Tarragon Chicken Salad with Grapes, Capers & Celery

This simple recipe for an unforgettable chicken salad starts with great ingredients. Use quality chicken, roasted on the bone and the freshest of herbs for a truly succulent dish.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Dish Type Salad, sandwich

Cooking Style Easy

Diet and Health healthy-ish

Seasonal Fourth of July, Labor Day, summer

Ingredient chicken, Tarragon

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 5

Servings servings

Calories 223

Author Amy Reiley

Ingredients

4 bone-in split chicken breasts (with skin), about 3lbs in total
1 small, fresh lemon thinly sliced into 8 rounds
1 tbsp various fresh herbs roughly chopped (such as sage, thyme, tarragon, rosemary or basil), optional
salt and pepper
1 small sweet onion* finely chopped
2 celery ribs finely chopped
1 tbsp capers drained
1 cup grapes washed and sliced in half
1 tsp fresh tarragon leaves finely chopped
3-5 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp dijon mustard
salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Remove excess fat from each chicken breast and pat dry. Slide 2 lemon slices and assorted herbs (optional) under the skin of each breast. Season each breast with salt and pepper and place, skin side up, in a 9x13 baking dish.
Cover pan with foil (try to make sure foil is not touching the skin) and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and roast for an additional 15 minutes. Remove foil and allow the chicken to brown for an additional 10-15 minutes of cooking. (The chicken should be just cooked through and the bones will still have pink, even red. Once the bones are brown, the breast is overcooked.)
Remove chicken from pan and allow it to rest until cool enough to touch.
Remove and discard the chicken skin. Pull the meat from the bones into bite-sized pieces. (This is the only time-consuming part of the recipe.)
Cool chicken completely before making the salad.
In a large bowl, combine chicken, onion, celery, capers, grapes, tarragon, 2 tbsp mayonnaise and 1 tbsp dijon. Mix ingredients and add additional mayo and mustard to taste. Season with salt before serving with a loaf of great bread, a green salad, (such as romaine), and a side of the season's finest fruit.

Notes

*Substitute with red onion.

Variations

Try dried cranberries in place of grapes.

Add 1/4 cup of chopped walnut pieces for additional texture.

Those who are sensitive to eggs should use an eggless mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise substitute.

Omit the Dijon for a more traditional chicken salad flavor. Use additional mayonnaise to achieve the correct consistency.

A note on the provided nutrition information

The nutrition information provided has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Nutrition