Can a girl have too many chicken salad recipes? According to my recipe box, NO! Wild Rice Chicken Salad transitions out of the dog days of summer into crisp, cool fall, and after all, nothing says fall to us Northerners quite like wild rice!
Wild Rice Chicken Salad
This is one of my very faves, reminiscent of the famous Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice Casserole. That reminds me, this salad is just as good with leftover turkey as it is with chicken.
About Wild Rice Chicken Salad:
The flavors here play against each other so well; it’s not only the blend of tastes but of textures that make this salad outstanding. Nutty, chewy wild rice contrasts with tender, shredded chicken. The grapes chime in with sweetness, accented by crisp and cool water chestnuts and salty, crunchy cashews.
This is a substantial chicken salad; draped in a gorgeous creamy dressing, you’ve got sumpin’ good going on. The dressing seems simple, but the lemon brightens and the tarragon brings an elusive flavor that makes people take notice. Tarragon is a natural with chicken; it’s in my Chicken Salad with Grapes, too.
The Chicken:
As for the chicken, cooked chicken works, whether prepared specifically for this recipe, as leftovers, or from a roasted or rotisserie chicken. If you’re having chicken earlier in the week, cook a couple of extra pieces and save them for this salad.
- Poaching Chicken: Add breasts to cold water in a pot, toss in a few peppercorns, a bay leaf, and a little salt. Bring to a light boil, and immediately reduce to a bare simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. If time allows, remove from heat and allow to cool in the water before shredding. They remain moister.
- Roasting Chicken: If this method is preferred, start with large bone-in, skin-on breasts. Rub with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast on a foil-lined tray in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F. for 35 to 40 minutes. When finished, let cool before removing from the bone and shredding.
Easily shred chicken with a handheld or stand mixer. Use a guard to prevent fly-away pieces.
The Wild Rice:
Since wild rice can take a long time to cook up, a little trick is to make the whole package (or as much as you’re comfortable making!) and divvy it to freeze – it keeps well for months, and it will be at the ready for this dish or others.
Use it for any recipe that calls for wild rice, soups, casseroles, and so on. It’s also amazing in recipes that you’d like to mimic, but don’t seem worth the time to make wild rice for. Things like the wild rice pilafs that can be bought, or expensive “medleys” from the freezer section.
Serving Wild Rice Chicken Salad:
- Serve your Chicken Salad on bread or croissants with curly lettuce for a gorgeous sandwich.
- For a snack, serve with a cracker of choice or wrap in lettuce.
- Or serve on a bed of lettuce, maybe with fruit. Melon is particularly good with this.
Leftover Wild Rice Chicken Salad:
- Store any leftovers, tightly covered, in the fridge for three to four days. The dressing may become watery after refrigeration. Stir back together or drain off any excess liquid.
- Do not freeze.
Other Chicken Salad Recipes You Might Like:
I have many chicken salad recipes on my site. Here are a few to get you started, but be sure to use the search bar or follow the tags at the bottom of the post for more!
- Fruited Chicken Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing – laid out on a platter, this is a deconstructed chicken salad. perfect on a hot day!
- Greek Chicken Salad – bring this tangy goodness to the table with pita bread and let everyone go for it!
- Copycat Costco Chicken Salad – what can I say? It’s the epitome of a classic Southern chicken salad.
Copycat Costco Chicken Salad – Instant Pot or Not
Saving Money on Groceries:
What you pay for groceries depends on not just WHERE you shop, but WHEN. Be strategic and stock up at rock-bottom prices.
- The best sales are before holidays; check out Win at the Grocers. Think beyond the occasion & use the opportunity to stock up at a low for the coming weeks to months.
- If available, take advantage of discount stores like Aldi or Lidl. The pricing at Buyer’s clubs is not always the lowest, but can trump in quality. Be selective when shopping there.
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast:
There are options when it comes to purchasing boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Generally, buying in larger amounts means you’ll pay less per pound.
- Chicken drops to a low once a quarter. Know the pricing in your area, what’s a good deal, and a great one, and never pay full price. Stock the freezer at rock bottom. Divide family packs into amounts for meals.
- Take it one step further and reduce today’s huge breasts into actual serving sizes. Often, large ones can be cut in half and smaller ones trimmed to size. Package trimmings for stir-fries, casseroles, chicken strips, and so on.
- See this post on Bagged Frozen Breasts and this post on Bone-In and Boneless.
- Compare sale pricing at all the available stores, and fresh to frozen. Frozen is often priced in ounces; learn how to compare to fresh, priced by the pound. Unless it’s a great sale, it will almost always be more per pound than fresh chicken on sale.
Nuts:
- Look for any dried fruit or nuts during the Winter Holidays, when the sales are competitive, and stock up. Check after the holidays in the bargain bin or shelf. Check out Farm/Tractor supply stores for incredible pricing.
- Store nuts in the freezer and repackage any nuts or fruits that are in flimsy packaging.
Mayonnaise:
- Buy your condiments, like mayo, during the summer holiday sales when they drop to a low. Stock up for the year. If you miss those sales, the sales before the Super Bowl are pretty good.
- The discount stores have good pricing year-round, and some have brand names.
Wild Rice:
- Wild rice is at a low around the winter holidays. Availability (and prices) are better in the Northern states; if you are out of the area, consider requesting some from visitors.
- Different grades are available. If perfect grains aren’t important, consider going for the lower grades; they’ll have more broken grains but be cheaper.
Wild Rice Chicken Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 -45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: sandwiches
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Salad:
- 3 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded (about 12 ounces)
- about 3 1/2 cups cooked wild rice (1 cup raw)
- 8 ounces sliced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed (1 small can)
- 1/2 pound red grapes, about 1/2 cup sliced
- 1/3 cup sliced green onions (3 to 4)
- 1/2 cup cashews
Dressing:
- 2/3 cup of mayonnaise or a mix of mayo with a little Greek yogurt and/or sour cream
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1 teaspoon salt (as desired)
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Place salad ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together dressing ingredients in another, smaller bowl. Taste and adjust if desired. Toss together with salad ingredients.
If not serving immediately, add cashews just before serving.
I’ll be posting Wild Rice Chicken Salad to Fiesta Friday 89 and to Throwback Thursday!
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