This zesty Dill Pickle Chicken Egg Salad is the ultimate upgrade to everyone’s favourite chicken salad. Pickle lovers will adore the tender buttermilk and dill brined chicken accented with even more dried dill, garlic dill pickles, salty capers, and EGGS! Perfect for any occasion from picnics to potlucks and school lunches.
If you love Garlic Dill Pickles, you are going to love this recipe. I like to describe it as Chicken Salad meets Egg Salad meets a pickle jar. Pickle flavoured anything is a popular food trend right now and I’m 100% on board… how about you?
Disclosure: This post is made possible by Egg Farmers of Alberta. All opinions and experiences are my own.
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Dill Pickle Chicken Egg Salad
Picture this. You’ve just enjoyed the best chicken breasts ever for dinner and there are leftovers. If you are like me, you’re already thinking about lunch tomorrow because you know it’s going to be CHICKEN SALAD. But what if you done’t have quite enough leftover chicken to feed the whole family?
Scenario number two. You are hosting brunch and want a substantial lunchtime option to serve as sandwiches or on crostini. The dish should be easy to make yet have a stunning presentation.
In both scenarios, Chicken Egg Salad stands out as the winning option. Simply dice up hard boiled eggs to bulk up a classic chicken salad or slice them in half to show off their pretty yellow yolks for a stunning presentation.
Whichever way you serve it, this Dill Pickle Chicken Egg Salad recipe is sure to become one of your favourite chicken salad recipes. The buttermilk brined cooked chicken is incredibly tender and flavourful. In fact, it is a wonderful meal on its own.
However, when you combine the leftovers with chopped capers, dill pickle, dried dill, mayonnaise, and red onion, it makes for one incredible lunchtime treat between bread. If you love chicken salad sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches, you will love this Dill Pickle Chicken Salad sandwich recipe with eggs.
Ingredients for Chicken Egg Salad
- Chicken
- Buttermilk
- Dried Dill Weed
- Salt
- Mayonnaise
- Pepper
- Red Onion
- Garlic Dill Pickles
- Capers
- Eggs
Making buttermilk brined chicken breasts specifically for this recipe is an extra step but it is worth it for the extra flavour boost. It is very easy to double the chicken portion of the recipe to enjoy it both as a dinner main and as leftovers.
Alternatively, feel free to use any leftover chicken, including store bought rotisserie chicken.
Buttermilk is a great chicken marinade option because has a gentle acidity that won’t toughen the chicken during a longer marination time. It tenderizes the chicken and infuses it with a wonderful buttery flavour.
Use store bought real mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip) or homemade, if you prefer. Try Homemade aioli for even more amazing garlic flavour.
Garlic dill pickles are an absolute must for this salad recipe, as is the dried dill weed. However, feel free to use fresh dill and dill pickle relish. Note that the texture will not be the same when using relish instead of diced pickles.
Capers can be optional, but they do add interesting bursts of salt throughout the salad. Taste and adjust with salt after you mix in the capers.
Finally, use either finely diced red onions or sliced green or spring onions in this recipe. Feel free to add diced celery or your favourite crunchy element to make this recipe your own.
How to Make Dill Pickle Chicken Egg Salad
Please note that the total recipe time includes marinating time and plan accordingly or simply make the salad with leftover chicken.
The Buttermilk Marinade
Pour buttermilk into a large mixing bowl. Add dried dill, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir well. Carefully place whole chicken breasts into the marinade. Cover and refrigerate 3-5 hours (up to 8 hours).
To pan fry the chicken, preheat oven to 400 F. Remove chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towel. Discard the marinade.
Heat 1 – 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Carefully place each chicken breast in the pan, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Sear chicken in the hot skillet for 5 minutes, then flip and sear for another 5 minutes.
Note: The buttermilk solids caramelize as you sear the chicken so be careful that they do not char too much.
Place skillet with chicken in the preheated 400 F oven for 10 minutes, or until the chicken reaches 165 F. Remove cooked chicken from oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. Once chicken is at room temperature, place it the fridge and allow it to chill for an hour.
Two Ways to Cook Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs
My idea of the perfect hard-boiled egg is one with a completely set yolk that is not dry and chalky. Over the years it has taken some experimentation with different methods and today I am happy to share my results with you!
The first and my preferred method is pressure cooking eggs in the Instant Pot. To make perfect hard-boiled eggs in the Instant Pot, position the rack in the bottom of the Instant Pot insert. Add 1 cup of water and place as many (fridge temperature) eggs as you like on the rack.
Place the lid on, ensure the valve is closed and set the timer for 6 minutes on high pressure.
Once the eggs have been cooking for 6 minutes, allow them to sit one more minute before releasing the pressure. Remove the eggs and immediately place them in a bowl of cold water.
The second method is boiling the eggs in a saucepan on the stove, no special appliances required! Fill a small saucepan with water and add cold eggs. Bring to a boil over high heat, and immediately lower to low – medium heat for a light boil. Lightly boil eggs for 7 minutes then drain and plunge into cold water to stop them from cooking further.
Putting it All Together
Now, let’s make Chicken Egg Salad! To begin, dice the cold chicken, then add it to a medium mixing bowl. Next, add the finely diced red onion, diced pickles, chopped capers, dried dill, and mayonnaise to the bowl. Season with freshly ground pepper and mix well. Taste and season with salt if needed.
Peel the eggs and slice them in half, in quarters or dice them depending on how you want to serve the salad. Add diced eggs directly to the chicken salad, then serve as sandwiches on toasted or non toasted bread.
For a beautiful presentation, line a shallow bowl with lettuce leaves and place the salad in a mound in the middle of the bowl. Arrange sliced egg halves around the salad. Garnish with edible flowers, chopped fresh dill or chives.
Serve chicken salad on toasted crostini, on crackers, or in lettuce cups for a low carb option.
Hi! I’m Bernice Hill and I’ve been the sole recipe developer, photographer, and writer at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen for the past eleven years. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.
If you make this Dill Pickle Chicken Egg Salad recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section or in the ratings. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please share your photos and tag me on Instagram. I hope you like this recipe!
Dill Pickle Chicken Egg Salad
This zesty Dill Pickle Chicken Egg Salad is the ultimate upgrade to everyone's favourite chicken salad. Pickle lovers will adore the tender buttermilk and dill brined chicken accented with even more dried dill, garlic dill pickles, salty capers, and EGGS! Perfect for any occasion from picnics to potlucks and school lunches.
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 Tablespoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4-6 eggs
- 1/4 cup red onion; very finely diced
- 1/4 cup dill pickles; finely diced
- 2 Tablespoons capers; chopped
- 1 Tablespoon dried dill
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- freshly ground pepper
- 4- 8 slices lettuce
- 8 slices bread; ;toasted
Instructions
- Pour buttermilk into a large bowl. Add dried dill, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir well.
- Carefully place chicken breasts into the marinade. Cover and refrigerate 3-5 hours.
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Remove chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towel. Discard the marinade.
- Heat 1 - 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Carefully place each chicken breast in the pan, taking care not to overcrowd the pan.
- Sear chicken in the hot skillet for 5 minutes, then flip and sear for another 5 minutes. Place skillet with chicken in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the chicken reaches 165 F.
- Remove chicken from oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. Once chicken is at room temperature, place it the fridge and allow it to chill for an hour.
- Fill a small saucepan with water and add 4 - 6 eggs. Bring to a boil over high heat, and immediately lower to low - medium heat for a light boil. Lightly boil eggs for 7 minutes then drain and plunge into cold water to stop them from cooking further.
- Dice the cold chicken, then add to a medium mixing bowl. Next, add the finely diced red onion, diced pickles, chopped capers, dried dill, and mayonnaise. Season with freshly ground pepper and mix well.
- Peel the eggs and slice them in half, in quarters or dice them to add directly to the salad.
- Line a shallow bowl with lettuce leaves and place the salad in a mound in the middle of the bowl. Arrange sliced eggs around the salad. Garnish with edible flowers, chopped fresh dill or chives.
- Serve chicken salad in a sandwich with lettuce and chopped eggs, or on toasted bread, lettuce cups or on crackers.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 600Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 366mgSodium: 1161mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 5gSugar: 9gProtein: 47g
Nutritional calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is an estimation only. For special diets or medical issues please use your preferred calculator.
I love pickles and when I saw this recipe I knew I just had to try it out. It turned out great and I will be making it again for sure.
Excellent! So glad you gave it a try. Nice to meet another pickle lover!
Loved this dish. The dill goes perfectly with the rest of the ingredients and makes the whole meal so so yummy.
Dill is probably one of my favourite herbs. Right up there with basil and thyme. It’s so great in a variety of applications!
I so love pickles! As soon as I saw this I had to make it! Such an amazing recipe! Seriously if you love pickles, you need this recipe!
From one pickle lover to another… so glad you loved this recipe Lori.
I’m a big fan of pickles so this salad looks right up my alley. Thank you for sharing
You’re welcome Moop, it is truly my pleasure to share these recipes.
What a great idea to brine the chicken. It was so flavorful and delicious in the chicken salad.
It really creates an extra tasty, super moist chicken breast. IMHO the only way to cook them!
How have I never added dill pickle to chicken salad before?? I bet this is absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to try this recipe soon. 🙂
I’m not sure!! But now you know why this is such a trend right now. It’s pickle everything these days!
Hey, stumbled upon your Dill Pickle Chicken Egg Salad recipe and it’s a total winner! The tangy dill and pickle twist on a classic egg salad is a game-changer
Excellent!! I am so happy you love this recipe as much as I do Sophie. Thanks for trying it.
The Dill Pickle Chicken Egg Salad is wonderful. We loved the flavor profile and textures. Sour rocks! Thank you.
This is why ‘dill pickle’ flavour is so hot right now! Everyone loves it and I’m so glad you also loved the salad.
Loved this chicken egg salad with all the dill pickle flavors. I added this to bread and topped it on a salad the next day. So good and perfect!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Kathryn, the dill pickle flavour really takes this chicken salad to another level.
Can I just say how gorgeous this dill pickle chicken egg salad is! I super love how it looks and I’m pretty sure it’s tasty, too.
Thank you so much Mina. I really lucked out as I was shooting at my in-laws house. They let their oregano go to flower and I garnished the salad with the gorgeous purple oregano flowers. They provided the fresh greens as well.
I love egg salad and chicken salad, but have never combined then together. The addition of dill pickles is great, adds wonderful flavour and texture. This is a must try.
They work really well when mixed together which is good because sometimes you don’t have enough leftover chicken for sandwiches!
this egg salad tuned out so delicious! the flavors of the dill pickle really make it soo tasty!
Oh GOOD, I’m so glad you liked this Andrea. It’s a personal favourite of mine. I can’t wait to have leftover chicken again!
OMG! This is such a flavour bomb. I have made it twice already Once for a dip and then I made it for wrap filling for everyone’s lunches. A big hit here. Thanks so much for another great recipe.
YUM, I never even thought about putting it in wraps. Now I’m going to make it again! Glad you liked it Megane.
I love the idea of using buttermilk to tenderize the chicken in this dish. Such a great flavour combination, too.
Yes, it works really well and the chicken is really good on it’s own too.
Dill is always a good idea. I love the freshness of this herb with your chicken and egg salad. It is really delicious – i had seconds!
Agree! I’m a huge dill fan and I add it wherever I can.
I am the biggest pickle lover and when I saw this recipe I just had to make it. The combo of chicken and egg salad is delicious and of course I love all the pickle flavours. Great recipe.
Woohoo! This recipe was made for pickle lovers!!
This sounds like a great way to make the kids eat their proteins! I love this “dill pickle” trend right now! I would put pickles everywhere if I could, plus, kids are such pickle lovers… at least mine. Lovely idea!
Same! I always joke that my daughter went from breastmilk to pickles lol I’m glad you liked the recipe Marie-Pierre