You need just five ingredients and less than 60 seconds to make this fan-favorite menu item.

Some Chick-fil-A menu items are so beloved, we could never imagine them disappearing from the line-up. The chicken sandwich, waffle fries, frosted lemonade, and "icedream" cones are so synonymous with the Atlanta-based fast-food brand, that we can’t imagine a trip to the drive-through without them.

But since the menu can only be so large—and it needs room for newbies like the Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich—a few fan favorites come and go. And when they do, fans aren't afraid to make their voices heard.

According to a 2016 interview with Business Insider, David Farmer, senior vice president of menu development for Chick-fil-A explained, "For a long time, we were really hesitant to take anything off the menu because we couldn't bring ourselves to disappoint anybody. But as our sales volumes grew, it just wasn't feasible to keep adding to the menu without taking anything away."

Although the fans might be disappointed they could no longer order the retired recipes, Chick-fil-A chefs have been kind enough to open up their cookbooks to spill their secrets to soothe the souls of superfans.

First, they revealed how to make their potluck-ready Cole Slaw, and now, just in time for tailgate season, the brand is offering the scoop about their Chicken Salad.

Related: Here's How Chick-fil-A Makes Perfectly Crispy Chicken

This Chick-fil-A menu veteran, which was billed as “Chick-fil-A signature chicken finely chopped, combined with celery, relish, and mayonnaise,” was sunset in September 2017. Since then, fans have been curious about if this side dish might ever resurface as an option alongside the fries, salads, fruit cup, mac and cheese, and soups.

The creamy salad fans out there can stop crossing their fingers that this signature side might return: "Chicken Salad was previously available on the menu at participating Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide," the chain said in a release. "Even though it is no longer on the menu, we'd like to offer you a way to make it in your own kitchen. From our recipe book to yours, enjoy."

That’s actually even better news than the former menu item returning, we’d say, since we can now recreate it no matter how far we live from a Chick-fil-A location. Plus, we can do so any time and any day of the week… even Sunday.

How To Make a Copycat Chick-fil-A Chicken Salad

With the official recipe for Chick-fil-A's Chicken Salad in your back pocket, you can make the menu item in your own kitchen in less than 60 seconds. Yes, really!

Here's what you’ll need:

• 4 chicken breasts, cooled and cut into 1-inch cubes (they recommend Chick-fil-A original or grilled, of course, but any of your favorite chicken breast recipes or even rotisserie chicken pieces will work beautifully)

• 2 1/2 ounces celery (approximately 1 1/2 full stalks, washed, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces)

• 1/3 cup sweet pickle relish

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 2 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and peeled

How to make:

To a food processor, add the cubed chicken, celery, relish, and mayonnaise. Mix on low to medium speed for 5 seconds. Add the eggs, one at a time, and process for up to 10 more seconds, or until the salad reaches your desired chopped texture.

Related: The Best Chicken Salad In America Comes From This SEC College Town

Now you can enjoy the homemade chicken salad recipe as a side dish, as it was on the fast-food menu, or any which way you like. Since it’s so satisfying (and scrumptious), we love to transform chicken salad into a meal. Try it:

• Inside a sandwich, wrap, biscuit, croissant, pita, or sturdy lettuce leaves

• Stuffed into a hollowed-out tomato

• Atop a bed of leafy greens

• Scooped up with crudités and crackers

Craving something with even more flair? Don't miss this Curry Chicken Salad recipe that helped one Southern Living editor understand more about her heritage. Or for an ultra-easy option, check out the winners of our best store-bought chicken salad taste test.

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Read the original article on Southern Living.