The Unexpected Sweet Ingredient That Belongs In Your Chicken Salad

There's just something delicious about a good ol' protein-and-mayo salad that you can slather on bread, scoop onto crackers, or just eat with a spoon. We're talking egg salads, tuna salads, and of course, chicken salads. But as wonderful and reliable as the tried and true classic recipes are, you might someday find yourself craving something a little ... unusual. While you can give chicken salad a crunchy upgrade with pepperoncini or swap out the plain chicken for barbecued for an extra pop of flavor, you might be overlooking one ingredient that can really elevate your chicken salad: brown sugar.

Brown sugar is especially well-known in the baking world for bringing a touch of caramel-y molasses flavor to anything you add it to. And meats like pork and chicken? Well, they just go perfectly with a little pop of something sweet. The rich sweetness of brown sugar offsets the umami, salty, or tangy ingredients in traditional chicken salad, like mayonnaise, lemon juice, or salt itself, while said ingredients keep the sugar from becoming the dominating flavor. In short, it creates a perfectly balanced bite.

It can be said that The Pioneer Woman's chicken salad recipe kicked off this brown sugar in chicken salad craze. However, you don't necessarily have to follow her recipe; just add a tablespoon of brown sugar per cup of dressing in whichever chicken salad recipe you prefer. To thoroughly incorporate it into the dressing, make sure that your brown sugar is soft enough to mix well with the other ingredients.

You can also include other chicken salad ingredients, add-ins, and substitutes to go with the addition of your brown sugar. For example, you can replace half of the mayonnaise with yogurt, which will lighten up the chicken salad. Unsweetened yogurt, in particular, has a delicious tang that meshes with the mellow, honeyed notes of the brown sugar, creating a symphony on the taste buds. It doesn't hurt to throw in a little spice if you can handle it, too. Some red pepper flakes or even chili crisp or chili oil will give you that hot-and-sweet flavor combo that's truly craveable. Thank us later.