{"id":21304,"date":"2024-06-12T16:46:10","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T23:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/?p=21304"},"modified":"2024-06-12T16:55:26","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T23:55:26","slug":"the-best-premade-chicken-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/article\/the-best-premade-chicken-salad\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Chicken Salad from the Grocery Store, Ranked"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The best chicken salad is meaty, creamy, and flavorful\u2014and it just might be hiding in the deli section at your local supermarket. It should be peppered with tasty mix-ins, like fruit, nuts, veggies, and\/or eggs, to give it a nice texture. The mayonnaise<\/a>-y base should be plentiful, but not too creamy. Balance is key. The best chicken salad should be absolutely delicious smeared between two slices of bread, in a lettuce cup, on your cracke<\/a>r of choice, or totally solo on a spoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most major grocery store delis sell at least one kind of premade chicken salad. For our second chicken salad taste test, we expanded our search to include stores we missed before\u2014like Sprouts, Costco, and Sam\u2019s Club\u2014leaving no coop unexplored. But don\u2019t worry! You\u2019ll still find the best Walmart chicken salad and the best Trader Joe\u2019s chicken salad on this list, too. Of all the best store bought chicken salad options out there, these were our favorites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
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<\/span>\"Best
\n

Best Savory<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Trader Joe\u2019s Homestyle Chicken Salad<\/strong><\/dt>\n\n\n\n
\n

This chicken salad has pieces of carrot in it. Freaky, right? Shockingly, this stuff is still delicious. If you\u2019re looking for a super savory chicken salad, this is the best chicken salad to buy. It\u2019s really creamy and black peppery, the celery and green onions give it good crunch, and there\u2019s no sweetness whatsoever. Don\u2019t get confused and accidentally buy their curry chicken salad. It\u2019s not very good. This is the<\/em> Trader Joe\u2019s chicken salad and it\u2019s one of the best store bought chicken salad options out there. \u2014Jordan Myrick<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: Liv Averett<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n\n\n\n

Rating:<\/p>

8\/10<\/p>

Sporks<\/p><\/div>

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<\/span>\"Most
\n

Most Unique<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sprouts Curry Chicken Salad<\/strong><\/dt>\n\n\n\n
\n
Sprouts<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

With tender shredded chicken in curry spices and a mango-chutney dressing, this Sprouts chicken salad might not be what you expect from the best chicken salad. The sweet, tangy flavors and unique textures\u2014thanks to mix-ins like raisins, red bell peppers, carrots, green onions\u2014complement each other nicely. That said, this chicken salad leans quite sweet! If you\u2019re looking for more savory options, this might not be the best premade chicken salad for you. Otherwise, definitely try it! \u2014Ariana Losch<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: Liv Averett \/ Sprouts<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n\n\n\n

Rating:<\/p>

8\/10<\/p>

Sporks<\/p><\/div>

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<\/span>\"Best
\n

Best Sweet<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Great Value Chicken Salad With Cranberries, Celery & Pecans<\/strong><\/dt>\n\n\n\n
\n
Walmart<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Walmart knows chicken salad. They have their chicken salad recipes on lock. In my opinion, if you buy one thing at Walmart, it should be chicken salad. This Walmart chicken salad, which contains cranberries, celery, and pecans, is among the best premade chicken salad we\u2019ve ever tasted, especially if you like chicken salad with fruit in it. It\u2019s not my favorite Walmart chicken salad, but it\u2019s definitely up there in terms of the best store bought chicken salad. \u2014Jordan Myrick<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: Merc \/ Walmart<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n\n\n\n

Rating:<\/p>

8.5\/10<\/p>

Sporks<\/p><\/div>

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<\/span>\"Best
\n

Best Traditional<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Member’s Mark Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad<\/strong><\/dt>\n\n\n\n
\n
Sam’s Club<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Sometimes it doesn\u2019t take a lot to make a chicken salad worth your while. Sometimes you just need pecans and cranberries. Member\u2019s Mark (the house brand at Sam\u2019s Club) takes everything you would expect from classic premade chicken salad\u2014creamy, sweet mayo with salt, pepper, and white meat chicken\u2014and gives it an interesting crunch and tartness. We liked it better than their plain, classic chicken salad. It\u2019s similar to the Walmart chicken salad in the previous review, but it comes in a much bigger tub and, in my opinion, tastes a little fresher. If you\u2019re searching for a super creamy chicken salad to serve a big group, Member\u2019s Mark is the best chicken salad for you. \u2014Ariana Losch<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: Liv Averett \/ Sam’s Club<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n\n\n\n

Rating:<\/p>

8.5\/10<\/p>

Sporks<\/p><\/div>

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<\/span>\"Best
\n

Best Value<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Great Value Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken Salad<\/strong><\/dt>\n\n\n\n
\n
Walmart<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

This Walmart chicken salad is another banger. What does \u201crotisserie seasoned\u201d mean? I don\u2019t really know. I guess they made it from rotisserie chicken? Which I think is seasoned with salt and pepper? So is this salt and pepper chicken salad? Isn\u2019t all chicken salad salt and pepper chicken salad? It\u2019s confusing. None of those questions matter, though. Just buy this incredibly savory and creamy Walmart chicken salad because it\u2019s highly satisfying and makes a damn good lunch. \u2014Jordan Myrick<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: Merc \/ Walmart<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n\n\n\n

Rating:<\/p>

9\/10<\/p>

Sporks<\/p><\/div>

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<\/span>\"Best
\n

Best Chicken Flavor<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kirkland Signature Chicken Salad Made with Rotisserie Chicken<\/strong><\/dt>\n\n\n\n
\n
Walmart<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Costco\u2019s rotisserie chicken salad probably deserves to be higher on this list. Jordan was confused by what exactly makes Great Value\u2019s chicken salad \u201crotisserie,\u201d but they wouldn\u2019t have the same issue with Kirkland. This is so evidently a rotisserie <\/em>chicken salad, thanks to the extra tender, juicy meat and savory herbs in the mayo dressing. It tastes exactly like Costco\u2019s rotisserie chicken (our silver medalist of grocery store rotisserie chickens<\/a>), with crispy chicken skins and all. And hey, since that might not be what everyone\u2019s looking for in the best store bought chicken salad, we relegated this to third place. We\u2019re helpful like that. (I beg you to buy it, though. It will change your life.) \u2014Ariana Losch<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: Liv Averett \/ Costco<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n\n\n\n

Rating:<\/p>

9.5\/10<\/p>

Sporks<\/p><\/div>

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<\/span>\"Runner
\n

Runner Up<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sprouts Chicken Salad<\/strong><\/dt>\n\n\n\n
\n
Sprouts<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

The Sprouts deli wins me over more and more every time we sit down for another taste test. They know how to emphasize fresh ingredients. We loved the crisp veggies in Sprouts chicken salad\u2014carrots, green onions, celery\u2014and you get to actually appreciate them, because they aren\u2019t drowned out in mayo dressing. Now, that\u2019s sort of the caveat here: If you want a very creamy chicken salad, well, you can add more mayo into this, or you can pick another grocery store chicken salad on this list. Sprouts goes very light on the dressing. In our opinion, that\u2019s what makes this some of the best chicken salad you can buy. \u2014Ariana Losch<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: Liv Averett \/ Sprouts<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n\n\n\n

Rating:<\/p>

9.5\/10<\/p>

Sporks<\/p><\/div>

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<\/span>\"Best
\n

Best of the Best<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Great Value Southern-Style Chicken Salad<\/strong><\/dt>\n\n\n\n
\n
Walmart<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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I can\u2019t think of enough good things to say about this Walmart chicken salad. We stood in the Sporked<\/em> kitchen and ate this with potato chips<\/a> well after our taste test had ended. It is the most perfectly balanced chicken salad to ever grace a grocery store shelf. It is salty, and it has the slightest sweetness, plenty of crunch, and tons of shredded chicken. It even has a little hard boiled egg<\/a> in the mix, which I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d like but I did! The next time you want the best chicken salad, head straight to the Walmart deli, because they are doing a great job with it over there. \u2014Jordan Myrick<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: Merc \/ Walmart<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n\n\n\n

Rating:<\/p>

10\/10<\/p>

Sporks<\/p><\/div>

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Other Products We Tried:<\/strong> Reser\u2019s, Trader Joe\u2019s Curry Chicken Salad, Starkist, Good & Gather Rosemary Chicken Salad, Good & Gather Rotisserie Chicken Salad, Good & Gather Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad, Ralphs Chicken Salad, Sam’s Club Rotisserie Chicken Salad, Whole Foods Sonoma Chicken Salad, Whole Foods Classic Chicken Salad<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s sandwich o\u2019clock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1030,"featured_media":36179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,77],"tags":[],"articletype":[46],"coauthors":[383],"class_list":["post-21304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deli","category-deli-dairy","articletype-rankings"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/RANKING-UPDATE_CHICKEN-SALAD_HEADER.jpg","posts_featured":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1030"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21304"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36416,"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21304\/revisions\/36416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21304"},{"taxonomy":"articletype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articletype?post=21304"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sporked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=21304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}