Hot Chicken Salad
This creamy Hot Chicken Salad can be served as a dip or on warm slider rolls. Topped with a sharp cheddar cheese for a pop of flavor and and crushed potato chips for crunch, it’s a satisfying choice regardless of how it’s served.
Easy Hot Chicken Salad Recipe
Dishes like this baked Hot Chicken Salad have been rotating through Southern kitchens for ages. In fact, I’ve seen this warm chicken salad served at baby showers, wedding showers, church and family events. It’s comparable to a gooey chicken salad sandwich melt. It’s also a delicious dish to have around on those days your family is in the mood to graze. It can be served on rolls with lettuce as a slider, dipped with your favorite assortment of crackers or vegetables or with toasted garlic bread rounds. Warm or cold my family enjoys chicken salad for between meal snacking and I often have either my Southern style chicken salad or cranberry almond chicken salad ready for anytime snacking and quick meals.
How to Make the Best Hot Chicken Salad Recipe
- Ingredients you’ll need to make homemade Hot Chicken Salad: Chopped rotisserie chicken, diced celery, green onions, diced pimentos, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, garlic powder, black pepper, seasoned salt, lemon pepper, onion powder, olive oil, toasted almonds and crushed potato chips for the topping.
- Kitchen gadgets you’ll need: A mixing bowl, a sheet pan to toast the almonds, a skillet cook the celery and green onions, measuring cups and spoons, a cheese grater, sharp knife and cutting board and a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
- For the topping, there’s plenty of room here to have fun with the flavor of the chips you use. I seem to use a different flavor of potato chips each time I make this hot chicken salad.
- You can use sour cream and onion, ranch, cheddar, sour cream and beyond. Typically, whatever chips I have handy in my pantry and need to use the crumbs at the bottom of the bag.
- Add a kick to this dish with the addition of pepper jack cheese and a can of diced green chiles.
- You can assemble this dish one day in advance, cover and chill in the refrigerator. It’s ready to go into the oven just before serving.
- Serve this chicken salad as a dip with crackers, chips and crostini or warm slider rolls or hoagie rolls for a satisfying meal.
- Store leftover Hot Chicken Salad chilled in the refrigerator or up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
More Southern Style Chicken Salad Recipes to Make
Whether you’re looking for an easy make ahead entree or a delicious side dish, I’ve got you covered! More chicken salad recipes you may also like to make:
- Curried Chicken Salad will bring the heat to the dinner table.
- Southern Style Chicken Salad recipe is my go-to recipe to make.
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad can be served as a side dish or an entree.
- Waldorf Chicken Salad is a fusion of two classics.
- You may also like this recipe for Grilled Chicken Salad recipe from Crunchy Creamy Sweet.
Thanks for visiting come back soon!
Disclosure ~ If a purchase is made using one of the affiliate links on this website we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
Helpful Kitchen Items:
Hot Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds toasted
- 1/3 cup diced celery
- 3 green onion thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups roughly chopped rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 4 oz jar diced pimento drained
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
- 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup crushed potato chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spritz a 1 1/2 quart baking dish lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Spread almonds on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes or until fragrant.
- On the stove top, saute the celery and onion in a couple of drizzles of olive oil in a large skillet. Saute on medium-high for 3 minutes or until softened and beginning to brown.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together cooked celery and onion, chicken, mayonnaise, sour cream, pimento, 1 cup cheese, garlic powder, seasoned salt, lemon pepper and black pepper. Spread into baking dish.
- Sprinkle the top with reserved cheese and crushed potato chips.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly.
- Serve warm with crackers, pita chips, toasted garlic bread rounds or vegetables for dipping.
Nutrition
This sounds so good! I love the addition of chips!! Yum!
Thanks Nikki, they add a nice little crunch to the topping.
Thank you for the nice recipe. Have a great weekend.
Same to you, Liz!
Sounds great! How much onion and celery did you use, it’s not listed in the ingredients list,
Hi Diane thanks for the heads-up I’ve corrected it. 3 green onion thinly sliced, 1/3 cup diced celery plus 2 Tbsp oil or butter.