Hot Chicken Salad

This creamy Southern chicken casserole (a.k.a a hot chicken salad) includes tender chicken, celery, and boiled eggs baked with a crunchy potato chip topping.

Spoonful of hot chicken salad.

I’m bringing you a little treasure today in the form of my Granny Jordan’s old-fashioned Southern chicken casserole recipe. Back in the day, this baked chicken salad was regularly seen at lunch, brunch, dinner, potlucks, church picnics, and tailgating parties. It’s typically served as a savory dip-style casserole with bread or Ritz crackers for dipping, but more on that below. 

This is such a quick and easy hot chicken salad recipe. All we need to do is mix our ingredients together, which are mayo, cream of chicken soup, shredded chicken, celery, onion, and boiled eggs. We add this to a casserole dish, top it with lots of crunchy and salty potato chips, and bake! That’s it! It will be ready in just 20 minutes. 

This chicken casserole is so creamy, thanks to the mayo and cream of chicken soup. But it’s also super flavorful and texturized, as you have the crunch of the celery and potato chips combined with the tender chicken and eggs. Basically, it’s a taste sensation and you need to bake it immediately. Yes, really!

Labeled ingredients for hot chicken salad.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Ritz crackers and lettuce (for serving)
  • Mayo
  • Onion
  • Boiled eggs
  • Celery
  • Chicken
  • Cream of chicken soup
  • Potato chips

How to Make Hot Chicken Salad

Chop up boiled eggs.

Chop up your boiled eggs…

Chop up celery and onion.

As well as your celery and onion.

Add chopped ingredients to a mixing bowl.

Chuck all of those ingredients into a large bowl.

Add chicken, soup, and mayo to mixing bowl.

Then add the cream of chicken soup, cooked chicken, and mayonnaise.

Mix ingredients together.

Give it a good stir and it’ll look a little bit like this.

Spread mixture in a casserole dish.

Spread the chicken mixture into an 8×8 casserole dish.

Top casserole with crushed potato chips.

Top with crushed potato chips.

Baked hot chicken salad.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes and your hot chicken salad is ready to serve. How easy was that?

Hot chicken salad served on lettuce with Ritz crackers.

Serve hot on a bed of lettuce with Ritz crackers.

Hot chicken salad on a Ritz cracker.

I also have to admit I love to serve this baked chicken salad cold like this Southern chicken salad for sandwiches.

It’s delicious either way. Enjoy!

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them in the microwave, oven, or air fryer. I don’t recommend freezing the casserole as creamy sauces don’t thaw well.

Recipe Notes

Here are some variations to make this hot chicken salad recipe work for you:

  • Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. You can mix this into the chicken casserole or add it on top along with the potato chips. Alternatively, add cheddar cheese to the casserole and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
  • For extra flavor, add 1 jar of diced pimientos (drained).
  • For extra crunch, add 1 cup of sliced/slivered almonds.
  • Use any kind of cooked chicken, like rotisserie chicken, canned chicken, or shredded boneless skinless chicken breast.
  • Add more veggies, like 1 can of water chestnuts, 1 cup of chopped red bell pepper, or 1 cup of sliced mushrooms.
  • Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or green onion.
  • Add diced cooked bacon for added flavor.
  • Substitute the potato chips for toasted breadcrumbs, french fried onions, or crushed cornflakes.
  • Add a tablespoon of bottled or fresh lemon juice for a pleasant tang.

Recipe FAQs

How do you serve a hot chicken salad?

I like to serve my hot chicken salad casserole on a bed of lettuce with Ritz crackers, cornbread, homemade buttermilk biscuits, or bread. But it also tastes delicious as a main dish with cooked rice and a side of fresh green beans.

Check out these other chicken casserole recipes:

Tex Mex Chicken Casserole

Chicken Tortilla Casserole (Cooked in the Microwave)

Cheesy Chicken and Corn Casserole

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Casserole With Rice

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Chicken Divan Casserole

Baked hot chicken salad.

Hot Chicken Salad

This creamy Southern chicken casserole (a.k.a a hot chicken salad) includes tender chicken, celery, and boiled eggs baked with a crunchy potato chip topping.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: casserole, chicken, salad
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 1 cooked chicken
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 2 chopped boiled eggs
  • 3/4 cup diced celery
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/3 cup cracker crumbs (optional)
  • 1 cup potato chips
  • Ritz crackers and lettuce for serving (optional)

Instructions

  • Mix chicken, mayo, soup, eggs, celery, onion, and cracker crumbs in a medium bowl.
    1 cooked chicken, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 2 chopped boiled eggs, 3/4 cup diced celery, 1/2 onion, diced, 1/3 cup cracker crumbs (optional)
  • Spread into an 8x8 baking dish and top with crushed potato chips.
    1 cup potato chips
  • Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
  • Serve hot or cold over a bed of lettuce with Ritz crackers.
    Ritz crackers and lettuce for serving (optional)
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113 Comments

  1. Ok I was about to tears NOW I miss granny too :(. She was a hottie and I love the recipes you found, you struck gold right there. I have some like that my great mother sent me to including her coconut cake, buttermilk biscuits and fried catfish with hushpuppies all her signatures. Lucky me!!!!

    This recipe looks amazing and I know Southern Grannys know how to cook bc I got one of them myself :)..

  2. I’ve got leftover grilled chicken from last night that will be “turned into” chicken casserole tonight!! Yum!
    Thank you for sharing the lovely story, recipe, and photo of Granny Jordan. The photo reminds me of my Mom’s 8th grade photo taken in the early 1930’s. Mom died 2 years ago and I love coming across her hand written recipes (she called them receipts!) that have dried splatters on them!!
    I am also looking forward to your next cookbook shipment!

    Bountiful Blessings!

  3. One of the things I love about the south is how we name our recipes.
    I have this same recipe but it’s called “Aileene Watson’s Church Chicken”. I don’t have a clue who Mrs. Watson is but love the recipe. Thanks for reminding me!

  4. This is great! I love that it can be both a casserole and a salad! It’s making my mouth water just thinking about eating it!

  5. Greetings from Fairhope, Alabama! I just discovered Southern Plate over the weekend, and I love it! As I was reading this post, I got to the hand-written recipe, and gasped. The handwriting is almost identical to my grandmother, who died almost two years ago. I have her collection of recipes, and consider them to be an ultimate treasure. Thanks for sharing your recipes, and for all of the work that you put into this site. I will be eagerly awaiting the next shipment of your cookbook so that I can order one.

  6. We call that hot chicken salad. My brother (who is the pickiest eater in the world) eats it on top of chow mein noodles (that you buy in a can on the ethnic aisle). Yes, it’s bizarre, but it’s actually very good, and it was a staple in my house growing up.

  7. Mmmmm, chicken salad. Now I’ll have to make some. What a lovely lady your g’ma was, wise, too. Both of my grandmothers left me with wonderful memories and delicious recipes.

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