These sandwiches are one of my favorite things to make for get-togethers like family parties, wedding showers, and baby showers. They’re also great for an easy, make-ahead dinner. If you’re busy you can make the filling the day before and then assemble the sandwiches right before serving.
Serve them on large croissants as a main dish or serve them on mini croissants for a smaller munch and mingle dish.
Below are instructions for my favorite way to cook chicken. I’ve found that frozen chicken tenders cooked on the stove makes the best, most tender chicken. However, you can follow the same steps for fresh chicken, just decrease the cook time. You could also omit the cooking and use rotisserie chicken or canned chicken.
Chicken Salad Croissants
Ingredients
- 2.5 lb frozen chicken tenders
- 1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes
- ¾ cup diced celery
- ⅓ cup sliced green onions
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Season All salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- Croissants for serving
Instructions
Set out a large saute pan over medium-low heat. When the pan is heated, add olive oil. Add frozen chicken tenders, trying not to overlap them too much.
Put a lid on the pan. Turn the heat up to medium. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and sprinkle the tops of the chicken with salt and pepper.
Put the lid back on and continue cooking 10-15 minutes longer, or just until the chicken is cooked through when you slice a big piece open.
Remove chicken from heat. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes.
Dice-shred the chicken by using the side edge of a fork to cut and shred the chicken into small pieces. (You can shred the chicken with the tongs of a fork or dice the chicken with a knife, but I like the chicken to have a more diced-shredded texture). You should have about 6 cups of cooked chicken.
Pour the chicken into a large bowl.
Dice the grapes- dice small grapes into quarters, medium grapes into sixths, and really large grapes into eighths.
Add the diced grapes, celery, and green onions to the cooked chicken.
In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, heavy cream, lemon juice, season all salt, and pepper. Whisk together.
Pour mixture over the chicken mixture and stir together until combined.
Cover chicken salad and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving. (This filling gets better and more flavorful over time.)
Mix before serving. Serve with croissants.
Notes
I like about ¾-1 cup filling on a large croissant. If the filling gets a little dry after it chills, mix in a few tablespoons of milk until you get the consistency you want.
