The problem with a lot of chicken salad recipes is that they’re lacking in flavor—not that chicken and mayo aren’t delicious together, but it’s not exactly a bold combination. (Kind of like how you might enjoy buttered noodles as a comfort food meal, but it’s not flavorful like Chicken Pesto Pasta!)

This pesto chicken salad has that creamy goodness you expect, no, DEMAND, in a good chicken salad, but it’s got a gourmet spin. Pesto is added to the mayo dressing, along with some Greek yogurt which brings a nice tanginess. Then I added some of the components of pesto—pine nuts, basil, and Parmesan—to the salad itself to amp up the flavor and introduce some new textures to the mix.

You’ve also got your traditional chicken salad veggies—minced red onion and celery—but I did one better by adding sun-dried tomatoes too. Whether they’re in Cheese Tortellini with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto or this pesto chicken salad, they are always a treat with their fabulous chewy texture and sweet, slightly acidic flavor. Don’t skip ‘em!

Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll need for this recipe. For the full measurements, scroll down to the recipe card.

Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for full printable instructions.

Follow these additional pointers for making this recipe and you can’t go wrong!

Here are a few variations you can try to customize this pesto chicken salad recipe to your liking.

The options? Endless, my friend! Here are my favorite ways to enjoy this recipe.

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