If there's anyone who knows a thing or two about good Southern cookin', it's Dolly Parton. I'd trust the woman with my life and my stomach. So when I came across her recipe for pecan chicken salad, you bet your boots, I had to learn more.
Parton wrote a blog post—a sentence I never in my life thought I would type—for Guideposts where she revealed all of the holiday dishes she looks forward to cooking each year. Her highlights included tasty biscuits, pimento cheese sandwiches, butterscotch pie, chicken and dumplings, and, of course, her pecan chicken salad.
While she said her mama's recipe for chicken and dumplings is "under lock and key," the iconic singer-songwriter was more than happy to share her chicken salad recipe. Parton may save this simple yet delicious dish for Christmas, but anyone on the internet who's made it is in agreement that you'll want to eat it year-round.
In 2023, she revealed that she's revamping her cult-classic 1989 cookbook "Dollywood Presents Tennessee Mountain Home Cooking." Parton told Yahoo! Life that she's writing the collection with her sister, Rachel, and the release date has not yet been announced.
"We're putting a cookbook out together on recipes from the past and things I've gathered traveling all around the world," she said. "She's a great cook, so we're going to come out with a cookbook in the near future called Good Lookin' Cookin' because she knows how to make it pretty and make it taste good."
Until we can get our hands on that sure-to-be-glorious creation, we'll have to settle for the few recipes Parton has shared over the years—like her pecan chicken salad. Read on to learn how to make it.
Credit: Getty
What You Need
The draw of Southern recipes like this one is both the consistently yummy taste, and how easy they are to make. Dolly's pecan chicken salad requires just a few ingredients and even fewer steps, which makes it perfect for a quick and delicious lunch or dinner.
Here's what you'll need:
- 3 cups of diced cooked chicken
- 3 stalks of celery, also diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3/4 cup of pecan halves
- 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
- Watercress, for serving
- Salt and pepper, to taste
This amount of ingredients makes a total of six servings.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Everything about this meal is easy, including the instructions. While you may need to set aside some time for chopping and cooking your chicken, there's not much else to this dish besides mixing it up.
That makes it a great one to meal prep for even easier eating later.
Step #1: Prep Your Ingredients
The first thing you'll want to do is get your ingredients prepped and ready. Dice your celery and onions, and cut your pecans in half if you didn't buy them already halved. While fresh is best for flavor, you can usually find pre-diced celery and onions in the frozen food section for minimal prep.
Step #2: Cook and Cool Your Chicken
If you don't have cooked chicken on hand, now's the time to cook it up! You'll need three cups of diced cooked chicken for this recipe, which is about 1 pound of raw chicken meat.
How you cook that chicken is totally up to you. Bake it, fry it, or slow-cook it, whatever works best for your kitchen. Once cooked, let the chicken cool down a bit before you dice it up using a knife. You could also shred it with a fork if that's more your speed. So long as the pieces are small and bite-sized, you're good to go.
Credit: Getty
Step #3: Mix It All Together
Once your chicken is diced and cooled, it's time to mix it together with your veggies, pecans, and condiments. Grab a large mixing bowl, add your diced chicken, celery, onions, pecans, mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. Toss it all together until you're sure that every piece is coated in mayo and mustard.
Step #4: Add Seasoning
Before serving, add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add any additional herbs or spices that you think would go well with this dish. Feel free to experiment and personalize it according to your own tastes.
Step #5: Serve It Up
Grab a handful or two of watercress—or whatever your favorite salad greens are—and place it on a plate. Scoop your pecan chicken salad onto the greens, and you're good to go! You can also serve it as a sandwich by pairing it with some bread or crackers for an easy and delicious meal.
It'll also store well in the fridge for about three to four days. So you can thank Dolly for providing you with nearly a week's worth of yummy pecan chicken salad.
Check out her original recipe here.
