One-Bowl Chicken Salad for Passover

One-Bowl Chicken Salad for Passover is the perfect way to use up your leftover holiday chicken!

This deli-style salad is quick and easy, flavorful, and made in just one bowl!

Great for lunches or light dinners during the holiday.

Have on a plate or in a matzo sandwich!

This chicken salad recipe for Passover is a great way to use your leftover chicken! (Just make sure that the chicken hasn’t dried out.)

Just add your mayo, add some diced celery and some chopped veggies if you want, and voila!

This recipe can be customizable with veggies optional and flavor to taste.

Don’t like celery? Switch it for another veggie. Don’t want any veggies? No problem! Leave them out!

Have it on a plate or with matzo! It’s a great light meal anytime!

And chicken has health benefits as well!

What does it mean when recipes say “to taste” about an ingredient?

When recipes say “to taste,” it means that you can put in as little or as much as you like to your own taste. Some recipes have many ingredients that a cook can adjust to their own taste when cooking (not so much when baking though).

The best way to calculate what your taste is with a recipe that you are not yet familiar with is to first taste the dish and then add the “to taste” ingredient GRADUALLY, a little at a time—a splash of this or a pinch of that—until the dish is just the way you like it.

Make sure to stir the ingredient after each time you add it so that the flavor will distribute evenly and become part of the dish. Then taste again. Repeat until you reach your personal preference.

Note: If you plan on using the recipe again, it is highly recommended to make a note of what and how much you added so that you can refer to it next time.

What does it mean when a recipe says that an ingredient is “optional”?

If an ingredient is “optional,” it means that you can add it in or not based on your own preference. An optional ingredient can be flavor related (i.e., salty, sweet, spicy, etc.), appearance related (garnish), or even something like nuts or chocolate chips in baking.

Food on Passover

Torah-observant Jews do not eat chametz (the fermented products of five grains: wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye).

In addition, Torah-observant Ashkenazi Jews do not eat kitniyot (or kitniyos as pronounced in Ashkenazi Hebrew). These include legumes, corn, rice, and similar foods that were deemed forbidden to eat by rabbis in the medieval period and are still not eaten today. Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews do not follow this tradition.

Many observant Ashkenazi Jews will not even eat the derivatives of these kitniyot, while others do (each family holds their own traditions regarding this).

Then, there are Ashkenazim who don’t eat “gebrokts” (or gebrochts).

Gebrokts (gebrochts) means “broken” in Yiddish, and in this case refers to matzo that has absorbed liquid. Not eating gebrokts is observed by many in the Hasidic Jewish community and Ashkenazim who have taken on this tradition, where they basically don’t mix anything wet with matzo.

So, things like matzo sandwiches, fried matzo, and even matzo balls are a no-no for them.

There is a joke that sums it all up:

On Passover, we should remember people who have little to eat on this holiday. They are called Ashkenazim.

Over the years, I have learned to adapt “normal” food for Passover so that my family won’t complain about boring, tasteless, or repetitive meals.

I find that having good food and variety makes the week of Passover a very pleasant experience, and I hope this recipe will help make yours just that!

Having essentials in your Passover kitchen

As I learned to prepare more and more recipes for Passover, I also learned which basics and seasonings are good to have on hand to have the ability to make a dish on short notice—especially during the holiday—and not have to run out to the store or borrow from a neighbor.

While I will admit that I am not always prepared when one of my kids will ask for eggplant parmesan or something at the drop of a hat (which they have done), I dislike having to postpone making something just because the ingredients needed to make a reasonable meal were not readily available.

So, I maintain a selection of what I consider “kosher for Passover pantry essentials” in my refrigerator and on my shelves during the week of Passover (some of the dry goods I keep from year to year, stored well).

While, of course, most of the essentials will not be needed just for any one recipe, at least some of them are needed for most recipes, and you would be surprised how many recipes can be made just with this list. So, if you make sure to have whatever you use regularly on hand, it can really save you time and effort.

Everyone has their favorite recipes, preferred seasoning, and just whatever they like to use to cook. Your own list should certainly reflect your own cooking tastes and style. Just make sure that everything is Kosher for Passover (or KLP—Kasher L’Pesach, in Hebrew) and if you are Ashkenazi, that list will be shorter than if you are not.

Make sure to check with a qualified rabbi if you have any questions.

Seasoning and flavoring:

• salt
• ground black or white pepper
• granulated garlic or garlic powder
• onion powder
• ground cinnamon
• sugar (granulated)
• brown sugar
• chicken consommé powder
• onion soup mix
• various herbs
• additional spices to adapt taste to preference

Misc:

• oil / margarine / butter / cooking spray
• potato starch as a thickening agent
• baking powder
• matzo cake meal (matzo meal, but ground into a powder)
• condiments, such as ketchup and barbecue sauce
• tomato sauce/tomato paste/canned tomatoes—diced or crushed/pasta sauce

We always have eggs in the fridge and onions and potatoes on our shelves (if we were not Ashkenazi, I would certainly keep rice as well).

In addition, having fresh vegetables , such as carrots, celery, bell peppers (red, green, etc), tomatoes (if you don’t want to use canned), etc. can be very useful when putting together a quick but delicious meal.

It’s also a good idea to have some ground meat or chicken (breast, ground, or in parts) in the freezer for anyone who likes meat dishes in a snap.

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Yield: 4 servings

One-Bowl Chicken Salad for Passover

Print

Delicious chicken salad, kosher for Passover. Perfect for leftover chicken.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds cooked chicken (preferably breast), diced
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 medium celery stalks, diced small
• 1/2 medium onion (or 1 small onion), diced small
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon white or black ground pepper
• additional herbs or chopped vegetables as desired

Instructions

1. Combine chicken, celery, onion, and mayonnaise in a bowl.
2. Mix in sugar, salt, garlic, and pepper.
3. Add herbs, and/or chopped vegetables as desired.
4. Chill for at least an hour or so (chilled salad tastes better than warm).

Notes

MADK SURE ALL INGREDIENTS ARE KOSHER FOR PASSOVER.

1) This recipe is very much "to taste." If you like more or less mayo, more or less spices, or more or less veggies, feel free to adapt.

2) If liquids seep out, mix before use or drain and add a little more mayo to keep salad creamy.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 353Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 239mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 17g