3 Ingredient Chicken Salad: An Easy Canned Chicken Breast Recipe

You don’t need many ingredients or fancy techniques to make a great lunch. This 3-ingredient chicken salad uses canned chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs and mayonnaise, and you can take to work or school.

This 3 Ingredient Chicken Salad is a great option for an easy workday lunch to fix as a sandwich or put on crackers. You will not be able to stop eating this simple salad with canned chicken, hard boiled eggs and mayonnaise.

3 Ingredient Chicken Salad Recipe

We love recipes using canned chicken breast.  It’s the convenience factor.

Canned chicken chunks are easy to keep in the pantry for those nights when we don’t have time or energy to whip up a five course meal. Check out our post with our Recipes Using Canned Chicken Breast. I often times buy big packages of Kirkland Canned Chicken at Costco since it’s so handy to have.

This might possibly be the easiest recipe of all time. Barbara’s friend, Kristin, throws this together for her family often, and even made it for a last minute play date at her house.

Barbara couldn’t believe that this dish called for canned chicken breast or that this chicken salad really only has 3 ingredients. It was a life saver one night when her family needed to be at the ball diamonds for an early softball game. And, it made for some delicious leftovers the rest of the week.

Canned Chicken Breast

Let’s talk about canned chicken. Some common questions that we hear include the following:

Do I have to cook canned chicken?

No, there is no need to cook canned chicken. The canning process cooks the chicken inside the can. You could, in fact, safely eat it directly from the can. Or, pop open the can, drain, and the chicken is ready to go for this easy 3 ingredient chicken salad.

Is canned chicken cooked or raw?

Canned chicken is cooked, not raw.

Is canned chunk chicken ready to eat?

Yes, canned chunk chicken is a ready-to eat, ready-to-serve ingredient. Eat it straight from the can, add it to a chicken salad or use it as an ingredient in your favorite chicken casserole.

What can I cook with canned chicken breast?

• Chicken tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas or burritos
• Rice bowl
• Soups such as Chicken Noodle, Chicken Chili or Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Casseroles
• Chicken Salad
• Appetizers such as Buffalo Chicken Dip
• Wraps such as buffalo chicken wraps
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chicken Nachos (salsa, sour cream, avocados, black olive, tortilla chips, etc.)

Ingredient List

• Canned Chicken Breast
• Olive Oil Mayonnaise
• Hard-Boiled Eggs
• Salt and Pepper

How to Make Chicken Salad at Home

Step by Step Instructions

1. Drain the chicken, add the chopped hard boiled eggs and mayo in a large bowl, mix and serve!
2. Seriously, just grab a packet of crackers or add it to croissants and go to town.

Storage Instructions

Store leftovers in an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator.

For the full recipe for chicken salad with canned chicken, scroll to the bottom of this post.

How long is chicken salad made from canned chicken good?

Following the FDA guidelines, it is recommended to consume canned chicken salad within 3 to 5 days. Be sure to store the chicken salad properly in the refrigerator, and do not leave it at room temperature for more than 4 hours.

Recipe Variations

• Add dried fruit such as dried cranberries or raisins.
• Chopped nuts such as walnuts, almonds or pecans give a nice crunch.
• Fresh veggies such as celery, red onions or peppers is a nice addition.
• Make it Tex Mex by adding corn and taco seasoning.
• Other types of mayonnaise or even Miracle Whip will work in a pinch.
• Stir in your favorite type of cheese.
• Make is a tuna salad by substituting canned tuna for canned chicken.
• Leftover Rotisserie chicken works great too.

Recipes Using Canned Chicken Breast

We just love recipes that use ingredients that are always in the house, either in the pantry or in the refrigerator. We are definitely adding canned chicken to our pantry staples list from here on out.

Looking for low carb canned chicken recipes? Try our 5-Minute Low Carb Chicken Salad. If you are looking for canned chicken pasta recipes, tryEasy 10 Minute Lemon Chicken Pasta.

You could also use canned chicken in some of our other recipes including Chicken Noodle Casserole with Potato Chips, Grandma’s Chicken Rice Casserole and Chicken Ranch Vegetable Pizza. Just swap out the cooked chicken that the recipe calls for with canned chicken breast that has been drained.

A good rule of thumb would be that one (12.5 ounces) can of chicken breast would equal two chicken breasts. Or, another way to think about it is that half of a can of chicken equals one chicken breast.

In general, canned chicken is relatively healthy. It contains a low number of calories and is high in protein. You do need to watch out for the sodium content. One way to make it healthier would be to rinse the chicken before using. Be sure to drain completely. This will help remove some of the excess sodium.

Another time-saving tip that we both like to do is to hard boil eggs at the beginning of the week and use them in recipes or to snack on at work for a high protein treat.

More Chicken Salad Recipes

We love a good chicken salad whether it’s simple like the recipe below or a bit fancier with a few more ingredients.

• Low Carb Lemon Chicken Salad
• Fancy Chicken Salad
• The Best Chicken Salad

Linking up to Meal Plan Monday!