Tarragon Chicken Salad

The interesting flavor of French Tarragon is something I’ve loved since the first time I tried it, and it’s amazing in this Tarragon Chicken Salad. And if you’ve never tried a salad with tarragon, I’m urging you to try this one!

PIN Tarragon Chicken Salad to try it later!

Last week I shared the new photos for Grilled Chicken with Tarragon Mustard Marinade and talked about how the French Tarragon is thriving in my herb garden. And today I’m updating the photos for this Tarragon Chicken Salad that’s one of my long-time favorite recipes to make with tarragon.

In fact, even though I first tried this salad over ten years ago I vividly remember how it was the recipe that introduced me to French Tarragon! At that time fresh tarragon was something I’d never used in a recipe and certainly hadn’t grown in my garden, but this salad definitely started me experimenting with tarragon and soon I was growing it.

And if I’d ever imagined how I’d fall head-over-heels in love with the flavor of fresh tarragon, I’d have tried growing it much sooner! Now cooking with tarragon is something I look forward to every summer.

Once you try French Tarragon, you’ll learn it should be used sparingly or the strong flavor will overcome the dish. And it’s probably an acquired taste, but if you’re a fan of the the slightly anise flavor that’s so distinctive and are lucky enough to get your hands on some French Tarragon, this salad is a wonderful way to use it!

What ingredients do you need for this salad?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• diced cooked chicken
• chopped celery
• chopped red onion
• frozen peas
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• mayonnaise
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• Dijon Mustard (affiliate link)
• Poultry Seasoning (affiliate link)
• chopped fresh French Tarragon

Is Tarragon hard to grow?

I’m happy to report that French Tarragon is a hardy plant that comes back year after year and literally grows like a weed! There are several types of Tarragon, but you want to be sure to buy French Tarragon, and if you want to plant some you’ll need to buy a plant because it can’t be grown from seed.

What does French Tarragon taste like?

French Tarragon has a flavor that’s similar to basil with but with more licorice flavor, and it’s stronger than basil so you only need a small amount of chopped fresh tarragon to add a lot of flavor to a recipe.

How low in carbs is the Tarragon Chicken Salad?

This delicious chicken salad with French Tarragon only has about 6 net carbs per serving.

Want more ideas for using Fresh Tarragon?

If you’d like more ideas for recipes that include tarragon, check out Cooking with Fresh Tarragon for more recipe ideas to show how much I’ve enjoyed using this interestingly-flavored herb.

How to make Tarragon Chicken Salad:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Remove peas from the freezer about 30 minutes before you plan to make the salad.
2. Strip tarragon leaves from the stems and wash and dry in a salad spinner (affiliate link) if you’re using garden tarragon. 
3. I needed one tablespoon, but since I know you can freeze tarragon I chopped up a bit more and put the extra in this little zip-lock bag to go in the freezer.
4. Whisk together mayo, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Poultry Seasoning (affiliate link), and chopped French Tarragon to make the dressing.
5. Drain the frozen peas in the same salad spinner.
6. Finely chop a little red onion, and chop up a cup of chopped celery.
7. I used rotisserie chicken breast that comes in a package from Costco to make this salad extra easy to prepare. (See the recipe below if you need to cook the chicken.)
8. Chop up enough chicken to make 4 cups of diced chicken breast.
9. Combine the chopped chicken, chopped celery, and chopped red onion.
10. Then mix in enough dressing that all the ingredients are lightly coated with dressing. Gently mix in the peas.
11. If you can refrigerate the salad for 30 minutes to let flavors develop, that will give best results.
12. Serve slightly chilled and enjoy!

More Tarragon Recipes to Wake Up Your Tastebuds:

• Grilled Chicken with Tarragon Mustard Marinade
• Tarragon-Mustard Deviled Eggs
• Green Goddess Dressing
• Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Feta
• Tarragon Shrimp Salad

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 6 servings

Tarragon Chicken Salad

Prep Time 25 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

The interesting flavor of French Tarragon is something I've loved since the first time I tried it, and it's amazing in this low-carb Tarragon Chicken Salad.

Ingredients

• 4 cups diced cooked chicken (see notes if you need to cook the chicken)
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed and drained well
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 1 T finely chopped fresh French Tarragon

Instructions

1. Remove one cup frozen peas from the freezer about 30 minutes before you plan to make the salad.
2. Strip the tarragon leaves from the stems and wash in a salad spinner (affiliate link) and spin dry if needed. (Since you can freeze tarragon I like to chop up several tablespoons at a time and put the extra in the freezer in a small Zip-loc bag.)
3. Whisk together the mayo, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, poultry seasoning, and chopped French Tarragon to make the dressing.
4. Drain the frozen peas in the same salad spinner you used to wash the tarragon.
5. Finely chop a little red onion and chop up a cup of chopped celery.
6. Chop up enough chicken to make 4 cups of diced chicken breast.
7. Combine the chopped chicken, chopped celery, and chopped red onion.
8. Then mix in enough dressing so all the ingredients are lightly coated with dressing. Gently mix in the peas.
9. If you can refrigerate the salad for 30 minutes to let flavors develop, that will give best results.
10. This salad will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two if you can manage to keep it around for that long.

Notes

If you don't have precooked rotisserie chicken, you can poach chicken to make the salad. Start with three large or four small chicken breasts. Trim visible fat and undesirable parts from chicken breasts, then place in a pan where they can fit in a single layer. Put in enough chicken stock to cover the chicken and a pinch of poultry seasoning, then bring chicken to a boil, turn down until it's at a low simmer and cook on very low heat about 6 minutes. Turn off heat and let chicken sit in the hot stock for about 15 minutes more. Let chicken cool and cut up to use in the recipe.

This recipe was originally adapted from Lemony Chicken Salad with Tarragon at Champaign Taste but that recipe is no longer online. 

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 361Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 19gCholesterol 92mgSodium 365mgCarbohydrates 8gFiber 2gSugar 3gProtein 24g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Tarragon Chicken Salad is a great dish for low-carb diets. If anyone is wondering about the peas, there are 18 carbs from peas in 6 servings of salad, and you can definitely use less peas if you prefer. This salad is only for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet due to the peas, and South Beach would prefer light mayo.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Salad Index to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Tarragon Chicken Salad was first posted in 2007, as a contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted that week by a blog that’s no longer online! Since then my love of French Tarragon has continued to grow. The recipe was updated with new photos and slightly-easier instructions in June 2020, and last updated with more information in 2024.

Share This: