Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad
This crunchy Asian chicken salad is a perfect light dinner or lunch! Packed with colorful veggies like cabbage, carrots, and bell peppers, it’s hearty and wholesome! The best part? You’ll want to bathe in the slightly sweet and savory peanut vinaigrette! This salad keeps well in the fridge making it perfect for meals prep or for a quick lunch at work.
If you love this recipe, you’ll also love this Thai chopped salad, this cold ramen noodle salad, this spring roll salad, or this crispy rice salad!
Recipe Ingredients: Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad
For the dressing:
For the salad:
Ingredient Notes, Substitutions & Additions
Chicken/Protein: I used chopped rotisserie chicken breast to make this recipe quick and easy but you can also cook up your chicken breasts, too. You can also add another protein such as tofu or shrimp.
Cabbage: Grab a package of multicolored (green and red) pre-shredded coleslaw mix for less chopping! Sometimes carrots are included in the package, too.
Mandarin oranges: Need a little sweetness? Add a can of drained Mandarin oranges.
Crunch: You can use peanuts or roasted cashews instead of almonds, and wonton strips to replace the chow mein noodles.
Celery: Need more crunch?? Celery is super yummy in this salad.
How to Make Asian Chicken Crunch Salad: Step-by-Step
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below.
Expert Tips
- Storage: You can keep the undressed salad in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can keep the dressed salad in the fridge for 3 days. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
- Make ahead tip: You can make this salad up to 4-5 days ahead of time, so it’s perfect for meal prep! Just store the dressing and the salad separately to ensure freshness. Add the nuts and chow mein noodles right before you’re ready to serve.
- Make it faster: In a hurry? You will LOVE the recipe for the peanut dressing but if you’re in a super-hurry, Trader Joe’s Thai-Style peanut dressing (in the produce aisle) is a great option! Also, use a package of cole slaw mix for the cabbage.
How to Serve
The great thing about this salad is that it’s a complete meal! However, you can leave out the chicken and serve it as a side dish with any Asian-style main dish like this teriyaki salmon or these teriyaki udon noodles.
You can also round out the meal by serving this Asian chicken salad with a side of pot stickers, dumplings, or egg rolls!
Did you try this recipe?
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Thank you! ~ Casey
Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the peanut vinaigrette dressing
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- juice from 1 orange about 1/4 cup
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp water a little more if needed
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, miced the best garlic chopper!
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp red chili flakes optional for a little heat
- 1/8 tsp EACH coarse salt and black pepper
For the salad
- 4 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced you can substitute cole slaw mix
- 1-2 cups purple cabbage, thinly sliced you can substitute cole slaw mix
- 2 cups cooked chicken such as rotisserie chicken breast
- 1 cup carrots, shredded
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup crunchy chow mein noodles such as these
- 3 green onions, sliced (white and green parts)
- 1/2 cup almonds, chopped or sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Make the dressing: To a small bowl add the vinaigrette ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Assemble: Add all veggies/salad ingredients to a large serving bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and toss. Sprinkle on more sesame seeds, chow mein noodles, and almonds for more crunch!
This salad is perfect for meal preps! Make it on Sunday night and have quick lunches all week! I hope you love it as much as I do! XO ~ Casey