These Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches are hands-down one of my favorite lunches to throw together. Not too much effort, with a huge reward!
I’ve been eating sandwiches almost every day lately and these Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches are one of my favorites. I love this recipe because it makes a big batch of chicken salad to have on hand throughout the week. Put it in sandwiches, on top of a salad, eat it with rice cakes, or eat it on its own!
The chicken salad has a light pesto flavor, with more pesto spread onto the toasted bread used for the sandwich. I also love adding tomato to this sandwich for juiciness and acidity, along with arugula for a peppery fresh crunch.
Homemade pesto is super easy to make, and I have a great recipe. But these days there are so many amazing store-bought versions, you can’t go wrong with using one to make your life a little easier. We have a great butcher right by my house that makes fresh pesto, so I’ll pick up some when I can’t find good-looking fresh basil.
Ingredient Notes:
- Rotisserie Chicken – I love picking up a rotisserie chicken for this recipe, because it makes everything so much easier. The chicken is already cooked. But if you prefer to cook the chicken yourself, go right ahead. You’ll only need two bone-in breasts and two bone-in thighs. You can roast them, poach them, or cook them however you’d like until shreddable.
- Honey – Just a little bit of honey changes the flavor of this recipe. You can use agave if you prefer.
- White Wine Vinegar – I prefer to use vinegar for this recipe, however you can definitely use lemon, if you don’t have white wine vinegar on hand. Regular white vinegar may be too strong.
- Pesto – Feel free to use your favorite store-bought pesto, your own home meade recipe, or you can make my recipe for pesto!
- Bread – Sourdough is definitely my favorite here. There’s an incredible restaurant called Gjusta in Venice Beach that makes THE BEST EVER gluten-free sourdough. However if you prefer a ciabatta roll or white bread, go right ahead.
- Tomato – If you hate tomatoes, I recommend substituting roasted red peppers!
- Arugula – I love the peppery arugula for this chicken salad sandwich. But, feel free to substitute any green you want instead for that crunch.
Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Pesto Chicken Salad:
- 1 rotisserie chicken breasts and thighs skinned and shredded, then roughly chopped; remaining kept to use however you'd like
- 2-3 stalks celery depending on how much you’d like, very finely diced
- 14 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 4 teaspoons Dijon
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- ½ cup pesto use your favorite store-bought or homemade pesto, or my recipe
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the Sandwiches (per sandwich):
- 2 slices your favorite bread or you can use rolls, toasted
- Pesto sauce to taste (use your favorite store-bought or homemade pesto)
- Pesto Chicken Salad to taste
- 2 round slices of heirloom tomato
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Arugula to taste
Instructions
For the Pesto Chicken Salad:
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken, celery, mayonnaise, Dijon, honey, vinegar, and pesto. Season with a good amount of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. (TIP: If you prefer creamier chicken salad, add another 2 tablespoons mayonnaise).
For the Sandwiches:
- Spread as much pesto as you’d like on each piece of bread, or either side of the roll. Place as much of the Pesto Chicken Salad as you’d like on one piece of bread or the bottom half of the roll and place tomato slices on top. Sprinkle tomato with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top with as much arugula as you’d like and close the sandwich. Cut in half, if desired, and enjoy!
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