This recipe for Italian Grinder Chicken Salad is loaded with tender shredded chicken, deli meats, tomatoes, and cheeses with a homemade tangy and creamy dressing!
A SANDWICH INSPIRED CHICKEN SALAD
If you love all the flavors and textures in the Italian Grinder Subs or my Italian Grinder Pasta Salad, you’re going to love this Italian Grinder Chicken Salad. It’s everything you know and love from those but as a chicken salad version. The great thing about salads is they’re so customizable, right? Leave out what you don’t like and/or substitute with what you do like. This recipe is great for making as a lunch or light dinner.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
It’s great in sandwiches but honestly good on it’s own with some crackers or slices of baguette.
Typically, they’re in the pickle aisle, usually, near the peperoncini peppers, or occasionally among the salad items at your local grocery store.
These balls of cheese are small circles of fresh mozzarella that have been soaked in a flavorful marinade, usually made with olive oil, herbs, garlic, and sometimes spices like red pepper flakes or lemon zest. They can be found wherever your store usually displays other specialty cheeses. If you can’t find them there, just grab some whole milk mozzarella and cut it into chunks. No need to add any additional oil to replace the marinade from the mozzarella balls though.
If you don’t want to make Instant Pot Shredded Chicken or have a rotisserie chicken to use you can use canned chicken. If you need to use canned chicken, grab two cans and drain them really well. If you don’t have canned chicken, you can use tuna or imitation crab meat instead.
You can swap any of the meats with your favorite deli meats: capicola, prosciutto, mortadella, pancetta, Soppressata, etc.
You can also try adding black and/or green olives or artichoke hearts.
Leftover Italian Grinder Chicken Salad can be transferred to an airtight container and should be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- mayonnaise – I use full fat mayo, I have not tested this with low fat or other may alternatives. I do not like Miracle Whip at all so I will never recommend Miracle Whip, sorry ha!
- red wine vinegar
- pepperoncini pepper juice from the jar
- marinade oil – from both containers of mozzarella balls. This adds so much additional flavor. If you can’t find the marinated mozzarella balls, you can still make this but you just lose a little bit of that overall flavor.
- salt and pepper
- oregano
- garlic powder
- cooked chicken – I used rotisserie chicken just to make things easier, but you can whip up some Instant Pot Shredded Chicken in no time. Don’t have time to make chicken? Check out the FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) section above for a few other ideas you can swap the chicken out for.
- marinated mozzarella balls – If you need more information on these and where to find them, I shared more info in the Frequently Asked Questions section above.
- pepperoncini peppers – if you don’t like this type of peppers, you can leave it out. Just keep in mind that we also use some the juice from the jars in this.. If you don’t like the papers, I would still recommend using the juice for flavor.
- cherry tomatoes– A couple of diced Roma tomatoes can be substituted for the cherry tomatoes.
- pickled red onions– if you don’t like pickled red onions, try dicing up some fresh red onions or a shallot. I like the pickled red onions because they are mild and dial down the onion flavor some. You can soak sliced red onions in ice water to help tone down the onion flavor as well.
- deli Genoa Salami – you can use whatever deli meats you prefer. See my Frequently Asked Questions above for other ideas.
- deli ham
- pepperoni
- feta cheese – don’t like Feta Cheese? Just leave it out or substitute with another cheese you do like.
HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN GRINDER CHICKEN SALAD:
In a very large bowl, add the shredded chicken, marinated mozzarella ball quarters, pepperoncini slices, halved cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, salami, ham, pepperoni and feta cheese. Set aside. Prepare the dressing by adding all the ingredients to a medium bowl and whisking together until combined and smooth. Pour the dressing over the prepared ingredients and mix to fully combine and coat well.
Cover and chill for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to meld together. Serve with croissants, hoagie rolls or just a scoop of the salad on a leaf of Iceberg lettuce and some crackers to scoop with.
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In a very large bowl, add 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, 2 (8 ounce) containers marinated mozzarella balls , 6 peperoncini peppers, sliced into rings, 10 ounces cherry tomatoes, cut in half, 1 cup pickled red onions, 10 slices deli Genoa salami, cut into 8ths , 8 slices deli ham, cut into chunks, 20 slices pepperoni, cut into quarters, and ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese. Set aside.
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Prepare the dressing by adding1 1/3 cups mayonnaise, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 1 Tablespoon of peperoncini pepper juice from the jar, marinade oil from both containers of mozzarella balls, ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon oregano and 1 teaspoon garlic powder to a medium bowl and whisking together until combined and smooth.
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Pour the dressing over the prepared ingredients and mix to fully combine and coat well.
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Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to meld together.
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Serve with croissants, hoagie rolls or just a scoop of the salad on a leaf of Iceberg lettuce and some crackers.
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Calories: 835kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 72g | Sodium: 1760mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
