Hot Chicken Salad

A retro appetizer recipe made with chicken, almonds, cheese and celery topped with crushed potato chips served hot with crackers or served as a casserole.

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Have you noticed what a comeback retro recipes are making these days? Especially appetizer recipes. I think food bloggers might have something to do with it, actually.

We all dig into our family recipes, many of which our mamas made. And at my age, that puts a big chunk of my mother’s recipe collection slap-dab in the 70’s.

I was thinking about this last week and started flipping through my mental recipe box of other forgotten favorites and remembered this one!

I don’t know if this is a Southern thing or if everyone made it but it was huge in the 60’s and 70’s around here. It was a hit at potlucks, bridal showers, church dinners and cocktail parties. I’d love to get feedback from y’all on that. If you’re familiar with this dish, comment below and let me know where you’re from!

I made this today and took it over to Mama and Daddy’s to snack on before we had Sunday dinner. I figured they would remember this but both of them just blinked at me when I told them what it was. They’d either never had it or just didn't remember it.

I spooned some on some crackers and set a plate out for them to sample. And my daddy really took a liking to it. I can always tell when Daddy really likes something because he’ll keep popping his head back in the kitchen to get more. Like he did with the Goat Cheese with Honey, Dried Fruit & Nuts until he finally told me to put it somewhere he couldn't find it before he hurt himself.

He’s a hard sell. It’s got to be something really special for him to keep coming back for more so when he made his third trip back to the kitchen I knew I had a good recipe!

I've seen it called Hot Chicken Salad Casserole too. And honestly, I bet if you added some pasta to it or served it over rice, it would make a great casserole!

I knew this had chicken, celery, cheese and slivered almonds in it and had mostly seen it topped with crushed potato chips so that’s how I made mine (though I think I've seen it with crushed cornflakes and crushed crackers too). The rest I just kept messing around with until I thought it tasted good. And according to Daddy, I must have hit the nail on the head because he, for one, sure did enjoy it!

NOTES ABOUT MAKING HOT CHICKEN SALAD

• You can use a rotisserie chicken or even canned chicken in this.
• TIP: When I need cooked chicken for recipes like this I always cook the chicken this way: Place the breasts in a medium saucepan, add just enough water to cover the chicken and 1 teaspoon salt. Heat on medium heat until simmering then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from water and let rest at least 20 minutes before cutting.
• You can use whichever cheese or combination of cheese you prefer.
• 8 oz of cheese yeilds about 2 cups shredded. As with all hot recipes, I recommend shredding your own cheese since the preshredded cheese is coated with anti-clumping agents which usually make finished dishes a little dry.
• Serve with any crackers (rye toast points, pita crisps, etc.). I used Triscuits in these photos but they're really not my favorite with this. My favorite is simple butter crackers like Ritz or Toll House.

Recipe for Hot Chicken Salad Casserole

Hot Chicken Salad

Yield: 10-15 Servings

Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

A retro appetizer recipe made with chicken, almonds, cheese and celery topped with crushed potato chips served hot with crackers or served as a casserole.

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 8 oz. cheddar or swiss cheese cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 cups crushed potato chips

Instructions

1. Add chicken, celery, almonds and cheese to a large bowl then stir to combine; set aside.
2. Combine mayo, sour cream, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder in a small bowl then mix well. If you’d like yours to be extra creamy add a heaping tablespoon more mayo and sour cream. Add mayo mixture to chicken mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
3. Lightly spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray then spoon chicken mixture evenly into dish. Top with crushed potato chips then bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.
4. Serve warm with crackers.

Notes

• You can use a rotisserie chicken or even canned chicken in this.
• TIP: When I need cooked chicken for recipes like this I always cook the chicken this way: Place the breasts in a medium saucepan, add just enough water to cover the chicken and 1 teaspoon salt. Heat on medium heat until simmering then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from water and let rest at least 20 minutes before cutting.
• You can use whichever cheese or combination of cheese you prefer.
• 8 oz of cheese yields about 2 cups shredded. As with all hot recipes, I recommend shredding your own cheese since the preshredded cheese is coated with anti-clumping agents which usually make finished dishes a little dry.
• Serve with any crackers (rye toast points, pita crisps, etc.). I used Triscuits in these photos but they're really not my favorite with this. My favorite is simple butter crackers like Ritz or Toll House.

https://www.southyourmouth.com/2014/10/hot-chicken-salad.html

Images and text © South Your Mouth LLC 2014

chicken, salad, retro, hot, dip, appetizer, casserole, recipe, easy, classic, potato chips, old school, how to

appetizer, casserole

american

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