Apple Basil Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is one of my favorite things.  Truthfully, I love just about anything with mayonnaise, but there’s something about this chicken salad with a fresh crunch and sweetness that makes it really good.  I’ve been making the same chicken salad for about 2 years, and I thought I had perfected it.  Then when we found out a few months ago that my oldest has tree nut allergies – one of the star ingredients, roasted almonds, had to go.  So as I tried to think of what I could add in place of delicious almonds, I looked to my fridge and saw basil.  I thought about this for a couple of minutes, hesitant to add something so new to my beloved chicken salad (and not wanting to waste 3 chicken breasts if it didn’t turn out!) But I took a chance and it paid off – yay!  I didn’t think it was possible, but I believe this variation is better than the original!

Apple Basil Chicken Salad

3 chicken breasts, boiled and shred
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1/2 of a medium sweet onion, finely diced
1/2 of an apple, finely diced (I used Golden Delicious)
2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp celery seed
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and chill. Enjoy!