15 Best Chicken Salad Recipes without Celery

So many chicken salad recipes, so little time! There are SO MANY delicious chicken salad recipes online but it can be time-consuming to sift through and find ones without celery. Yes, you can technically just omit the celery from any recipe, but we’re looking for chicken salads that were specifically created without celery so we don’t mess with the flavor profiles or crunch factor of the other ingredients. After combing through dozens of recipes, I found the 15 Best Chicken Salad Recipes without Celery so you’re bound to find your perfect match.

Chicken salad is the quintessential American lunch and summer cookout food. Cold and creamy, full of flavor and texture, chicken salad is both light yet filling and incredibly versatile! It can be eaten plain with crackers or on a bed of lettuce, wrapped into a tortilla, or scooped onto some good bread or a savory croissant.

With roots dating back to the 1800s, the traditional chicken salad recipe was made with leftover chicken, mayo, tarragon, and grapes. At some point, celery made its way into chicken salad, presumably for crunch, and it stuck. Many chicken salad recipes these days include celery as one of the main ingredients.

Yet, celery is a commonly disliked vegetable. And though it remains one of the top-selling vegetables for suppliers, many surveys show celery in the top 10 most hated vegetables by people across the globe! Take this Epicurious writer for example, who likens it to “chomping on hundreds of pieces of thread dipped in dirty rainwater that mysteriously maintain their crunch.” 😂😂😂 That is some serious hate.

If you loathe the crunchy stringy vegetable too, you might be hesitant to try even the best chicken salad recipe lest there be some small pieces of celery hiding and waiting to assault your taste buds. Luckily, you can easily make your own chicken salad at home without celery and have it ready to go in the fridge for a week of easy lunches or to take on your next picnic or beach outing. 

1. Chicken Salad Contessa

Ina Garten’s Chicken Salad Contessa is a popular recipe, even making it to The Kitchn’s #2 spot of top-rated chicken salad recipes. It’s also one of the few recipes that give you instructions on how to prepare the actual chicken rather than just listing “cooked chicken” as an ingredient. (For the record, you’ll be seasoning and roasting it for peak flavor.) Freshly toasted pecans and walnuts take this delicious chicken salad to another level.

2. Bacon Cheddar Ranch Chicken Salad

Bacon Cheddar Chicken Salad basically speaks for itself.  I mean, bacon makes everything better, wouldn’t you agree? Add in ranch and cheddar cheese and this rich and creamy chicken salad makes for an utterly irresistible low carb lunch scooped into lettuce leaves or, as suggested, a sweet red tomato.

3. Pimento Cheese Chicken Salad on Honey Butter Biscuits

For a sweet and savory chicken salad, this Pimento Cheese Chicken Salad on Honey Butter Biscuits is an absolute show-stopper! Forget your average pimento cheese spread. This chicken salad packs in all the savory flavors with grated white cheddar, pimentos, bacon, and garlic.

And though it’s incredible on its own, this anything but simple chicken salad recipe is placed atop peppery arugula on a fresh-made honey butter biscuit and finished with bread and butter pickles. It’s a flavor explosion, and dare I say, the BEST chicken salad sandwich you’ll ever have.

4. Jalapeño Popper Chicken Salad

Jalapeno Popper chicken salad is as addicting as its namesake appetizer. This Whole30 recipe uses crispy bacon, spicy raw jalapenos, green onions, and mayo but skips the cream cheese and cheddar cheese for a healthier take on traditional jalapeno poppers.

5. Goddess Curry Chicken Salad

Another great recipe that is packed with awesome flavors! Curry spiced and seared chicken breasts are diced and mixed with sweet raisins, crunchy salty pistachios, fresh herbs, and a Greek yogurt-based dressing.

Serve on an everything bagel as suggested and you’ve got yourself one heck of a chicken salad sandwich recipe with no celery in sight!

6. Easy Basic Chicken Salad Recipe without Celery

This Easy Basic Chicken Salad Recipe without Celery uses some traditional southern-style chicken salad ingredients like dijon mustard, sweet pickle relish, and onion, but skips eggs and the offending celery. With only a few simple ingredients, it’s perfect for using up leftover rotisserie chicken to make a quick and easy lunch.

7. Chicken Fruit Salad (Lettuce Wraps)

For something a little different, try this intriguing Chicken Fruit Salad. Strawberries, mango, avocado, toasted coconut, and macadamia nuts with a poppyseed dressing give ALL the tropical vacation vibes.

Nestled into some delicate lettuce leaves and served with plantain chips, you’ll want to eat these chicken fruit salad wraps basking in the warm summer sun, pretending you’re in a poolside cabana. Piña Colada anyone?

8. Creamy Dill Chicken Salad with Nuts and Cranberries

A delicious and creamy chicken salad without celery, but instead packed with nuts, cranberries, and a surprise ingredient – feta! Tossed in a zesty dill, basil, and garlic sauce, it’s a fabulous recipe for putting on top of a green salad or simply serving with some crackers. 

9. Fruit and Nut Chicken Salad

With just a touch of creaminess, this fruity, nutty chicken salad is full of flavor and crunch from simple, fresh ingredients. Tart green apples, sweet red grapes, and buttery pecans are mixed with only ½ cup mayonnaise, for a light and healthy lunch that is Whole30, Paleo, and Gluten-Free!

10. Chicken Salad with Apples

The real star of the show in this homemade chicken salad recipe is the full 1.5 cups of crunchy sweet apples!  The sweetness is well balanced by tart cranberries, sharp red onion, and a little vinegar in the salad dressing. A truly delicious salad perfect on some flaky, buttery croissants.

11. Chicken and Egg Salad

This easy chicken salad recipe has only 4 ingredients (and two optional add-ins) making it the most basic on our list, but certainly not the least flavorful!! Actually, quite the opposite.

It’s a chicken salad – egg salad hybrid that’s pleasantly joined in harmony by the warm and toasty flavors of curry powder. Because of its more delicate texture, this particular chicken salad recipe makes a great chicken salad sandwich.

12. Avocado Chicken Egg Salad with Creamy Lemon Dill Dressing

Fully loaded with chicken, egg, avocado, bacon, and corn, then coated in a delightful lemon dill dressing, this hearty chicken salad easily stands on its own. But with ingredients reminiscent of a cobb salad, it’s also perfect to put atop a bowl of chopped romaine. No matter how you choose to eat this one, know that every bite delivers a variety of flavors, making this chicken salad sans celery utterly irresistible.

13. Mediterranean Chicken Salad

For a different flavor profile than many other chicken salads, try this delectable Mediterranean Chicken Salad. Bright lemon, sundried tomatoes, and salty feta and olives are the key players that give new meaning to standard chicken salad. This one is especially good served on pita bread or with toasted pita chips.

14. No Mayo, Low-Fat Mediterranean Chicken Salad

Following the Mediterranean lead, we included a chicken salad that has no celery AND no mayo for a dairy-free, low-fat option.

By omitting a cream dressing, this may not be considered a classic chicken salad recipe, but it’s fantastic nonetheless. With large chunks of cooked chicken, olives, capers, and quick pickled red onions, the delightfully vinegary profile of this chicken salad is incredible over pasta!

15. Zesty Chicken Salad with Celery Seed

And if you don’t like actual celery, but don’t mind the flavor in the form of celery salt or celery seed, we picked this lovely, zesty chicken salad to finish off our list. Two non-traditional ingredients – celery seed and lemon zest – give this chicken salad a vibrant twist and complement the cranberries and apples perfectly. 

Who Needs Celery?

Despite what some may think, crunchy celery is NOT a requirement for delicious chicken salad. Sweet fruits, toasty nuts, and crunchy vegetables not only provide texture but also offer an abundance of flavor combinations to satisfy any palate. Whether you prefer your chicken salad crunchy or smooth, fruity or savory, there’s an option (or two) for you in this list of the 15 Best Chicken Salad Recipes without Celery.