This Hot Chicken Salad recipe makes an easy, delicious meal! Chicken, celery, sour cream, and cheese baked with buttery cracker topping. Perfect for serving for a family meal, luncheons, and potlucks! It is always a crowd favorite.

Hot chicken salad baked in a white baking dish.

Chicken salad is always a favorite and this easy hot chicken salad is a family favorite recipe for sure. Creamy chicken with crunchy bits of celery and a delicious buttery cracker topping, it’s hard to believe it’s ready so quickly. But it disappears just about as fast, if not faster!

Table of Contents

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Easy recipe. This recipe comes together quickly and bakes in the oven until golden and bubbly.
  • Comforting chicken salad recipe. Chicken salad is always delicious, but this hot chicken salad is warm and comforting. Great anytime!
  • Make ahead and freezer-friendly. Great for meal prep to serve during a busy week or to take friends and family for a meal.

How to Make Hot Chicken Salad Recipe

Ingredients to make hot chicken salad recipe on a white surface.

Ingredients for Hot Chicken Salad Recipe

Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.

  • Chicken – This recipe uses cooked chicken. I love to use my shredded chicken recipe or even leftover baked chicken. You can also use rotisserie chicken, homemade or store-bought.
  • Celery – Diced celery adds crunch to this hot chicken salad recipe.
  • Salt – I use kosher salt. I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you substitute with Morton’s Kosher salt, fine sea salt, or table salt, you will only need half the amount of the salt called for in the recipe. 
  • Pepper – Black pepper adds flavor to this recipe.
  • Lemon juice – Brightens this chicken salad.
  • Sour cream – Makes the chicken salad creamy and delicious. You can also substitute with partial or all Greek yogurt if you like.
  • Mayonnaise – Like the sour cream, the mayonnaise adds to the creaminess of the hot chicken salad.
  • Cheddar cheese – Shredded cheddar cheese is delicious in this recipe.
  • Ritz crackers – Crushed buttery crackers are added to the top of this hot chicken salad and then baked for a delicious topping!
  • Butter – added to the top of the Ritz cracker topping for baking.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Ingredients for the recipe in a glass mixing bowl on a white counter.

Mix the ingredients. Add all ingredients except the crackers and butter to a large mixing bowl.

Mixture in a baking dish ready for topping to bake.

Pour into baking dish. Spread the mixture into a baking dish.

Salad mixture in baking dish with cracker and butter topping added.

Add topping and butter. Distribute the cracker crumbs and butter on top of the casserole.

Baked salad in a baking dish on a white surface.

Bake. Bake in a 350º F oven until golden brown and heated throughout about 20 minutes.

Hot chicken salad casserole ready to serve.

Serve.

Storage Tips

Make ahead. Cool and wrap tightly. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat and serve.

Freeze. Prepare and spread it into a freezer-safe baking dish. Wrap tightly with freezer-safe wrap and store in the freezer for up to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and add the cracker crumbs and butter before baking.

More Chicken Salad Recipes

Hot chicken salad on a white plate.

What to Serve with Hot Chicken Salad

Serve with fruit like grapes or apple slices or another salad like broccoli salad or fruit salad.

Here’s my Hot Chicken Salad recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do.

Hot chicken salad baked in a white baking dish.
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Hot Chicken Salad Recipe

Robyn Stone
5 from 8 votes
This Hot Chicken Salad recipe makes an easy, delicious meal! Chicken, celery, sour cream, and cheese baked with buttery cracker topping.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8

Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 4 cups chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
  • 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
  • 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350º F.
  • Mix together all ingredients except butter crackers and butter. Pour into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spread evenly.
  • Crush butter crackers and spread over top of chicken salad mixture. Top with pats of butter.
  • Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes until lightly browned and heated throughout.

Notes

To make ahead. Cool and wrap tightly. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat and serve.
To freeze. Prepare hot chicken salad mixture and spread it into a freezer-safe baking dish. Wrap tightly with freezer-safe wrap and store in the freezer for up to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and add the cracker crumbs and butter before baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 435kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 549mg | Potassium: 234mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 449IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 178mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Enjoy!
Robyn xo

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About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

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Recipe Review




27 Comments

  1. This is exactly what my grandmother used to serve at her club meetings! I can’t eat dairy or gluten, so I exchanged the sour cream for an equal amount of dairy free yogurt, and gluten free crackers and dairy free butter on top, along with dairy free cheese. Thanks for taking me back to grandma’s house!

    Reply

    1. Brooke, I’m glad this recipe took you back to memories of your grandma’s house. Thanks for telling us how you make this dairy and gluten free.

  2. 5 stars
    My husband and I love this recipe. I add some chopped onion and to make it low carb, I use pork panko instead of crackers. So good I am making it tonight!

    Reply

  3. My grandmother made a very similar recipe, but added a couple of boiled eggs all cut up. Also instead of sour cream she used cream of chicken soup. I love the idea of slivered almonds though and swapping the soup for sour cream. Instead of crackers, toasted bread crumbs would work. Panko bread crumbs hold their texture so that would also be pretty tasty. I like chunky celery so I used to parboil the celery a bit before adding. Going to revive this dish for my family and see if it just as good as I remember from a couple of decades ago! Thanks!

    Reply

  4. I see you mention subbing in yogurt instead of mayo. Is it a one to one sub? I can’t do mayo either. So 1/4 cup sour cream and  1 cup yogurt with Mustard?

    Reply

    1. Yes, Debbie. You would use the same amount of yogurt as the recipe states for mayonnaise. So 1/4 cup sour cream and 1 cup yogurt with bit of mustard. Hope you enjoy!

  8. 5 stars
    Came across this recipe recently and decided to give it a try. Wow! We love it! Other hot chicken salad recipes I’ve found are more like a chicken casserole with cream-of-something soups. Yours is perfect! The only change I made was adding slivered almonds. We will definitely be making this again!

    Reply