Dolly Parton's Chicken Salad Has An On-Brand Southern Twist

She's a billionaire who was born into a family so poor they had to pay the doctor who delivered her in cornmeal. She wrote "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" on the same day. If she eventually accepts the Presidential Medal of Freedom, it's generally understood that it will be a greater honor for the president than for her. In a world that grows more bitter and fractious by the day, Dolly Parton is as close to a universally beloved figure as you can find. So the fact that she also has a terrific recipe for pecan chicken salad in her back pocket is almost unfair. Next you'll tell us she helped bring about the COVID vaccine! Oh, wait, she did that too.

Parton's recipe for chicken salad is fairly simple: pre-cooked chicken breast (maybe from your leftover rotisserie chicken), celery, onions, mayo, the whole bit. But it's the addition of pecans that makes it great. Not only does it add some welcome crunch to the dish, it complements the creamy, savory chicken salad with something sweet and salty. Needless to say, it would go absolutely crazy at a cookout this summer, and while you can feel free to make any tweaks you might like, it's wonderful the way it is. If it's good enough for Dolly Parton, it's good enough for you, right?

Although she insists that her younger sister Rachel is the real cook of the family, Dolly Parton is a food superstar in her own right. She has published several cookbooks, has her own cookie mix with Duncan Hines, and showcases the food from her childhood in the Smoky Mountains, including her tasty Stone Soup, at her theme park, Dollywood. In fact, Dollywood gets as much love for its food as it does for its other attractions — which earn quite a bit of love to begin with. If you want to try the chicken salad in its natural habitat, you can get it (or something very much like it) at Granny Ogle's Ham 'n' Beans, served on a pretzel sandwich shaped like a butterfly.

We have no way of knowing how involved Parton may have been when it comes to these cookbooks or recipes — for all we know, there's a cold, sterile laboratory in Pigeon Forge where they test down-home recipes like that German guy tasting dipping sauces in "Breaking Bad." But we're inclined to believe this is a recipe of hers, because we've never doubted Dolly Parton before, and we're not about to start now.