I’m trying to do more food prep on weekends for busy weekdays. Breakfasts are relatively easy; I make a batch of muffins and freeze the extras for future weeks, or make overnight oats or chia seed pudding in individual jars. For dinner, I tend to make something in my slow cooker and/or pressure cooker and then buy ingredients for short weeknight-friendly meals for the rest of the week. But lunch can be a bit of a challenge. We make salads from time to time, but I wanted to branch out a bit and make something we could add to a sandwich – shredded chicken salad.
I made this from scratch using my Pressure Cooker, but you could also use shredded rotisserie chicken.
Ingredients (makes 4 servings):
Chicken:
- 3 pound whole chicken
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Chicken Salad:
- if not making your own chicken: 1 (3 lb) rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- the juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 cup red grapes, quartered
- 3 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
If making the chicken in your pressure cooker, before you do anything, be sure that the chicken actually fits in your pressure cooker. A 3 pound chicken and fit just fine in my Cosori Premium 6qt pressure cooker.
Pat dry your chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth to your pressure cooker and then add the chicken.
Cover and lock the pressure cooker. Press the Poultry button and adjust the time to 18 minutes for a 3 pound chicken. Make sure the steam valve is closed and press On/Start.
Once the unit has reached optimal cooking pressure (~5 minutes), it will beep once and start counting down. You’ll notice that the pressure release valve (red) rises up during this time.
The pressure cooker will beep 3 times to alert you when cooking has finished. It will automatically go on to “keep warm” mode for up to 6 hours. Once cooking is complete, turn off the pressure cooker by pressing “stop/cancel” and unplugging the power cable. Using an oven mitt, carefully move the pressure release valve to the release position to let out the pressure in the unit. Wait for the float valve to drop down before opening the pressure cooker.
Remove the chicken and let cool slightly before shredding. (If using a Rotisserie chicken, you can begin the directions here.) Remove the skin, then pull the meat from the bones and shred with two forks. Add the chicken to a large bowl. (You can also save the bones from the chicken and make homemade chicken broth in your pressure cooker.)
In a separate bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice and zest, mustard, celery salt, and pepper.
Add grapes, scallions, tarragon, and parsley to the large bowl with the chicken, mixing to combine.
Add in the mayo mixture and stir until combined.
Serve on its own, or on your bread of choice.
I like mine on toasted rye bread with provolone cheese and tomato.
I need to warn you. This is awesome chicken salad. It might not make it past day one!
The mayo mixture is citrusy and zesty, adding fantastic flavor to the chicken. The fresh herbs brighten it up even more, and the grapes add a touch of sweetness and a little bit of texture. I think I found a new lunch staple in our house!
Ingredients
- 3 pound whole chicken
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- if not making your own chicken: 1 (3 lb) rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- the juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 cup red grapes, quartered
- 3 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- If making the chicken in your pressure cooker, before you do anything, be sure that the chicken actually fits in your pressure cooker. A 3 pound chicken and fit just fine in my Cosori Premium 6qt pressure cooker.
- Pat dry your chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth to your pressure cooker and then add the chicken.
- Cover and lock the pressure cooker. Press the Poultry button and adjust the time to 18 minutes for a 3 pound chicken. Make sure the steam valve is closed and press On/Start.
- Once the unit has reached optimal cooking pressure (~5 minutes), it will beep once and start counting down. You’ll notice that the pressure release valve (red) rises up during this time.
- The pressure cooker will beep 3 times to alert you when cooking has finished. It will automatically go on to “keep warm” mode for up to 6 hours. Once cooking is complete, turn off the pressure cooker by pressing “stop/cancel” and unplugging the power cable. Using an oven mitt, carefully move the pressure release valve to the release position to let out the pressure in the unit. Wait for the float valve to drop down before opening the pressure cooker.
- Remove the chicken and let cool slightly before shredding. (If using a Rotisserie chicken, you can begin the directions here.) Remove the skin, then pull the meat from the bones and shred with two forks. Add the chicken to a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice and zest, mustard, celery salt, and pepper.
- Add grapes, scallions, tarragon, and parsley to the large bowl with the chicken, mixing to combine.
- Add in the mayo mixture and stir until combined.
- Serve on its own, or on your bread of choice.
What do you think?