This mushroom chicken salad is creamy, tangy, and full of texture. Consider it an unexpected spin on classic deli chicken salad!

This tasty mushroom salad makes for the perfect side dish at your next party or takeaway lunch for work. The combination of tangy marinated mushrooms, savory chicken, sautéed veggies, and creamy dressing is simply to die for. A must-try that will soon be on repeat in your home!
Choosing the Right Mushrooms
The key to really getting the right balance of flavors in this salad is to use marinated mushrooms versus other varieties. The tanginess brings out the fats from the mayo and compliments the savory chicken and veggies. If you can, stop in at your local European specialty food store and grab any jarred, marinated mushroom you like best! Chanterelles and cremini mushrooms are our favorites.
Preparing a Mushroom Salad
If you’re using precooked chicken breasts, putting this salad together is as easy as giving it a little stir and seasoning.
- Prepare the Chicken: Dice the cooked chicken into small cubes.
- Prepare the Veggies: Next, rinse the jarred mushrooms and canned peas under cold water. Dice the pickles, grate the carrots, and slice the onions into half rings.
- Sauté the Veggies: Cook the carrots and onions in a hot pan until soft. Remove them from heat and allow them to cool completely. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl
- Toss with Dressing: Finally, toss in the mayo and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve chilled and enjoy!
Customize the Salad: Feel free to tweak the salad to your tastebuds. A couple great additions included minced garlic, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, or a little dijon mustard. You could also swap the onions out for shallots!
3 Simple Tips for the Best Mushroom Salad
These 3 simple tips will help you knock this creamy salad out of the park.
- Slice the veggies evenly. Make sure that each vegetable group is sliced similarly to yield the best texture. If you have one, use a vegetable slicer to get that perfect consistency.
- Rinse canned or jarred veggies first. Make sure the marinated mushrooms and canned peas are rinsed of their brine before adding them to the salad. These brines can carry a strong flavor and water down your salad dressing.
- Allow the ingredients to cool before mixing them. To prevent the salad from overcooking or getting soggy, make sure all the ingredients are cooled to room temperature before mixing them together.
Hot Tip: For a pop of flavor and freshness, add in some minced herbs. Drill, parsley leaves, or chives will work great!
Ideas for Serving Your Mushroom Salad
Perhaps the most popular way to serve this salad is alongside pieces of toasted baguette or rye bread. This makes for such a killer appetizer! If you’re prepping a picnic lunch, sandwich the salad between two pieces of bread with butter lettuce (hello, tasty Sunday hike sando!).
Best Practices for Storage
To keep the salad on hand for up to 3 days, store your leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This will lock in the moisture and keep it from drying out and losing it’s vibrancy. When you’re ready to snack, give the salad a good stir to redistribute the dressing.
FAQ
Can you use canned mushrooms instead of marinated ones?
Canned mushrooms don’t have the same “zing” as marinated mushrooms. The tang from the vinegar makes all the difference!
Can you use leftover rotisserie chicken?
Absolutely! This recipe is a great candidate for using that rotisserie chicken you have hanging out in your refrigerator.
How far in advance can you whip this salad up?
You can make this salad up to 3 days before you plan to serve it. As it marinates in the fridge, it will continue to develop its flavors and the taste will be out of this world!
Can you use chicken thighs instead?
Breasts work best, as they aren’t as fatty. However, you can use chicken thighs if you don’t mind it have a fattier flavor profile.
Similar Salads to Whip Up
- Olivier Potato Salad (Салат Оливье) – Creamy, Slavic-style potato salad
- Russian Beet Salad (with Garlic) – Super garlicky beet salad
- Russian Vinaigrette Salad – Diced beet and veggie salad
- Roasted Cabbage Wedge Salad – Chilled cabbage salad
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups marinated mushrooms
- 2 cooked chicken breasts
- 1 large onion cut into half rings
- 2 cups pickles
- 2 cups canned peas
- 2 medium carrots cleaned & grated
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise dressing
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp salt adjust to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper adjust to taste
Instructions
- If you're not using precooked chicken breasts, quickly sear them for 4-5 minutes per side until golden brown. Dice the chicken breasts into small cubes.
- Rinse and drain the peas and mushrooms under cold water.
- Dice the pickles into small cubes.
- Sauté the sliced carrots and onion on a very hot skillet until softened. Allow the veggies to completely cool. Mix all the chopped ingredients in a large bowl.
- Stir in mayonnaise right before serving and season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Making this for Thanksgiving this year! Can’t wait!
Awesome, we make it for Thanksgiving and love this recipe. I hope you will love it too.
Thought to give a shout out to you, I know there's another food blogger who posted the same salad after you did, hands down your version is the best! I agree with you, you have to use a marinated mushrooms to give that extra flavor, it makes a nice texture and sourness. God bless you!
Lara, thank you so much for this sweet comment. I do agree that pickled mushrooms are a must 🙂
Just wanted to let you know this was soooo good...The combination of flavors was amazing. I rarely leave comments on food blogs, but this salad earned it ;). I'm making it again to take to a get-together tonight.
Oh yeyyey!!! Thanks for commenting! You have made my day 😉 now I have to come over for get together 😉
Absolutely! Come join us in Boise, Idaho--we'd love to have you 🙂
Would it make a huge difference if I use canned mushrooms that are not salted ?
I think if you use plain canned mushrooms it will not be as great. They have no flavor to them selves. Marinated mushrooms add a lot of flavor to the salad.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU WHERE YOU GET THE SHREDDER?
I got mine at Costco years ago but you can also find it on amazon.
My mama even visits your blog Natalya 🙂 She made this salad for Christmas Eve gathering at my place and everyone loved it. thanks for your recipes, they all are greatly appreciated. 🙂
Oh wow Inna. That's neat that your mom uses the blog. This recipe really needs photo lift!
Nataliya,
We had some left over rotisserie chicken from Costco (I love if I get any leftovers from that).so I whipped this salad and everyone loved it.I had some baguette bread that I didn't want to waste, so I killed two birds with one stone:I spread the salad on the bread.thank you for sharing.God bless you.
Hey Lena, I like the idea of using baguette with this salad. You have a smart way of using up leftovers, I like it 😉
Amazing !!!!! Thank you !!!
on my to do list 🙂
You will love this salad. It can be prepared ahead of time so perfect for Thanksgiving :)) Let me know how it goes.
Ohh my, absolutely delisoussssssyyyyy sounding recipe!! You have listed my favorite ingredients in this salad….sautéed onion, chicken and mushroom…yummmm. So making this next week! i'm seriously drooling now just by reading the steps!!! Thank you, THank you once again:)
You will love this salad. But still, let me know your feedback 🙂
Hi I was wondering how much in advance can you make this salad?
With out mayonnaise it can stay fresh for a few days in refrigerator.
Thank you! Can't wait to try it 🙂 I love you recipes 🙂
Thank you so much.
Hi, did u buy the Mushrooms from the Russian store?
Yes I did.
I have quick question it doesn't say how much carrots but on your images shows carrots. How much do we need carrots? And thank you for the recipe!
I totally spaced that one. 2 medium size carrots. Thanks 🙂