Chicken Salad Contessa

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I thought I was addicted to Junior's Chicken Salad (from Junior's Deli in Brooklyn but now I have fallen for Ina's. And Ina is right - you get more flavor from the chicken if you roast skin on, bone in chicken breasts. I love the walnut halves and grapes in this salad. Thanks to all the helpful tips here, I salt & peppered as I went along and according to taste. I also added a bit of diced celery. I like a bit of fresh lemon juice in my dressing so I tossed in a bit of that as well. This is wonderful on lettuce and I even used it in a sandwich with toasted pumpernickel/rye swirl bread. I used dried tarragon (didn't have any fresh and only used a pinch. I used those beautiful round red grapes that aren't overly sweet. Thanks, Ina - you are one smart cookie!

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I should ALWAYS check the comments on the food network before trying a recipe out. There are mistakes - I should know this by now. I did not check and I made his chicken salad only to have the same salt issue as many other people. The salt is waaayyyyyy too much and ruined my dinner. Was so dissapointed, but can only blame myself. I know not to trust food network anymore. Salt to taste and that is only after I read reviews! As to the comment from Jan from Dallas who says people should have used kosher salt not table salt, that does not help. I always use kosher salt and did this time as well - still feel it was way too salty! I imagine the salad is delicious if using less salt.

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sometimes it's just a matter of not understanding the difference behind salts -- rather than getting all irate about it -- let's keep the emotion out and just speak from a factual basis. in order to educate those that may not be away as opposed to those who think everyone knows the difference in salts -- i've taken a quote from a google web site. The final sentence sums it up and what is important for all to know is that ALL salts are NOT created equally.

"Table salt is mined from underground salt deposits, and includes a small portion of calcium silicate, an anti-caking agent added to prevent clumping. It possesses very fine crystals and a sharp taste. Because of its fine grain a single teaspoon of table salt contains more salt than a tablespoon of kosher or sea salt."


For all that watch her, you know Ina uses a lot of salt (kosher mostly BUT she will always say 'to taste!' so folks -- a great recipe for one person may NOT be the greatest for another. I love a 'ton' of salt on my baked potato for some reason, but am not fond of salty food otherwise. other people may really dislilke salt on a potato.

this is part of the joy of cooking. don't overdo initially as it's easier to add vs subtract and let's be more generous to all out there who are trying.

so rather than get upset at each other and than others getting upset back -- let's all just take a step back and try to help educate each other.

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Jan, my headline does not say it all. What is the point in being so nasty. For one thing, FN makes a lot of mistakes in the recipes they post so it should not be offensive to us if someone once again points that out. WHY could you not be respectful and simply state Ina uses kosher salt. We really reveal a lot about ourselves through these reviews and I think your rudeness was unwarranted.

This recipe is good but even Ina has better ones.

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My headline says it all.

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Definitely use Kosher salt when making this chicken salad. I added raisins and water chestnuts and served with grilled and buttered pita bread. A huge hit at my luncheon! Ina is the greatest!

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I really respect Ina Garten and have always loved her recipes and her show, but this chicken salad is so salty, I was not able to eat it. It says to "generously" salt the chicken before roasting it in the over; then add two (2 tsp. salt to the chicken salad! I trusted her judgement because I am not a chef. I made this a day in advance for a party to save time and was so disappointed that I had to buy all of the ingredients over again to make it a second time. It wasted both time and money. I am more upset that Foodnetwork has not corrected the ingredient (salt since this recipe has been out since 2007 and many of the reviews are about the salt being too much. The rest of the recipe is wonderful. Just eliminate the salt.

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Slightly different, and really tasty. This method in preparing the chicken is the only way to do it for all chicken salad dishes...so moist. A note about the salt-first it's CRUCIAL to use Kosher Salt as Ina does. Second, I typically like salt more than most people and agree that 2 tsp is too much. I halved it, and it was perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch today! Thanks, Ina.

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The only changes I made were less salt (1/4 tspn kosher salt and red grapes instead of green. I also used pecan and walnut chips instead of halves. I thought it would be too chunky if I used halves. I am not a real big chicken salad fan but thought I would make some for my husband. I HATE onions, so I searched all over for a recipe that sounded good without onions. Ithought this chicken salad was wonderful and will make it again for sure! The recipe says that it only yields 2 servings but I would say that it makes closer to 4 to 6 servings (depending in the size of your sandwich if thats \how you choose to eat it.

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love the base of this recipe. add green apples(in a fine dice and you'll love it too. for the naysayers of being overwhelmed by salt, why on earth would you not salt to taste. this is not a cake recipe. use your heads. also full fat mayo and sour cream are essential, i wish it were not true, but alas....