My 10-Minute Chicken Salad Has a Pickle-y Twist

I’m a huge fan of pickles and pickle juice, so any meal where I can incorporate both of those things in a dish is one I’m going to make over and over. I’ve never been a big fan of traditional chicken salad—the kind with grapes and celery that tends to have a sweeter flavor profile—but I was fresh out of lunch ideas this past spring when I remembered I had a rotisserie chicken sitting in my fridge. I almost made this recipe with tuna, but opted for a pickle-y chicken salad instead, and I’m so glad I did!

This recipe for pickle chicken salad is perfectly salty and briny with a hint of crunch from the pickles and a little bit of spice, too (if you so choose). I’ve eaten it a ton of different ways—I’ve filled romaine lettuce leaves with it, I’ve scooped it up with cucumber slices and carrot sticks, I’ve enjoyed it with crackers, and have tucked it inside toasted white bread, too. It’s delicious in every single way!

Key Ingredients

I use a rotisserie chicken breast for this recipe. My favorite rotisserie chicken is, hands down, a Costco rotisserie chicken. Their chickens are always fresh and super juicy. You can get several meals out of one chicken and they’re just $5! They’re a weekly staple for me and my husband.

I also prefer Wickles Pickles in this chicken salad over any other kind of pickle, specifically their Wicked Pickle Chips. I like a tiny bit of heat in this chicken salad, and these mildly spicy pickles deliver exactly that. They stay crunchy through dicing and, when combined with the pickle juice, offer the perfect amount of flavor and bite.

Easy Tweaks

• You can use any kind of chicken you prefer in this recipe. If you’re more of a dark meat person, that will work just as well as using breast meat. If you prefer to cook and shred your own chicken for chicken salad, that will work, too. If you want to use canned chicken, it will take you even less time to make this recipe. 
• Any pickle in a good brine can work here. My suggestion, other than Wickles, would be Grillo’s or Claussen pickles. 
• You can chop some fresh dill to use instead of the dried dill, if you’ve got it on hand. 
• If you like more crunch, you could add some diced red onion and/or diced celery to this recipe. 

How To Make My 4-Ingredient Pickle Chicken Salad

To make two servings, you’ll need:

• 1 rotisserie chicken breast
• 3/4 cup (4 ounces) spicy or plain dill pickle chips, plus 1/4 cup pickle juice
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Romaine lettuce leaves, sliced cucumbers, carrot sticks, or crackers, for serving, optional

Remove the skin from the chicken breast and finely mince the meat. Add the minced chicken to a medium bowl. Dice the pickle chips and add them to the bowl along with the pickle juice, mayonnaise, and dill. Stir to combine and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with your favorite vegetables, crackers, or in a sandwich.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.