Did you eat chicken salad growing up? It was definitely something that my mom made me regularly which is why I had to make a vegan version that reminded me of my childhood. This easy vegan chicken salad recipe is crazy good and super easy to make. I know you’re going to love it!
Ingredients You Need to Make Vegan Chicken Salad:
- Celery
- Red Onion
- Prepared Vegan Chicken
- Sweet Relish
- Vegan Mayo
- Paprika
- Cayenne Pepper (optional)
- Old Bay Seasoning
How to Make Vegan Chicken Salad
To make this easy vegan chicken salad recipe you’re going to want to start by picking out the right vegan chicken. This step is so important! When I was testing this recipe I actually chose to use a new vegan chicken that I hadn’t tried before and after cooking and tasting it, I realized that it would have completely messed up the recipe if I proceeded.
Luckily I was able to quickly pick up an alternative, but you definitely want to make sure that you’re using a vegan chicken that you’re familiar with and that you enjoy. All vegan chicken is not created equal!
For this recipe I chose to use Sweet Earth chicken that is pre-packaged and already cooked so you can use it straight out of the packaging, which I really like. Alternatively, Alpha Foods has grilled vegan chicken strips that are great. They’re frozen, so they would need to be cooked, but those would work really well in this recipe too.
Once you’ve picked out the vegan chicken that you want to use you’ll start making the recipe by preparing all of your ingredients. Go ahead and dice up your celery stalks along with your red onion, and vegan chicken. Then measure out all of your ingredients such as the sweet relish, vegan mayo, paprika, cayenne pepper (if using), salt, pepper, and Old Bay seasoning.
If you’re curious about the Old Bay seasoning, don’t worry it’s not just for seafood! Old Bay has so many different uses outside of seafood so don’t be afraid to use it on other things like this vegan chicken salad recipe or even on your vegetables.
Now that all of your ingredients have been prepped all that’s left to do is simply combine everything in a large bowl. Use a spoon to stir everything together to ensure that all of the ingredients are well distributed and voila! You’re done!
How to Serve Vegan Chicken Salad
My favorite way to eat vegan chicken salad will likely always be between two pieces of bread. Back in the day I used to eat it on plain white or wheat bread along with my favorite chips as a side.
These days if I want to level up, instead of sliced bread I’ll substitute that for a vegan croissant which is always a good idea if you can find them. Alternatively, you can enjoy this vegan chicken salad as a lettuce wrap or scoop it up with your favorite crackers. If you want, you could even eat it by itself! It’s soooo good!
Can This Vegan Chicken Salad Recipe be Made Ahead?
Yes! You can totally make this vegan chicken salad recipe ahead of time if you are looking to eat it throughout the week for lunch. This recipe will keep for up to five days in an air tight container stored in the refrigerator.
Can You Freeze This Chicken Salad?
I have never frozen this chicken salad recipe because of the mayo. I’m confident that after freezing it the texture will change because of the added moisture so I would not recommend freezing.
Tips for Making the Best Vegan Chicken Salad:
- Use a good vegan chicken substitute. As I mentioned before, all vegan chicken substitutes are not created equal! Unfortunately I’ve had some pretty bad ones in my a day so I would recommend using one that you’re familiar with and have enjoyed before. If you’re new to vegan chicken a few of my favorites that would work well in this recipe would be Sweet Earth, Daring, Alpha Foods, or Gardein.
- Allow your vegan chicken salad time to set before enjoying it. You can absolutely enjoy this vegan chicken salad recipe immediately after making it but if you have time, I would recommend letting it set in the fridge for it to chill before digging in. This gives the flavors a chance to marry and really incorporate themselves into each other for the best overall taste.
Not into meat substitutes? Try my chickpea tuna salad instead! Itās just as delicious and easy to make!
If you love this recipe, be sure to try my Vegan Potato Salad recipe too!
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Easy Vegan Chicken Salad [+VIDEO]
Ingredients
- 8 oz plain cooked vegan chicken roughly chopped
- 1 1/4 tsp old bay seasoning
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Ā¼ small red onion diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 5 tbsp sweet relish
- Ā½ cup + 2 tbsp vegan mayo
- bread or crackers for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients (except for the bread) to a large bowl.8 oz plain cooked vegan chicken, 1 1/4 tsp old bay seasoning, 1/2 tsp paprika, cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, Ā¼ small red onion, 2 celery stalks, Ā½ cup + 2 tbsp vegan mayo, 5 tbsp sweet relish
- Stir to combine.
- Allow time to chill in the fridge before serving (if possible).
- Eat as a sandwich, alone, or with crackers! Enjoy!bread or crackers for serving
