Smoked Chicken Salad

I find myself eating this salad straight from the bowl. It’s THAT good. Sure, you can use plain boiled chicken for chicken salad, but why not use smoked chicken meat instead?! Throw an extra bird into the smoker and thank me later.

What You’ll Need

4 cups cooked, pulled, or diced smoked chicken (white and dark meat)
½ cup diced celery
⅓ cup finely diced red onion
3 green onions, thinly sliced
¾ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 to 2 dashes hot sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot or Tabasco), or to taste
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Labeled bowls of shredded smoked chicken, celery, red onion, mayonnaise, green onions, paprika, pepper, salt, lemon, and Tabasco.

Equipment You’ll Need

You’ll need a smoker (or the appropriate grill accessories) to make smoked chicken at home.

Instructions

smoke the chicken

If you have a smoker, here’s how to make smoked chicken yourself. No time and no desire to smoke your own chicken? No worries. You can use a rotisserie chicken here or find smoked chicken from your favorite BBQ restaurant.

Seasoned whole chicken smoking on a rack inside a red Pit Boss vertical smoker outdoors.

Take a whole chicken and rub it with oil and barbecue seasoning. Lather it up; you want it nice and seasoned. Smoke it at 250°F with apple or cherry wood chips for about 2.5 to 3.5 hours.

prep the chicken

When the chicken is done (internal temperature of 165°F), it’ll have a beautiful golden-brown color and crispy skin.

Two spatchcocked chickens with deep mahogany spice rub cooking on the metal grates of a smoker.

Letting it rest for a minute allows the juices to redistribute, so the chicken stays moist. But don’t let it sit too long. It’s much easier to pull the meat off the bones when the chicken is still hot. Leave the skin on or off, whichever you prefer. I like to trim a little skin off, but leaving some on gives it such a great flavor.

Cool and dice

Once the meat is cool enough to handle, you can dice it into small pieces.

Diced smoked chicken cooling in a large white bowl with black rim on a marble surface.

If you’re making the chicken salad right away, go ahead and put the chicken directly into a mixing bowl. You can also store the diced chicken in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

Combine the ingredients

Add the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl.

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Shredded chicken, diced celery, red onion, green onion, mayonnaise, paprika, salt, and pepper combined in a white bowl.

Start with a little hot sauce; you can always add more — but you can’t take any away!

mix the salad

Use a rubber spatula to fold everything together.

Shredded smoked chicken tossed with mayonnaise, red onion, and celery in a white bowl.

Make sure everything is well mixed and the seasonings are evenly distributed.

Taste and adjust

Add any extra seasonings if you think they’re needed. I often find that an extra squeeze of lemon juice does just the trick.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for about half an hour.

Serve cold

Serve this salad however you’d like. My family loves it on a croissant. Or you can serve with crackers or spoon into lettuce wraps. Or, like I said before, straight from the bowl. No judging here!

Creamy smoked chicken salad served on a flaky croissant with lettuce, tomatoes, and forks nearby.

Storage Instructions

You can store this in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You will want to give it a good stir before serving again.

Questions and Troubleshooting

Do I have to use smoked chicken?

The goal here is the flavor of smoked chicken, but sure, you can use a regular rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken (just know you’ll miss out on most of the smoky flavor). I wouldn’t skip the smoked paprika, though, since you’ll get some smoky flavor from it.

Can I use something other than mayo for the base of the dressing?

Sure thing. You can sub in Greek yogurt, sour cream, or mix up the ratios, too, for a tangier flavor.

Do I need to add hot sauce?

Hot sauce won’t make the salad spicy, but it does add a little acidity that elevates the salad’s flavor. If you want heat without the acid, try sriracha or cayenne pepper. If you want to omit the hot sauce altogether, you may need to add more lemon for acidity.

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