This is not your average chicken salad! Hot Chicken Salad with Potato Chips is served warm, with crackers for scooping it up. It’s topped with melted cheddar and crushed potato chips for lots of crunch!
Chicken salad is a party favorite. Chicken Salad with Grapes is one of my go-tos for a spring or summer lunch.
But this Hot Chicken Salad with Potato Chips takes it up another level!
The recipe is from an old church cookbook, and it’s perfect for parties, gatherings with friends, or cozy evenings at home.
What is hot chicken salad?
Hot Chicken Salad is chicken salad that is topped with cheese and crunchy toppings, and baked until warm.
Think of it as a chicken salad casserole, or a baked chicken salad.
This recipe in particular is packed with chicken and celery, which are two classic chicken salad ingredients. It also includes hard boiled eggs, chopped pecans for crunch, and the two show-stopping toppings: shredded cheddar and crushed potato chips.
The dip is baked in the oven, and it emerges bubbling and gooey, ready for scooping up.
I love it with an assortment of crackers, with baby carrots and celery sticks for dipping, or even just by itself with a salad on the side.
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Ingredients
- Chopped cooked chicken is the star of this dish. I used pre-cooked chicken from my local Costco, which I chopped into half inch pieces.
- Celery and pecans add lots of crunch.
- Hard boiled eggs are a fun surprise ingredient. Everyone loves when these are included!
- Mayonnaise holds it all together. You can use regular or light.
- Shredded cheddar melts and gets gooey on top—yum!
- Crushed potato chips are an unexpected addition to the top. They add the perfect amount of crunch!
How to make hot chicken salad
Start by hard boiling the eggs. I like this tutorial on how to hard boil eggs for an easy method.
Then, chop the cooked chicken into half inch pieces. I used pre-cooked grilled chicken strips from Costco. Tyson also sells these at regular grocery stores.
You could also use rotisserie chicken, leftover plain chicken, or just cook it from raw in the oven, on the stovetop, or on the grill. Either chicken breast or chicken thighs (boneless and skinless) work, or a mix of both.
Next, crush the potato chips. I put a large handful of chips into a plastic sandwich bag, seal it, and then crush the chips with my hands. It’s easy and doesn’t make a mess.
Then, combine the chicken, celery, onion, hard boiled eggs, lemon juice, salt, and pecans in a large bowl. Stir gently to combine.
Add the mayonnaise, and stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into a greased 13×9 inch dish. Spread it evenly so it covers the bottom. You could even use a slightly smaller, decorative casserole dish for this—mine is 11.5×9 inches.
Sprinkle the shredded cheddar on top, followed by the crushed potato chips.
Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and warm. Serve the Hot Chicken Salad with Potato Chips while it’s still warm, with crackers for scooping.
Hot Chicken Salad: Frequently Asked Questions
Use potato chips that you like! I used kettle cooked potato chips, just a regular variety. I think jalapeño chips or cheese flavored chips would be good, too!
Cut a croissant in half and spoon the hot chicken salad in the middle. Top with lettuce and tomato, and serve. It would also be good on baguette or thick slices of toast.
This recipe doesn’t have any gluten-containing ingredients (but check the labels of any packaged items just to be sure!). Serve it with gluten-free crackers to enjoy it without any gluten.
To make it dairy-free, use a dairy-free cheese for the top. The rest of the ingredients don’t contain dairy, but check the label of anything packaged just in case.
Add spice by stirring one-quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper before baking. It’ll give it a nice spicy kick!
Make it ahead
Hot Chicken Salad can be made up to 24 hours in advance.
Prepare the recipe as directed, but leave off the potato chips. Wrap the casserole tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
About an hour before you’d like to serve it, remove the chicken salad from the refrigerator and let it stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Top it with the crushed potato chips, and bake as directed.
Reheating instructions
Leftover chicken salad can be kept in the refrigerator. To reheat, place the casserole dish back in the oven for 15–20 minutes, or until hot throughout.
The potato chips will not be as crunchy, however. To remedy this, add more potato chips before reheating it in the oven.
How to customize the recipe
As with many savory recipes, this one is easy to customize and/or tweak for your preferences and what you have on hand. Here are a few ideas to get started:
– Use leftover cooked chicken, a rotisserie chicken, or pre-grilled chicken strips for the chicken. Really any chicken with a simple seasoning or no seasoning works well.
– Use light mayonnaise instead of regular mayonnaise.
– Sprinkle shredded monterey jack, or your favorite type of shredded cheese, on the top.
– Substitute flavored potato chips in place of regular potato chips. If you like spice, try jalapeño flavored chips on top!
– Don’t like pecans? Leave them out, or substitute walnuts instead.
– In a rush? Skip the hard boiled eggs. That’s the step that takes the most time, aside from the 25–30 minutes of baking time.
More party appetizers
Hot Chicken Salad with Potato Chips really is perfect for a party. Put an assortment of crackers next to it, and let your guests scoop it up!
If you’re serving it for a luncheon or meal, serve it with croissants and/or thick slices of toast for sandwiching the chicken salad between. A big green salad or a platter of veggies with dip are both great choices for a side dish.
Hot Chicken Salad can also be served as a main dish, similar to this Easy Dorito Chicken Casserole.
If an appetizer buffet is what you’re after, Stuffed Potato Skins, Bacon Wrapped Dates soaked in Brandy, and a Simple Cheese Board are a few of my go-to recipes that I know everyone will gobble up.
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or comment below!
📖 Recipe
Hot Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chicken, chopped
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 cups diced celery (about 6–7 stalks)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- ½ small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1⅓ cups mayonnaise
- 1 cup crushed potato chips
- 1 cup grated cheddar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken, pecans, celery, salt, hard boiled eggs, onion, and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Gently mix in the mayonnaise.
- Grease a 13×9 inch pan with cooking spray. Pour the chicken mixture into the pan and spread it out evenly. Top evenly with the cheddar, then with the crushed potato chips.
- Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling. Serve immediately on its own, or with crackers and veggies for dipping.
Amy says
Sounds really good I will be making this
Kate Shungu says
Thanks, Amy! Hope you enjoy it!