Not Your Average Chicken Salad

I love quick “salads” like chicken salad, tuna salad, ham salad etc. that can be a side dish or turned into a sandwich. This chicken salad uses a tarragon mayonnaise that my father recreated from a tarragon mayonnaise he had years ago at Houston’s. I also added spinach because I love spinach and also because I love to as many delicious nutrients to food as possible. You could certainly mix just the chicken, spinach, and plain mayonnaise together and this would be a good sandwich. But the tarragon mayonnaise – which gets better and better as it sits in the refrigerator – makes it really special. I particularly like this chicken salad on a homemade croissant roll but it would be equally good on store-bought croissant, baguette, or ciabatta.


There are lots of ways to cook (or purchase) chicken for chicken salad. My favorite method is uses boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I put them in a glass baking dish with some chicken broth. I cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 400° oven until they are cooked. This poaching method keeps them from drying out and using chicken broth rather than water keeps the flavor.

Chicken Salad with Spinach and Tarragon Mayonnaise (6 servings)

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh or 2 tsp. dried tarragon
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 tsp. anchovy paste
• 1 to 1¼ lbs. chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 10-oz. box frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, tarragon, garlic, and anchovy paste.
2. In a large bowl, add the chicken, spinach, and tarragon mayonnaise. Stir to combine. Let sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.