Zesty Pepperoncini Chicken Salad

This Zesty Pepperoncini Chicken Salad is a tangy spin on the classic, with flavorful yet common ingredients you might already have on hand, such as jarred pepperoncinis and shredded chicken. Make-ahead and serve hot or cold!

Here’s a little explanation of everything I added to this chicken salad and why:

• boneless skinless chicken breasts – You can use leftover chicken breasts, rotisserie chicken, or cook some chicken specifically for the chicken salad. You’ll want at least one pound of chicken before cooking, and about 3 cups shredded chicken after cooking.
• celery – Some diced celery adds the perfect crunch to this chicken salad, so don’t skip! This is the only crunchy ingredient.
• pepperoncini peppers – Our star! You should be able to find these jars of Mezzetta Greek golden pepperoncinis by the other pickles and jarred vegetables.
• green onions – The pepperoncinis provide a lot of strong flavor, so I used a softer flavored onion in order to not compete! It provides a subtle background flavor.
• mayonnaise – For the classic creamy chicken salad vibe, you’ve got to add mayonnaise to this one. I didn’t go for Greek yogurt here because I think the chicken salad already has enough tang.
• pepperoncini juice – To add even more of the star flavor and moisture to the chicken salad, you can pour in some pepperoncini juice directly from the jar.
• fresh dill – To add some fresh flavor, I like to add some chopped dill. I reallllly like dill, so if that’s not your thing, you can use flat leaf parsley instead (and if you like fresh herbs, try my Herby Lemon Mashed Chickpea Salad).
• garlic powder, dried oregano, salt, & fresh ground black pepper – A little seasoning for flavor makes a huge difference, especially since most of the ingredients were fresh (aside from the pepperoncinis).

Related: Love yourself a dependable cold lunch? Browse this popular list of 16 Make-Ahead Cold Lunch Ideas.

Equipment you’ll need to make this chicken salad:

There are a couple specific kitchen items I recommend using when you make this recipe:

• For a cutting board, I recommend this Greener Chef XL Bamboo Cutting Board (affiliate link!) for everything, except cutting raw meat. I use mine almost every day! The XL size is perfect and not too huge.
• For my chef’s knife, I recommend a Misen Chef’s Knife (affiliate link!) – super high quality while being affordable. I used this knife for everything including cutting the herbs and veggies.
• For meal prep containers, anything with a tight fitting lid will work, but my favorite for the chicken salad are these 3 Compartment Glass Meal Prep Containers (affiliate link!).

You can use leftover chicken (use 3 cups) or cook up two breasts (around 8-10 ounces each) to use for the chicken salad with one of these methods:

• Oven: Preheat oven to 425F.  Lay chicken in a rimmed baking pan lined with aluminum foil (for easy clean up) or 9×13 casserole dish. Rub with 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 20-30 minutes (depending on thickness) or until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Find my Baked Shredded Chicken Base Recipe here.
• Instant Pot: Place your raw chicken breasts into the pot with 1 cup chicken broth. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook on Manual or High Pressure for 8-9 minutes for raw or 12-14 minutes for frozen (higher end of the range for thicker breasts). Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure. 

Shred the chicken as finely as possible for the best texture chicken salad. I prefer to shred my chicken just after cooking. It’s easier to finely shred at a warmer temperature than when chilled.

How to make this Zesty Pepperoncini Chicken Salad:

If you’ve made chicken salad before, you know how easy it is. The most time consuming part is cutting up the veggies and shredding your chicken; otherwise you put everything in the bowl, mix it up, and chill in the fridge.

The recipe calls for about 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts, which equals about 3 cups of chicken once it’s cooked and shredded. You can use leftover chicken, cook some chicken breasts specifically for the recipe, or grab a rotisserie chicken at the store.

Shred up the cooked chicken breast, then use a sharp knife to also roughly chop it up. This will give you smaller pieces of chicken which means more surface area to absorb flavors and get the perfect chicken salad texture.

Prep all the veggies, then toss them into large mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients and spices, then mix it all together. You can definitely enjoy this chicken salad now, but it tastes even better after it’s been in the fridge overnight.

How hot are pepperoncini peppers?

Pepperoncini peppers come in two types: Italian and Greek. I always buy the 16 ounce jar of Mezzetta Greek Golden Pepperonicinis. I believe this is a common brand you should be able to find at your local grocery store near the other shelf-stable pickles.

This kind of pepper is not hot at all, only registering from 100 to 500 SHU on the Scoville Scale, or 5 to 80 times milder than a jalapeño. That’s not hot at all. I personally love these peppers for their tangy, slightly sweet, but also bitter flavor.

Best tips for making this chicken salad:

While there is no heat or cooking in this recipe, there are a couple important preparation steps you shouldn’t skip:

• Try to chop everything pretty small (including the shredded chicken) to ensure it holds together well and you get all the flavors in every bite. This helps the give the shredded chicken more surface area overall. It will absorb more sauce and be more pleasant to chew!
• Before you put all the ingredients away, give it a taste and make sure you’re happy with the flavors You can add more pepperoncini juice, garlic powder, salt or pepper.
• If your chicken was just cooked and is still warm when you make the chicken salad, I would give the entire bowl a few hours to chill and mingle before digging in. The flavor improves and deepens after chilling!

How to serve this Zesty Pepperoncini Chicken Salad:

This chicken salad can be eaten for lunch, dinner, or enjoy a few bites as a snack if you want! Here are some of best ideas for how to serve this tangy chicken salad:

• with crackers (wheat thins or Simple Mills crackers are good)
• on a croissant (yum)
• as a melt with toasty bread and melty cheese
• with greens in a wrap

How do you meal prep chicken salad?

Like all my chicken salad recipes, this Pepperoncini Chicken Salad was made for meal prep. There are a couple ways to save time by preparing all or parts of this recipe ahead of time. Here are some options:

1. Ingredient prep: Make sure your chicken is cooked and your veggies (like celery and green onion) are ready to go so you can make the chicken salad in the next 24 hours or so. If you have leftover chicken cooked chicken breast, even better!
2. Prep for now & later: Prepare the recipe as written and enjoy a portion or two now, while saving the rest for another lunch or dinner in the next 4 days.
3. Complete prep & portion: Portion the full recipe into 4 meal prep containers so lunch is ready for the next 4 days.

Is this recipe freezer-friendly?

I would not recommend freezing this recipe due to the mayonnaise and celery. It would definitely have a weird texture after thawing!

How to store prepared Zesty Pepperoncini Chicken Salad:

Store prepared chicken salad in an airtight container with lid in the fridge for up to 4 days.

How to heat up prepared chicken salad:

I usually prefer to enjoy chicken salad cold from the fridge, but a delicious way to heat up this version would be an open faced chicken salad melt:

1. Toast some bread (we tried it with ciabatta)
2. Spread a scoop of chicken salad
3. Add cheese on top for a chicken salad melt!
4. You could use an air fryer, stovetop, or a toaster oven for this.