Chicken Salad Round Up

A fresh roundup of my favorite chicken salads - from classic and creamy to fruity, crunchy, savory, and Southern tea‑room inspired - all from Deep South Dish. Whether you love a simple deli‑style scoop, a loaded mix‑in bowl, or a fun wrap, this collection brings together all the ways chicken salad can shine.

Chicken Salad Round Up

I love a good chicken salad, and over the years I've gathered up enough variations that I thought it was time to put them up into a round up for the website!

These are the ones I reach for when a good scoop of chicken salad just hits the spot. From simple classics to loaded mix‑in bowls, fruity twists, savory blends, and even a Southern tearoom favorite, this roundup celebrates every style of chicken salad I’ve shared over the years.

Whether you’re packing lunches, planning a light supper, or just craving something cool and comforting, there’s a recipe here you’ll want to bookmark.

Classic Carol‑Style Chicken Salad (TikTok - My Way)

 

A creamy, simple chicken salad inspired by the viral Classic Carol trend - tender shredded chicken, crisp celery, and real mayo seasoned just right. Perfect for sandwiches, melts, salads, or snacking straight from the fridge.

Classic Carol‑Style Chicken Salad (TikTok - My Way)

If you spend any time on TikTok, you’ve probably seen the viral “Classic Carol” chicken salad recreations inspired by Chicken Salad Chick. We actually do have one in town, but I’ve yet to make it there and eat any of their many versions myself, so this isn’t meant to be a perfect copycat. It's just my take on that clean, creamy, simple chicken salad everyone seems to love.

I’m calling it Classic Carol‑Style Chicken Salad (TikTok - My Way), because it’s inspired by the social media chatter, shaped by the ingredients folks swear by, and finished the way I like it: tender shredded chicken, crisp celery, real mayo, and just enough seasoning to make everything hum. It’s different from my usual “classic” chicken salad that leans Southern deli‑style with boiled eggs and pickle relish and the one that I make the most, but every bit as comforting and versatile.

Air Fryer Pickle Juice Wings

These Air Fryer Pickle Juice Wings are tangy, lightly sweet, and perfectly seasoned with layers of flavor from pickle brine, Italian dressing, and a blend of spices. They cook up crispy on the outside and juicy inside, with oven and grill options included so you can make them any time of year.

If you’ve been around here a minute, you already know I love a good wing night and I love preparing them in the air fryer. These Air Fryer Pickle Juice Wings are one of my new favorites!

They’re tangy from a splash of pickle juice, lightly spicy from hot sauce, and seasoned all the way through. The Italian dressing trick gives them that glossy, golden finish that tastes like you fussed - even though you didn’t.

Although I ran mine through the air fryer, I’ve included oven‑baked and grilled versions too, so you can make them year‑round. However you cook them, they come out juicy inside, crispy outside, and absolutely addictive.

Baked Smothered Chicken Thighs (TikTok – My Way)

These Baked Smothered Chicken Thighs are a cozy, family‑friendly dinner inspired by the viral TikTok version but rebuilt with real‑life cooking in mind. Tender chicken, hearty vegetables, and a silky gravy come together in one baking dish for a simple, comforting meal you’ll want to make again and again, anytime of the year.

Baked Smothered Chicken Thighs (Simple and Flavorful)

Every so often a recipe goes viral online, and while the idea is delicious, the method doesn’t always translate well to real‑life home cooking for me.

That was the case with the popular TikTok version of these smothered chicken thighs. The concept is wonderful - tender chicken, rustic vegetables, and a rich gravy - but some of the steps and seasoning amounts felt a little heavy for everyday kitchens.

So, I took the inspiration and reshaped it into a simpler, safer, and more balanced baked version that still delivers all the comfort you’re looking for.

Creamy Homestyle Chicken Noodle Stew made with tender chicken, hearty veggies, and wide egg noodles. Cozy, creamy, and perfect for weeknights or freezer clean‑outs.

Creamy Homestyle Chicken Noodle Stew

So, I have several freezers because I buy meat in bulk, and one suddenly went out on me recently. If you've ever had a freezer go out, you know what a mad scramble it is to either get another freezer or to rearrange any remaining freezer space to transfer stuff into, so you don't lose valuable meat.

Just one of those things that life throws at us!

I ended up with excess frozen meats that I couldn't fit and just had to refrigerate to thaw and come up with some recipes to use those things up! One of those was a large package of cooked, shredded chicken from a whole bird I’d simmered last month.

I used half of it to make this stew and the rest I used to make my Shortcut Chicken and Dumplings.

 

This Chicken Burrito Bowl is packed with seasoned chicken, Mexican rice, black beans, corn, pico, avocado, jalapenos, shredded cheese and topped with fresh cilantro, lime wedges and a creamy homemade dressing. It's a quick, customizable weeknight dinner everyone will love.

Chicken Burrito Bowl

There’s something so satisfying about a good burrito bowl. It has all the flavors you love, layered up in one big, beautiful dish you can customize to your heart’s content. This Chicken Burrito Bowl is one of those recipes that checks every box: easy to make ahead, quick to prep and full of color and texture.

The base starts with fluffy Mexican yellow rice, which brings instant flavor without any extra work. Make your own from scratch or pick up a mix.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips, get a simple but bold seasoning from a packet of taco seasonings or your own homemade version and a quick sear in a hot skillet. It’s the kind of easy weeknight technique that still gives you those caramelized, flavorful edges.

A cozy, clean-out-the-fridge bake that layers your holiday leftovers into one comforting casserole finished with gravy and a crunchy topping. Serve with cranberry sauce on the side for the perfect follow-up feast.

Holiday Leftovers Casserole

I love sandwiches from my leftover turkey or ham and that's usually the first thing out of the gate.

That's very closely followed by a soup or gumbo made from the turkey bones or any number of things made from a ham bone and leftover ham, but honestly?

While there are many ways to repurpose holiday leftovers (tap that link to find my favorites), one of my favorite all-in-one ways is to turn what's left into a casserole!

Dad’s skillet dressing starts with classic cornbread dressing ingredients, with layers of flavor built the way Cajun cooks do best: bold seasoning, tender chicken, and a skillet that never left the stovetop. Moist, savory, and full of family memories, this dressing carries the spirit of his kitchen straight to the table.

Dad's Cajun Skillet Chicken and Cornbread Dressing

In the season of classic dressing recipes, there are so many different ways out there to make this coveted dish, but I thought I would share one with you that you likely haven't seen before or even ever thought of!

My in-laws are gone now, but when Dad wasn't traveling with the oil business, which he did a lot to all sort of places I'll never see, he did a lot of the cooking at home. He actually enjoyed it, but I think it was something that he naturally picked up as a kid growing up with folks from Cajun Country.

I'm sure my mother-in-law didn't mind one bit. Wish my husband had picked up on that!

English Muffin Chicken Melts - Dolly's Chicken Feed

Chicken breast, folded into a creamy blend of mayonnaise, butter, cheese and savory seasonings, spooned open-faced onto lightly toasted English muffins and passed under the broiler until golden and bubbly.

English Muffin Chicken Melts

Last year, Dolly Parton, together with her sister Rachel, published a cookbook called Good Lookin' Cookin' (#ad) and y'all know, with a name like that, I had to grab me one!

On page 23, there was a recipe for an open-faced sandwich that they called "Chicken Feed," a recipe they had received from a friend years ago and one that had become a family favorite ever since.

Patsy's Cheesy Chicken Salad

A chicken salad mixed with shredded lettuce, sliced green onion, chopped tomato, shredded cheese, chopped pecan and dressed with mayonnaise, pictured stuffed in a toasted pita.

Patsy's Cheesy Chicken Salad

I love a good chicken salad recipe and occasionally I enjoy adding lettuce and tomato to my chicken salad sandwiches, but it had never occurred to me to include them in my chicken salad!

Enter me browsing through some of my old cookbooks and seeing this recipe in the cookbook Bless Your Heart: Saving the World One Covered Dish at a Time (#ad), and y'all, it also adds in the unusual ingredient of shredded cheese, so I knew I needed to give it a try!

A pasta salad made with farfalle bowtie pasta and cooked chicken, tossed with ranch dressing, bacon, grape tomatoes and baby spinach.

BLT Bowtie Chicken Pasta Salad

Good gracious the heat!

As I publish this here in July we've been under an extreme heat warning, not just the average heat warning, for days. I'm intensely thankful for air conditioning these days, and frankly the ability to pay for it cuz y'all... it ain't cheap for sure!

How's that heat going for the meal planning here lately?

Grillo's Dill Pickle Chicken Salad

A chicken salad made with cooked chicken, celery, green onion, cold processed refrigerated dill pickles (like Grillo's) and dressed with a quality mayonnaise.

Grillo's Dill Pickle Chicken Salad

I love a good chicken salad, and my standby is still the one I lean on the most. It's a good solid deli-style chicken salad and I love it.

Since entering this food blogging experience many, many years back though, I've tried a bunch of different ones, so when I saw Elizabeth Heiskell making this one on social, I got a little curious.

Now. Pickles are a thing I do love in my chicken salad, but I use relish or pickle cubes usually and most often I lean toward a sweet relish.

Skillet Angel Chicken - My Way

My variation of the viral Angel Chicken recipe, made with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, wrapped in seasoned bacon, and finished on the stovetop in a sauce made of chicken stock, cream soup, cream cheese, butter and dry Italian dressing mix.

Skillet Angel Chicken

I'm sure by now you've seen some version of this Angel Chicken recipe, because it's literally all over the internet. It's usually made in a slow cooker, but if you've been around here any length of time you know I'm not a huge user of that appliance in general.

Oh, I like it just fine, especially for those tougher cuts of meat that need a longer cook time. It's not my favorite mostly because it involves advanced planning which I'm not that great at doing! Still, readers here enjoy using a slow cooker, so I've shared a few recipes here and there.

Chicken breasts in the slow cooker though? Those are my least favorite protein to cook in one.

Chicken thighs, seasoned and seared, then slow simmered in a rich, dark roux with the trinity, potatoes and boiled eggs.

Cajun Chicken Stew with Potatoes and Egg

A chicken stew made with the trinity and a roux is pretty common in Cajun country, whether it's with or without the addition of potatoes or boiled eggs.

Adding either of those to a stew or gumbo was common, potatoes to make a stew fill more bellies and boiled eggs to extend the protein because, at least at one time, eggs were a pretty inexpensive source of protein that would substitute for a lack of meat.

Economics aside, it's still a tradition in many families!

Chicken wings, lightly dusted with seasoned salt, pepper and paprika, brushed with a spicy honey teriyaki marinade and baked.

Spicy Honey Teriyaki Barbecue Wings

The Cajun and I eat wings often and not just because there's a football game or party going on, although both of those times are common for sure! Our local Winn Dixie even has a great wing bar and we've visited that for a bucket of wings a few times.

As to my own recipes, you'll sometimes see that when I share a recipe for wings, the whole wing is in play and I've not separated my wings into drums and flats at all. I mean, it's just the two of us most of the time and frankly that's just another step.

A slow-stewed whole chicken finished with rolled buttermilk dumplings.

Chicken with Rolled Buttermilk Dumplings

I love chicken and dumplings but you know what? Although drop dumplings are and will always be my favorite, I'm not particularly married to chicken and dumplings done one way and one way only.

I'm just too adventurous for that!

There are so many different methods and even types of dumplings out there and I like trying them all. Hey, life is short, right?

One thing is for certain. A big bowl of stewed chicken with dumplings is comfort food 101.

A whole chicken, cut up, seasoned simply and baked uncovered.

Classic Baked Chicken

I actually do have a few, but one of my top favorite kitchen aromas is of a roasting turkey or chicken.

Not only is it a great statement of a delicious meal on the way, it really invokes a lot of memories for me. Growing up, the holidays and the meals surrounding them, were a very important part of my life. I sure do miss those days.

Poached chicken breasts, highly seasoned, shredded and stuffed into warmed soft tortillas and dressed with red onion, pico de gallo, cilantro and avocado, or your favorite classic toppings, finished with a squeeze of lime.

Shredded Chicken Soft Tacos - Tacos de Pollo

My husband, aka The Cajun, is pretty set in his taco consumption and not very willing to branch out.

Seasoned ground beef on crunchy taco shells and dressed with a little bit of tomato and lettuce and lots of cheese. That's it.

Me, I'm open to pretty much any variation out there. Shredded beef. Ground turkey. Ground chicken. Shredded chicken. Shrimp. Fish. Steak. Pork. Even potatoes and eggs. I love them all!

A whole cut up chicken, soaked in a seasoned buttermilk and mustard marinade, then dredged in a seasoned flour, deep fried and finished in the oven. Pictured here with roasted potatoes and black-eyed peas.

Buttermilk Mustard Fried Chicken

Like many Southerners, I love fried chicken, especially when it's prepared well. Although pretty rewarding in the end, it is a little messy frying it at home though and frankly takes practice,  meaning you need to keep making it often to perfect the processes!

You know. Like Grandma did.

For those reasons, lots of folks satisfy those occasional fried chicken cravings with take out these days and while really great fried chicken can be found at sit down restaurants, you can also find it at locally owned gas station counters, at regional grocery store delis like Winn Dixie and Rouses in my neighborhood, at local sit down or take out buffets like Hartz, Cajun's and Broome's and fried chicken places like Popeye's and KFC.

The one problem? Have you seen the prices?

A quick skillet version of barbecue chicken made with boneless, skinless chicken breasts and shown here with my Green Bean Supreme Casserole and Fiesta Confetti Corn.

Skillet Barbecue Chicken

The inspiration for this began with the BBQ Glazed Chicken in Pioneer Woman's most recent cookbook Dinner's Ready (#ad).

As soon as I saw the picture, my mouth watered so I thought that I would try it with some boneless, skinless chicken breasts I had and my own rub.

I loved the way this turned out y'all!