may have some issues beyond the scope of this blog. But let's go through it nonetheless. Get your bread. Spread your butter to the edges of it. Put the chicken salad on one side. Top it with the other piece of bread. Cut it. Pretty straightforward.
Conclusion
Chicken salad sandwiches can be as simple or complex as you like. What I prefer you may not, but to me this really is the best chicken salad sandwich. The flavour of the chicken is complemented rather than being hidden. It is a bit spicy from the onion, a bit sweet from the carrot, a little herby from the celery, and creamy from the mayonnaise. What more could you want from a sandwich?
Did I miss something in this post or recipe? Do you think I'm crazy and want to tell me why your chicken salad is better than mine? Did you make this and love it? I want to hear everything you have to say, so leave a comment, and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Thank you for coming to Chef's Notes. If you liked this post, you may also like my Best Ever Chicken Sandwich.
Ingredients
- 4 pieces White Bread
- 1 cup chicken, cooked and diced or pulled
- 1 tablespoon onion
- 1 tablespoon celery or ½ teaspoon celery seed
- 1 tablespoon carrot
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup softened butter
Instructions
- Mince or grate the onion, carrot and celery and add them to a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the diced chicken, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Spread the butter onto four slices of bread. Put half the chicken salad on two pieces of bread. Top with the other pieces of bread, cut in half and serve.
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