Basic Meat Salad
A core recipe for cold and creamy meat salads. Try it with any cooked protein- chicken, pork, goose, fish, and more!
This recipe takes 10-15 minutes to make. Measurements are left to your discretion.
Ingredients
Meat of choice, chopped
Something creamy - mayonnaise, sour cream, and Greek yogurt all work well.
Salt and pepper
Mustard
Celery, diced
Onion, diced
Fresh parsley, chopped
Celery seeds (optional— I love them especially in fish salads)
Dried or fresh fruit - I have used and loved chopped figs, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped apple, and chopped pear.
How to
Chop your cooked meat (or drain canned meat) and put it in a large mixing bowl.
Add your creamy base to the meat one big dollop at a time, until the salad reaches the desired consistency.
Add your other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Taste test and adjust ingredients as necessary.
Refrigerate or serve.
Notes
This makes for a quick and simple meal, and has been ingrained in my culinary repertoire since childhood.
You can use any leftover or canned meat, and ingredients you probably already have on hand. Try it with any cooked protein- chicken, leftover roasts, pork, goose, baked or canned fish, etc.
A fun variation to try: I have made a Thai tom ka soup inspired version of this salad in the past by using chicken, coconut cream for the creamy base, cilantro in place of parsley, and adding some ginger and lime for flavor. We loved it!
This meat salad should keep up to a week in the fridge.
Serve with crackers, tortillas, croissants, toast, in a sandwich, or on lettuce wraps.