The Ultimate Chicken Salad Sandwich

I combined two well-loved sandwich fillings, both comfort food from my childhood, to make a terrific sandwich filling. Chicken salad plus cheese pimiento. The result was a blast.

Chicken salad sandwich was one of my favorites as a child. Back then, however, I did not want chopped onions in my chicken salad filling. I don’t remember anymore when the craving for more flavors, textures and contrasts began. By the time I was in college, I remember that I was already adding not only chopped onion but chopped celery and carrot as well.

Cheese pimiento was the one sandwich filling that my mother could make with her eyes closed. She wasn’t a good cook but she made great cheese pimiento sandwiches.

Both sandwich fillings, along with tuna salad, were mainstays in our house. Not having a tub of one or the other filling in the fridge were rare times.

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For some reason, in the summer of 2011, I decided to combine chicken salad with cheese pimiento. Perhaps, I felt nostalgic. Perhaps, I had run out of ideas on what to put between slices of bread or what to post in the blog, or both.

Finely chopped chicken meat, celery, carrot, onion and roasted bell peppers were mixed with mayo, grated sharp cheddar and cream cheeses. Comfort food times two. Oooh la la.

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The Ultimate Chicken Salad Sandwich

Course Sandwiches

Cuisine International

Prep Time 10 minutes

Chilling time 2 hours

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 4 cups

Author Connie Veneracion

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken meat
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons chopped carrot
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup softened cream cheese
• mayonnaise just enough to bind, about 1/4 cup
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• lettuce
• toasted bread

Instructions

1. Place chicken, bell peppers, celery, carrot, onion, pickle relish and parsley in a bowl. Stir to distribute the ingredients evenly.

2. In another bowl, whisk the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Stir in the mayonnaise. Fold in the cheddar.

3. Scrape the mayo-cheese mixture into the bowl with the chicken and vegetables. Mix lightly but thoroughly to moisten all the dry ingredients.

4. Taste the sandwich filling. Add salt and pepper to balance the flavors.

5. Cover the bowl and chill for at least two hours.

6. Taste the sandwich filling again. You'll be surprised how the flavors have mellowed and blended. You may need to add more salt and pepper.

7. Take a slice of toast. Pile on the chicken sandwich filling. Top with lettuce leaves and cover with another slice of toast.

Recipe Notes

Updated from the recipe originally published in May 26, 2011.