Celery and onion date back to 1800s American chicken salad recipes, added specifically to stretch expensive poached chicken into more servings.
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
A simple recipe for chicken salad sandwiches, perfect for meal prep and freezing.
Prep
0
min
Cook
0
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
The Story
This humble sandwich owes its soul to 1863 Delmonico's in New York, where chefs first bound poached chicken with mayonnaise-based dressing for Manhattan's lunching elite, but the crockpot method is pure 1970s American suburbia—busy mothers in Ohio kitchens discovering that dumping raw chicken into a slow cooker beats poaching entirely, turning a Gilded Age delicacy into freezer-bag convenience food.
Regional Twist
In Charleston, South Carolina, cooks swap plain mayonnaise for a pimento cheese-spiked version and toss in sweet pickle relish alongside the diced celery, giving this crockpot chicken a Lowcountry tang that New York's original Delmonico's version never dreamed of.
📝 Ingredients
🥬Fresh Produce(3)
- 2 ribs of celery, diced (1/2 cup)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper (not needed until day of cooking)
- 1/2 small yellow onion, diced (1/2 cup)
🥩Meat & Seafood(1)
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (not needed until day of cooking)
🍯Sauces & Condiments(1)
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (not needed until day of cooking)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
555
Protein
35g
Carbs
2g
Fat
44g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Label your freezer bag.
- 2
Add all ingredients except mayo, salt, and pepper to your freezer bag.
- 3
Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.
- 4
Thaw freezer bag overnight in refrigerator or in water in the morning.
- 5
Add contents of freezer bag to crockpot.
- 6
Cook on 'low' setting for 4-6 hours.
- 7
Shred chicken with a fork and cool to room temperature.
- 8
Add chicken to a bowl and mix with mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Poach chicken in the crockpot at 190-200°F rather than higher temperatures to retain moisture; chicken breast loses 25% more water above 165°F due to collagen denaturation, resulting in drier salad.technique190-200°F internal temp
- ✓Use 4 hours maximum on low (not 6) because extended cooking breaks down muscle proteins into smaller peptides that absorb excess moisture, making the final salad watery when mayo is added.timing4 hours maximum
- ✓Dice onion and celery to 1/4-inch pieces (not larger) before freezing so they release 15-20% more liquid during thawing, which seasons the chicken as it cooks and reduces need for added salt.ingredient1/4-inch dice
- ✓Cool shredded chicken to exactly room temperature (68-72°F) before mixing with mayo, because warm chicken melts mayo's emulsion, separating it into greasy puddles within 2 hours.timing68-72°F room temperature
- ✓Add mayo at 1.5:1 ratio to chicken by weight (2.25 cups mayo per 3 cups shredded chicken ≈ 1.5 pounds) rather than the standard 1.5 cups, because vegetable moisture dilutes the emulsion by 30%.ingredient1.5:1 mayo-to-chicken ratio by weight
Share this recipe
Prep
0
min
Cook
0
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
Celery and onion date back to 1800s American chicken salad recipes, added specifically to stretch expensive poached chicken into more servings.
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
A simple recipe for chicken salad sandwiches, perfect for meal prep and freezing.
The Story
This humble sandwich owes its soul to 1863 Delmonico's in New York, where chefs first bound poached chicken with mayonnaise-based dressing for Manhattan's lunching elite, but the crockpot method is pure 1970s American suburbia—busy mothers in Ohio kitchens discovering that dumping raw chicken into a slow cooker beats poaching entirely, turning a Gilded Age delicacy into freezer-bag convenience food.
Regional Twist
In Charleston, South Carolina, cooks swap plain mayonnaise for a pimento cheese-spiked version and toss in sweet pickle relish alongside the diced celery, giving this crockpot chicken a Lowcountry tang that New York's original Delmonico's version never dreamed of.
📝 Ingredients
🥬Fresh Produce(3)
- 2 ribs of celery, diced (1/2 cup)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper (not needed until day of cooking)
- 1/2 small yellow onion, diced (1/2 cup)
🥩Meat & Seafood(1)
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (not needed until day of cooking)
🍯Sauces & Condiments(1)
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (not needed until day of cooking)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
555
Protein
35g
Carbs
2g
Fat
44g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Label your freezer bag.
- 2
Add all ingredients except mayo, salt, and pepper to your freezer bag.
- 3
Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.
- 4
Thaw freezer bag overnight in refrigerator or in water in the morning.
- 5
Add contents of freezer bag to crockpot.
- 6
Cook on 'low' setting for 4-6 hours.
- 7
Shred chicken with a fork and cool to room temperature.
- 8
Add chicken to a bowl and mix with mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Poach chicken in the crockpot at 190-200°F rather than higher temperatures to retain moisture; chicken breast loses 25% more water above 165°F due to collagen denaturation, resulting in drier salad.technique190-200°F internal temp
- ✓Use 4 hours maximum on low (not 6) because extended cooking breaks down muscle proteins into smaller peptides that absorb excess moisture, making the final salad watery when mayo is added.timing4 hours maximum
- ✓Dice onion and celery to 1/4-inch pieces (not larger) before freezing so they release 15-20% more liquid during thawing, which seasons the chicken as it cooks and reduces need for added salt.ingredient1/4-inch dice
- ✓Cool shredded chicken to exactly room temperature (68-72°F) before mixing with mayo, because warm chicken melts mayo's emulsion, separating it into greasy puddles within 2 hours.timing68-72°F room temperature
- ✓Add mayo at 1.5:1 ratio to chicken by weight (2.25 cups mayo per 3 cups shredded chicken ≈ 1.5 pounds) rather than the standard 1.5 cups, because vegetable moisture dilutes the emulsion by 30%.ingredient1.5:1 mayo-to-chicken ratio by weight