How Much Chicken Salad To Serve Per Person?

Chicken salad is a popular delicacy in the south that is highly nutritious and very tasty too. Now, if you are making a meal for yourself or even throwing a party, you may get confused about how much chicken salad to serve per person. Of course, salad portions can vary because it depends on a lot of factors! 

Basically, the general rule is to serve one cup of chicken salad per person if you are having a complete meal. Actually, the standard amount ranges from 2 to 12 ounces of chicken salad per person. However, it depends on several factors. 

Chicken salad is an easy-to-prepare dish for any dinner party or even as a regular meal for yourself on a busy day. In fact, it can be your go-to dish for any purpose. Now, when you are preparing it for a larger group, you need to consider multiple things before deciding on a portion. So, without any further ado, let’s break down all these facts!

How Much Chicken Salad To Serve Per Plate?

A regular healthy diet should roughly serve about half a cup to one cup of chicken salad per plate. If you are doing side dishes, the amount can vary.

Chicken salad is a cocktail of several ingredients served on a plate. It has enhanced the taste of chicken to the next level! In fact, if you have some shredded chicken in hand and don’t know what to do with it, just make some salad! Your guests won’t be disappointed if you have chicken salad on the menu!

To be fair, there are several ways to calculate the portions of salads per person. But first, you must understand the relevant factors that need to be considered before deciding on a standard meal portion.

• Which Kind Of Meal are you having

Now, chicken salad is a versatile dish; that’s a given. You can have it for lunch, dinner, or even as a snack! Of course, when you have it as a main course, the amount of your salad won’t be the same as when you intend to have it as a snack.

In fact, if the salad is a bit calorie-dense, you cannot have too much of it as a snack. So, first, you need to decide the kind of meal you want this chicken salad to be a part of.

• Side Dishes

Basically, chicken salad is a combination of chicken, lettuce, celery, onions, nuts, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, oil, toppings, mayonnaise, honey mustard, cream, etc. Now, you can eat it solely as a one-pot dish, or you can have it in a wrap. 

Also, you can have it in sandwiches, with croissants, or with some side dishes. For example, you can have bread, rice, some fries, or whatever you want as your side dish. Besides, when you include a side dish, the calorie count increases. So, naturally, the portion of your salad varies too.

• Diet Plan

You may be on keto, paleo, or IF. Now, a low-carb diet will always suggest you intake more protein. So, the way you prepare your chicken salad also depends on your diet plan.

If your diet plan suggests you intake more protein, it is wise to have more protein-rich components in your salad. And you should consume a good amount of it per meal. But if you are not in for a weight-loss journey, suit the ingredients and portions yourself. Whatever you do, don’t forget to count the calories!

• Cost

Of course, it is the most vital part of deciding how to prepare a meal and how much you can consume per day. If you are cooking for a massive group, it won’t be wise to be extra generous about the portions!

So, plan in a way so you can still have some leftovers in hand. But don’t go overboard if you end up hoarding 50% of the salad!

• How Many People You Are Serving

Generally, the standard portion size for a large group is about ¾ cups per person. The amount is a bit less for each plate here than what you serve per person without a large group.

If you measure in oz., you should allot about 26 oz. of salad for about ten people. And for a group of 50 people, about 130 oz. of salad is sufficient. 

So, How Much To Serve Per Person?

Typically, depending on all the essential factors, health concerns, and the satiety level of each individual, a standard chicken salad portion ranges from 2 to 12 ounces. It is the typical quantity if you are serving only chicken salad.

However, if you have it in wraps or sandwiches, the amount will vary. For this purpose, the amount should range from 4 to 6 ounces per serving. Whatever measuring units you choose, the standard salad portion sizes are measured in cups and ounces. 

Here is a quick recipe for a bowl of some tasty homemade chicken salad!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voHVFxMnMDw

Moreover, there are other important factors to consider when deciding on portion size. Read the next part to get a brief idea.

How Much Lettuce Goes With Per serving?

No salad is complete without some lettuce. In fact, it is one of the crucial ingredients without which the entire purpose of your salad may not be fulfilled. 

So, if you opt for the salad as a side dish, try to use one cup of lettuce. But if you have the salad as the main meal, you should take about 2-2.25 cups of lettuce. The best lettuce is the iceberg variety. They are appropriately sized to fit your budget and menu.

How Many Topping To Use Per Serving?

Basically, for toppings, you can use veggies and fruits like apples, nuts, etc. Of course, if you are preparing the salad for a larger group, try to keep the topping choices limited to two or three options. But if you are preparing for yourself, go creative!

Use about one handful of each topping per serving. You can have tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, diced apples, almonds, cashews, avocados, blueberries, cranberries, raisins, pomegranate, beans, cheese, fried potatoes, walnuts, sunflower seeds, peas, or whatever you like!

How Much Dressing To Put Per Serving?

Now, this can be tricky as it depends on what kind of dressing you are using. You can buy bottled sauces from the market or just prepare some yourself at home. You can store the bottled ones after use, and they can also save you time.

So, when you have the salad as the main course, use about 3¼ tablespoons of dressing. But if the salad is a side dish on the plate, use about two tablespoons of sauce. 

How Much Chicken Do You Need?

However you prepare the chicken salad, more than 50% of the salad should constitute chicken. In this regard, you will only require two ounces of chicken to prepare per serving.

When you are preparing the salad as a main course, you should use about 50-60 grams of chicken alone for the meal. The key ingredient here is the chicken. So, use a generous quantity of it. Best of all, use chicken breasts for this purpose.

But if you are preparing for a group, don’t use too much chicken as it can take a toll on your budget. The amount per serving here will also reduce, and so should the amount of chicken. Use other budget-friendly toppings to fill in for chicken. However, please do not use too little of it, or you may ruin the entire purpose of chicken salad!

What To Do If You End Up Making Extra Chicken Salad?

Yes, chicken salad is a highly nutritious meal, but this doesn’t mean you can consume too much of it. If you have made extra, just store it for future use or put it in another dish.

Most of the ingredients used in the chicken salad are easily perishable. Most importantly, if you use mayo in the dressing, it rots quickly and emits an offensive smell. So, if you have some leftover salad, think of clever ways to use it. 

Firstly, you can keep it in air-tight containers and store it in freezing temperatures in your refrigerator for about three months. If you put it in a regular fridge, it is better to consume it within three days. 

Also, you can use it to make some other dishes. You can use it in poutines, wraps, sandwiches, make gravy, use it in potluck dishes, make a one-pot pie, etc. 

If you have made extra, it is not wise to consume all of it in one go. A standard serving of chicken salad can contain up to 250 calories per serving; Therefore, consuming a whole lot of it may be unhealthy, and your diet will get ruined. Also, having too much mayo is not suitable for your health.

Besides, there are some risks of food poisoning with chicken. Listeria and Salmonella are the two most notorious bacteria found in chicken salads that can cause food-borne diseases.