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This Italian Grinder Chicken Salad combines all the elements you love about a Grinder sandwich and we turn it into a deliciously tangy chicken salad perfect for an easy lunch with crackers or veggies for dipping. Or, serve it up on toasted croissant for an amazing sandwich.
If you love this chicken salad, you’ll love my Italian Grinder Grilled Cheese! A gooey, melty sandwich stuffed full of layered meats and piled high with the tangy grinder salad topping. Plus, my BLT Chicken Salad, Buffalo Chicken Salad, Street Corn Chicken Salad, and Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad.
Why You’ll Love Italian Grinder Chicken Salad
The Italian Grinder sandwich went super viral in recent years and it’s beloved for the multiple deli meats and the “grinder” salad which includes banana peppers, red onion, lettuce, parmesan and a tangy creamy vinegar dressing. It addictively delicious and many say, the best sandwich they’ve ever had. It’s messy, full of flavors and textures and over the top delicious.
Turning it into a chicken salad gives you the opportunity to have a deconstructed version of the grinder sandwich in a format that can be easily eaten with crackers, tortilla chips, or veggies (like cucumber rounds, celery, or carrots). But of course, you can also turn it into a chicken salad sandwich as well. Toasted croissant is our favorite way to enjoy this Italian Grinder Chicken Salad.
Key Ingredients
Here are the easy no-cook ingredients for this delicious and easy Italian Grinder Chicken Salad.
Chicken – I used rotisserie chicken to make it easier but you can also poach your own chicken.
Deli Meats – a combination of pepperoni, genoa salami or soppressata.
Cheeses – diced up provolone and crumbled feta. You can use either, but I used both.
Veggies – banana peppers or pepperochini, red onions, cherry tomatoes.
Grinder Dressing – mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, red wine vinegar, banana pepper juice (from the jar), oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
How to Make Italian Grinder Chicken Salad
Start by making the dressing. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl or liquid measuring cup. Taste and adjust if needed, sometimes I’ll want a few splashes more of red wine vinegar, it’s got to have a good tang.
In a large bowl combine all of the toppings: rotisserie chicken, diced deli meats, red onion, tomatoes, banana peppers, and cheeses.
Pour most the dressing over everything, toss well to coat, adding the remaining dressing if needed.
If you have dressing leftover, store it in a sealed container in the fridge and add it to the chicken salad the next day if needed to rehydrate it. Some of the dressing gets absorbed as it sits in the fridge.
Tips and Variations
Turn this chicken salad into a toasty sandwich! I grab croissants from the supermarket, get them toasted open-faced down into a lightly buttered skillet over low heat. Add a slice of provolone cheese and lettuce into the croissant, then pile in scoops of the grinder chicken salad.
Or, try this Italian Grinder Grilled Cheese sandwich instead.
Meal prep this! I love to stock my fridge with this chicken salad on Monday and enjoy through the week. It’s the perfect lunch to bring to work or to just leave in the fridge as a high protein snack. If I’m starving I just grab a big scoop along with a handful of carrot sticks and it holds me over until dinner.
Add Green Olives – one of my favorite add-in’s are green olives. They aren’t typically found in the grinder sandwich but I think the brininess pairs wonderfully with the other flavors.
What To Serve with Grinder Chicken Salad
My favorite way to enjoy this tangy, creamy chicken salad is with dippers such as:
- Crostini
- Tortilla Chips
- Club Crackers
- Carrot Sticks
- Celery Sticks
- Cucumber Rounds or Sticks
Check Out These Other Recipes:
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Italian Grinder Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken shredded
- 1/4 lb. salami or soppressata diced
- 1/4 lb. pepperoni diced
- 1/4 cup provolone, thick-sliced diced
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta
- 2/3 cup diced grape tomatoes
- 1/3 cup banana peppers mild
- 1/2 red onion sliced thin or diced
Dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1-2 tablespoons banana pepper juice from the jar to taste
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- freshly cracked pepper
- salt to taste about 1/4 tsp
Instructions
- Start by making the dressing. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl or liquid measuring cup. Taste and adjust if needed**.
- In a large bowl combine all of the toppings: rotisserie chicken, diced deli meats*, red onion, tomatoes, banana peppers, and cheeses.
- Pour most the dressing over the bowl of toppings, toss well to coat, adding the remaining dressing if needed.
- Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Serve with veggies, crackers or tortilla chips or on a sandwich.
- If you have dressing leftover, store it in a sealed container in the fridge and add it to the chicken salad the next day if needed to rehydrate it. Some of the dressing gets absorbed as it sits in the fridge.
Notes
- Sometimes this dressing will need a few splashes more of red wine vinegar, it has to have a good tangy kick.
- You can select your favorite deli meats: ham, prosciutto, spicy pepperoni or peppered pepperoni, etc.
- If you prefer just provolone or just crumbled feta, you can use either one or use both like I did. Just double the quantity if you opt to use one of them instead.
Here are some additional photos for your Pinterest boards:
This is full of flavors and textures and absolutely delicious. My favorite way to eat this is paired with Flaming Hot Doritos because the tangy chicken salad cools it down.