Chicken salad has never been one of my favorite things. I think the main reason for this is because it was never one of my mom’s favorite things and so, as a result, I rarely, if ever, had it growing up. Naturally, when I moved out on my own, it never even crossed my mind as something I should pick up.
But then years and years of packing my lunch for work finally took its toll: I couldn’t bear to eat peanut butter and jelly any more. I had to have something different, but what? One day a while back, my wife urged me to check out Aldi’s chicken salad. I wasn’t sure about that at first, especially considering a tub of the stuff is $3.69…I mean, I could virtually make a hundred peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for that price! The thought of wasting that on something I might not enjoy bounced around my head for a while, but after realizing I couldn’t think of anything better to get, I scooped it up.
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Now, about a year later, it’s one of my go-to sandwiches for packing. This stuff is unbelievable, especially for a pre-packaged product…it tastes like it was made in a supermarket deli, rather than in a factory somewhere. Once I tried it, the price made complete sense, too: there are HUGE chunks of chicken in here. There are also celery bits, which provide a satisfying little crunch, as well as a tad bit of noticeable flavor, while the mayo base is so delectably rich and creamy that it blows pretty much every other store-bought chicken salads out of the water. This is stuff that could be served in a little corner deli somewhere, with a hiked-up price tag, and no one would even bat an eye…it’s that good.
See why it pays to try new things? This went from being a reluctant purchase, to one of my all-around favorite things that Aldi carries, period, and if you haven’t given it a shot yet, I urge you to do so. Even if you’re not familiar with how chicken salad “should” taste, or don’t typically like it, it doesn’t matter, because this is how it should taste. Truly phenomenal stuff.
Overall: 10/10. I want to deduct points for something, but I just can’t. The $3.69 price tag, which I initially felt was pretty high, is justified by the huge chunks of chicken inside, while the flavor is so good, you’d swear it came from a deli somewhere, and not from a prepackaged tub. The mayo base is ridiculously rich and creamy, while the celery adds a little crunch to the otherwise soft combination. To be fair, I haven’t had many chicken salads in my day (never something I ate growing up), so I’m sure there are better options out there somewhere
NOTE: If “classic” chicken salad is too “boring” for you, they also offer a variety of alternate flavors, like “chipotle” and “cranberry”, all with the same delicious base (though some are $.30 more). Pick any of them up, and chances are you will not be the least bit disappointed, although this one is still consistently my favorite.
This chicken salad is nasty lol
Whaaaaat? Unless they changed their recipe recently, this stuff is ace!
Love their chicken salad
You and me both. That stuff is way too good.
The old chicken salad was yuck ��… I believe it was xantham gum, whatever that is…
but my husband mistakenly purchased it, and I tried it AND the new recipe is awesome!!! Best prepackaged chicken salad ever
I love chicken salad. My local grocery makes a delectable version for $6.99 a pound. Needless to say I don't buy it often. One of my co-workers just shared the cranberry almond chicken salad with me. I do not like fruit or almonds in my salad, but let me tell you, the cranberry almond chicken salad is delicious?! I cannot wait to get to Aldi to buy the original chicken salad lol!! The reviewer's comment is correct: it does rival the chicken salad at my local grocery, but for a more economical price?.
I'm glad you agree! I just bought another tub of this three days ago on a whim…so creamy and delicious. I like the cranberry version too, but for my money, the original is still the way to go (especially since I believe the cranberry costs a little bit more).
This stuff is really good! I probably couldn’t make it better myself, and I’m a great cook. Don’t believe the person that says it’s nasty, it isn’t. If you buy it, and don’t like it Aldi will give you your money back and replace the product.
Well that's certainly saying something! Yeah, I honestly can't see it being improved much at all either…it's pretty darn close to flawless.
Good call on the product guarantee, too…I always forget about that!
They did change it, it's got a different name now and it doesn't taste the same; the little salad bar one had a nice creamy mayo base, celery and just a touch of sweetness, the new one has no sweetness at all, it's ok, but not the wonderful stuff they carried before
Hmm…my wife just bought a tub recently and thought it was the same. I'm hoping that's not a foreshadowing of things to come, because there's no possible way it could get any better.
I walked pass this salad for weeks and decided to try it today and I must say its absolutely delicious. Go on and try it you will Love It.
I'm glad you liked it! I never wanted to try it at first, either, because I couldn't care less about chicken salad in general…but I'm definitely happy I did! Amazing stuff.
I ordered some along with my usual grocery delivery. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I do. My God It's delicious. The price is excellent for what this is. You know how people get addicted to chocolate or ice cream? I'm addicted to this chicken salad! LOL- try it. You'll see. But beware..it calls to you from the fridge in the middle of the night…
It's no joke. I don't even remember what led me to try it in the first place since chicken salad isn't really something I typically care about. I've tried a couple other store brands since, and this is so far beyond them that I don't understand how there's ever any in stock at all when I go.
But I'm glad there is!
This chicken salad from Aldi is the best!!!! I can't stop thinking about it since I ate it all a few days ago. It is highly addictive. I just bought 2 more.
Agreed. Thankfully I never had the junk salad or I never would have gotten it again…this is honestly one of the best things they sell, in my opinion.
Word on this seems to be spreading…at this rate, the opioid crisis will be replaced with Aldi chicken salad addiction!
Haha, thanks for the comment, and glad you liked it as much as I did!