Cream Of Mushroom Soup Can Totally Amp Up Your Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is a quick and delicious lunch packed with protein and flavor. It's easy to make, and its flavors arguably become even better as it sits in the refrigerator just waiting for you to take your lunch break. With that said, that doesn't mean that chicken salad can only be enjoyed cold. Surprisingly, a warm chicken salad is just as tasty — and if you go this route, you'll want to reach for one secret ingredient that will take its flavor to the next level: a can of cream of mushroom soup.

Mushroom soup has plenty of uses outside of just soup. It's a great addition to a green bean casserole and can even help you build a creamy chicken tetrazzini. But it's also a perfect base for a warm — or even cold — chicken salad because of its creamy texture and salty, savory mushroom flavor. Just swap a little bit of that mayo for some soup, and you'll have a perfect twist on this classic dish.

Chicken salad is, in its most basic form, chopped (cooked) chicken and mayonnaise. There are ways to build flavor: If you're preparing a few cups of chopped chicken for a salad, toss it with equal parts mayonnaise and cream of mushroom soup. The salad can be lightly heated and served warm, or you can refrigerate it and serve it cold. It's perfect on its own or as a sandwich filler. And if you're serving it warm, you can turn it into a melt by adding it to some toast and topping it with cheese before placing it under the broiler for a couple of minutes.

Classic cream of mushroom soup tends to be high in sodium and fat, but there are alternatives if you're looking for something a little healthier. Try purchasing a lower-sodium version, and some soup companies even have a line of healthier versions of most of their soups, meaning you can snag one that's a bit lower in fat, too.

Cream of mushroom soup is the perfect way to build flavor in a chicken salad, but if you would prefer not to add it to fatty mayonnaise, swapping the mayo for plain Greek yogurt is a smart food substitution that will improve the salad's nutrition. The tang from Greek yogurt also adds a nice contrast to the rich flavor of the soup.

You can build a similar flavor profile to the cream of mushroom soup without using the soup at all: Add mayonnaise and a little heavy cream along with some sautéed mushrooms to your chicken salad, and it will mimic the flavor if you don't have the soup on hand. In addition to the mushroom flavor, other herbs, and add-ins can create a well-rounded chicken salad. Sauté some garlic and onions for a hearty, warm chicken salad, or just toss diced onion into the salad if you plan to serve it cold. You can even pair it with pasta for a more filling meal or serve it on sourdough or a croissant.