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We spend many weekends in the Summer going down to our local beach with a picnic dinner. It is hard to come up with easy to make, easy to eat meals that travel well. On a recent evening, I was in charge of the main dish and couldn’t think of anything to make other than sandwiches. I figured I could wrap them in paper and we wouldn’t need plates or utensils.
I made Ina Garten’s Chicken Salad with tarragon and celery. Talk about a simple recipe that packs lots of flavor and a little crunch! The recipe called for adding mayonnaise to the bread but I felt the salad was already dressed enough and am glad I didn’t add more to the bread. I changed up the spring mix to romaine for a little extra crunch and swapped out the multi grain bread for soft rolls.
They were a huge hit! Luckily, I made extra and we enjoyed it the next day for lunch. Need other picnic ideas? Check out this post and this one for recipes.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches
- Prep Time: 40 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 1x
- Category: Salad
Description
Ingredients
- 4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on
- Good olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup good mayonnaise, plus more for the bread
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
- 1 cup small-diced celery (2 stalks)
- 8 to 10 slices health or seven-grain bread
- 1 package mesclun salad mix
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside to cool.
- When the chicken is cool, remove and discard the skin and bones and cut the chicken into 3/4-inch dice. Place the chicken in a bowl and add the mayonnaise, tarragon, celery, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and toss well.
- To assemble, spread a little mayonnaise on half the bread slices, top with the chicken salad and mesclun mix, and cover with the remaining slices of bread. Cut in half and serve.
Keywords: Easy Chicken, Chicken Recipes, Easy Poultry, Easy Main Dish, Main Dish, Easy Lunch Recipes, Lunch, Chicken Salad, Sandwich