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Why buy the expensive deli chicken salad when you can make our Copycat Willow Tree Chicken Salad at home? (It’s just as good!)
A few years back when I was pregnant with my daughter, I had food cravings like most pregnant woman do. One of my cravings was for Willow Tree chicken salad. Almost every day for lunch, I went to a little sandwich shop about a block away from my office, and I would get the exact same thing to eat: a Willow Tree chicken salad sandwich (and this sandwich shop specifically stated it was Willow Tree for good reason!) on sourdough bread, milk, and a piece of fruit.
Willow Tree Farm is a New England-area food company and poultry farm based out of Attleboro, Massachusetts, famous for their deli chicken salad and chicken pot pies. According to the Willow Tree website, they credit their chicken salad as one of the reasons the company has flourished over the years, and their products are also sold at grocery chains all along the East Coast of the United States.
My husband learned of my Willow Tree chicken salad craving – and being the sweetheart that he is – he set out to recreate this chicken salad recipe at home just for me. (It’s always important to keep a pregnant lady happy!) 😉
Jack started with the recipe found online here (someone else must have had a similar craving) but tweaked it further after reading the ingredients which the folks at Willow Tree were nice enough to list on their website as well. I think Jack has come pretty close with the recipe we’ve listed below. Enjoy!
A few last notes: This recipe was originally shared here on A Family Feast in November 2012. We’ve updated the original photo (you can see that below – our food photography has definitely improved over the years) and we included a video as well (see above). Our readers love this recipe – even those readers who never tasted the original Willow Tree version!
I do also want to thank the folks at Willow Tree for being such great sports about this copycat recipe. As you can see in the comments below, the folks at Willow Tree have been following along with our readers’ comments and closely guarding the family’s real chicken salad recipe!
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Copycat Willow Tree Chicken Salad
A copycat recipe of the famous Willow Tree chicken salad.
Ingredients
- 1 pound cooked chicken breast
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons finely minced celery
- 3 tablespoons finely minced onion
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, blend chicken breasts until thoroughly shredded, or shred by hand. (Note: Shredded chicken rather than diced chicken pieces will help recreate the original Willow Tree chicken salad texture.)
- Remove bowl from the stand mixer and add in all other ingredients. Stir by hand to mix well.
- Serve over lettuce leaves or in sandwiches.
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I love Willow Tree. Love that I can recreate a similar. However, with this recipe, I would suggest using 1/2 or 1/3 of mayonnaise if you plan on using canned chicken for a shortcut due to the high moisture content even after draining in a colander. I found that it gets runny. 16 oz. If chicken for recipe but canned chicken comes in a 12oz can with more water making up the weight so use best judgment or halve the recipe. Also, highly recommend using rotisserie chicken that you hand shred the seasonings in the chicken will make the salad even better.
Thanks for the suggestions Arlene!
I used to live in central Maine. I could t come home every week for chicken salad. I could get it up there but it wasn’t the same taste as the fresh. I used this recipe and it is close. I’ve tried the Buffalo and love that too. Now that I’m back in Attleboro, I make regular trips to get my fix!
Welcome back to Massachusetts Darlene!
I have made this three times and every time it is just so delicious! I am originally from Rhode Island and moved away about 13 years ago. I have made it with super fine chopped onion and it was great. Yesterday I took the leap and tried onion granules and I was not disappointed. Either way it is a fine recipe to make when you are craving Willow Tree, which has been my all time favorite all of my life. Thank you!
Thanks Jackie – so glad you enjoyed a little ‘taste of home’! 🙂
I just made this recipe. Due to a shortness of time I used canned chicken. For those who are asking how the canned chicken turned out, I used canned chicken breast from Sam’s Club and it is delicious. I plan to make it from breast chicken breast next time to compare. I’m sure fresh will be even better.
Thanks so much Bre – glad to know that canned chicken works well too! Thank you for taking the time to write to us.
Loved it! I grew up close to Willow Tree Farms in MA and I miss getting it now that I am in the South. Thanks so much for the recipe it’s pretty darn close to the original!
Thanks Dawn – glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I can’t wait to try this! I’m such a huge fan of Willow Tree (my mom swears it’s all I would eat when I was in second grade), but I’ve moved out of the area and I miss it so much. I’ve never found anything to compare, honestly. Willow Tree, please expand to Chicago!
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Having tasted the original my entire life, and I’ve made this recipe many times, I think the onion is not correct,im going to use 8 onion powder.
Or perhaps they Blanche the celery and onion prior to using? The onion as described in this recipe is too strong and too much crunch.
Thanks for your feedback Andrew – very possible!
Love this recipe. And it’s so easy. Thank you for sharing! My family loves it!
You’re welcome Sue!
Hi Martha..I made your chicken salad yesterday and it’s delicious..the best I’ve ever had! Thanks for sharing! All of your recipes looks soooo good!
Thanks Judith – glad the recipe was a hit!
I recently found this recipe when looking for a good chicken salad recipe for our food truck. OMG, this is fabulous! I love the texture of the chicken after pulsing. I did poach my chicken breasts first. We got rave reviews on how tasty this was.
Thanks for sharing and it will be my “go to” for chicken salad now!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Tammy!