Chicken Waldorf Salad – Perfect for A Picnic

Chicken Waldorf Salad is a light modern twist on a classic.  Fresh chicken is tossed with crisp celery, apples, grapes and crunchy walnuts and drizzled with a lemony yogurt dressing for the perfect summer picnic salad.

This post may contain affiliate links to products I adore and trust in my kitchen.  Thank you for supporting Cooking In Stilettos.

 

Today’s recipe is one that you are going to love  – a lighter take on a classic with Chicken Waldorf Salad.

 

So – being that it’s June,  it’s time for a Blogger C.L.U.E. reveal!

 

 

For this month’s Blogger C.L.U.E., we were challenged to find recipes “perfect for a picnic” and I had to give some thought to the best recipe to spotlight from my blog for June – A Spoonful of Thyme.  A Spoonful of Thyme has some great recipes – just take a look at this recipe index!  Kathy is a beyond accomplished cook with a heck of a culinary skillset.  However, the minute my eyes landed on this Chicken Waldorf Salad, my picnic choice had been found.

 

When I was younger, I remember my mother often taking me to visit my grandmother at Steiger’s Tea Room in downtown Springfield during the summer.  One of the main memories of those lunches at the Tea Room was the Waldorf Salad that my mother often ordered.  She also sometimes had this fresh fruit salad with marshmallow creme dressing but it’s the Waldorf Salad that really brought that memory home.  There is something so nostalgic about this classic dish.   Granted – my memories aren’t technically picnic-y but I have to confess – I didn’t often have picnics – stilettos and grass aren’t mixy things.  I am, however, a firm believer in dining al fresco if that counts.

 

This Chicken Waldorf Salad is so easy but the flavor payoff is huge!  I baked some chicken using the method I use for lemon chicken – just minus the marinade and using a little bit of butter to steam/poach the chicken.   I used some of that chicken for this recipe and it was scrumptious – moist and flavorful and the flavors married well with the other ingredients.  I went with a lemony yogurt dressing as I wanted to cut down the mayo factor, per Kathy’s suggestion and it was perfect.  I doubled her recipe and this Chicken Waldorf Salad was perfect for dining al fresco, served on some spicy arugula and any leftovers were fabulous the next day.

 

Fresh, flavorful with a bit of a crunch – this Chicken Waldorf Salad is perfect for a picnic!

 

On to the recipe:

 

Gather your ingredients

 

 

Everything chopped and ready

 

 

Let’s whisk together this lemony yogurt dressing.

 

 

Look at this lovely

 

 

Let’s enjoy this on the patio shall we?

 

Print

 

Many thanks to Kate for sharing such a fabulous recipe and bringing me right down memory lane.  This salad will be on the table often this summer!

 

Let’s see what the other Blogger C.L.U.E. peeps are bringing to the picnic!

 

• • (Almost) Nancy’s Chopped Salad w/ Oregano Vinaigrette by Heather from girlichef

 

• • Apple Chips by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook

 

• • Barbecue Chicken Salad w/ Smoky Barbecue Vinaigrette by Kate from Kate’s Kitchen

 

• • California Quinoa Greek Salad;by Christiane from Taking on Magazines

 

• • Carrot Cake Cookies by Kathy from Bakeaway with Me

 

• • Chicken Salad w/ Peanut Dressing by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch

 

• • Chicken Waldorf Salad by Aly from Cooking in Stilettos

 

• • Duck with Pear Wraps + Limeade with Chia Seeds by Kelli from Kelli’s Kitchen

 

• • Fried Apple Pies by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake

 

• • Green Bean & Corn Salad by Alice from A Mama, Baby and Shar-pei in the Kitchen

 

• • Loaded Baked Potato Salad by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch

 

• • Oatmeal Peanut Butter Date Cookies by Rebekah from Making Miracles

 

• • Olive Sables by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet

 

• • Puff Pastry Antipasto Squares by Anna from annaDishes

 

• • Smoky Pimento Cheese Spread by Debra from Eliot’s Eats

 

• • Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Baked Beans + Chickenburger Roll-in-a-Basket by Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme

 

• • Thomas Keller’s Chocolate Chip Cookies by Kim from Liv Life

 

• • Tuscan Bean Salad by Stacy from Food Lust People Love

 

• • Watermelon Feta Salad by Jean from Lemons and Anchovies

 

• • White Bean, Bacon and Rosemary Salad by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm

 

My favorite finds for this recipe: