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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PrintCopycat Willow Tree Chicken Salad
A copycat recipe of the famous Willow Tree chicken salad.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Sandwich
- Method: mixed
- Cuisine: American
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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This looks yummy. I will try this.
Hope you enjoy it Kathy!
I haven’t ever had the Willow Tree so can’t speak to that. But I thought this was a good base recipe however too much onion for me – it was overpowering and I’d cut back a tablespoon. After eating it, it seemed like it was missing something more. I added cranberries and almonds to lean into the sweetness profile and also add more crunch – turned out great. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your feedback Megan.
This is my all time favorite chicken salad. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Debbie – so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Nice, simple, tasty chicken salad!
Thanks Carrie!
Very accurate and delicious. Made it last night. My version: buy a whole rotisserie chicken and put in fridge for an hour or so to cool down. Remove both breasts and pull meat apart with hands. Use 1/2 the ingredients above. Makes a bunch of sandwiches. Thank you!
You’re welcome Rico!
The Best Tasting Chicken Salad
Thanks Kelley!
I LOVE LOVE Willow Tree chicken salad but can’t get it here in AZ anymore. This is as close as I can come and it’s a great recipe.
Thanks Heather!
I get lots of canned chicken and I was wondering if there can be second version of this recipe but using canned chicken. I noticed a lot of canned chicken comes in 10 oz cans but mostly water/juice weight and so judging how much mayonnaise to use I had to trial and error it otherwise it can get watery even with the best of draining before usage. I know Willow Tree lists brown sugar as one of their ingredients but was wondering if it can be seasoned to taste or 1/2 tbsp. I noticed on Willow Tree packaging they use paprika which wasn’t listed in the recipe but figured it was probably used as a garni or coloring and not so much used as a seasoning so I used 1/8 tsp of paprika to mine. I also added a small squeeze of Golden Brown mustard instead of using mustard powder because the vinegar in it helps give it that salad tang. I also use white pepper and kosher salt to taste. I would love to try this recipe in the future using rotisserie chicken. I worked in a deli that made chicken salad using the white meat pulled from whole rotisserie chickens and the salad always came out delish. However, with the rotisserie chicken I would probably scale back the brown sugar or omit it. The great thing about this recipe is you can take 1 or 2 celery stalks and 1 to 2 small onions and run it through the food processor or make a bulk paste of the onions of celery to cut prep time and just add three tbsp of the paste. This is like the fourth time I am making it using the canned chicken just to clear out the pantry.
Thanks for the suggestions!
BEST CHICKEN SALAD EVER!!! THE BROWN SUGAR MADE SUCH A SURPRISING DIFFERENCE. YOU ARE SO GENEROUS AND KIND TO GIVE US THIS RECIPE. THANK YOU!
You’re very welcome Sunny! So glad you enjoyed it as much as we do!
Best I’ve ever tasted. Our family favorite
Thank you Eileen. Martha and I actually just had this for lunch.
Jack