Food - Drink
What You Should Know Before Freezing Chicken Salad
By JEN PENG
Chicken salad is often made in big batches for parties, leading to leftovers that can be frozen for maximum staying power, but certain factors can affect how well your salad will freeze, thaw, and retain its texture and taste. Here's what you need to know before freezing chicken salad.
Mayonnaise and yogurt don't freeze well and will likely separate when thawed out, affecting the texture and taste of your chicken salad. The most freezer-friendly base is a whipped salad dressing like Miracle Whip, or you can make a batch of undressed chicken salad specifically for freezing, then add mayo or yogurt once it's thawed.
Regarding other salad ingredients, egg whites become rubbery when frozen, while crunchy vegetables and fruits like celery, scallions, onions, apples, and grapes become mushy and soggy after being frozen and thawed. It's best to wait to add these extras until after the frozen chicken salad has been thawed.