Thai Chicken Salad
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Say goodbye to boring salads! This Thai Chicken Salad is chock-full of crunchy cabbage, kale, carrots, green onions, edamame, and juicy chicken, all topped off with a scrumptious, easy-to-make peanut/soy/lime dressing.
Looking for more fresh salads? Be sure to try the Best Simple Tossed Green Salad, Copycat Olive Garden Salad, and Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad.
Make one of those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink salads but give it a little zing and make it Thai-inspired. That’s right, that was basically my entire thought process behind this Asian chicken salad. Take all the crunchy, healthy lettuce, two kinds of cabbage, kale, edamame, green onions, carrots, and more and top it off with sliced chicken and a to-die-for simple peanut dressing. Do not sleep on this delicious recipe! Somehow light and hearty at the same time, you’ll want to make it again and again!
Here’s How You Make It
- First, get out a large bowl and to it add the lettuce, kale, cabbage, green onions, edamame, cilantro, carrots, bell peppers, chicken, and wonton strips.
- Next, in a food processor or blender, combine all of the dressing ingredients and pulse for about 20-30 seconds. Then, add water to the peanut dressing just 1 tablespoon at a time to thin (pulsing in between adds) as needed. Pour this dressing right on over the salad and toss just before serving.
Why This Recipe Works
All the greens — Not just lettuce in this Asian salad, no sir. This one is coming to you with a hardy green leaf (or romaine), both green and red cabbage (perfect amount of crunch), and kale. All the textures are awesome and varying your greens is great for your body too.
Peanut dressing — To get the perfect depth of flavor in this peanut dressing, you need to mix quite a few ingredients. But don’t be put off by the longish list of needs for the dressing. It really does take no time to add a bit of that, a dash of this, and shake or blend to combine. Make it once and you’ll want to make this dressing for Thai salad again and again.
Colorful — Eat the rainbow, they say. Well, friends, the rainbow is just a couple slices and dices of veggies away with this Asian chicken salad.
So easy — It really only takes 15 minutes to put together this delicious, nutritious
Thai salad with peanut dressing. It’s so easy, you’ll want it on at least a semi-monthly rotation!
Ideas for Customizing this Recipe
The great thing about this Thai salad is that it’s so very easily customizable. Check out these tips:
- Use whatever lettuce you have on hand or enjoy eating. Or use bagged lettuce — it’s up to you!
- If you’re not a kale fan, skip adding the kale or substitute with fresh spinach.
- You can also purchase pre-sliced carrots and peppers to shave off more time off of this already quick recipe.
- Skip the edamame if you don’t have it and instead use another veggie you like or a hardy bean like chickpeas.
- For additional crunch, top the salad with chopped peanuts instead of or in addition to the wonton strips.
- No wonton strips? Skip them or add a crunch from tortilla strips/chips.
- Bottled dressings are fine on this salad too. I like to use an Asian vinaigrette or another Asian-flavored dressing on top of this Asian chicken salad.
- Speaking of chicken, if you don’t want to add the chicken, you can skip it or add another protein.
- Serve it with my scrumptious Thai Basil Chicken or my One Pan Baked Teriyaki Salmon and Vegetables.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may have glimpsed fish sauce as an ingredient in the dressing for this Asian salad and thought — gross, fish sauce? In a salad dressing? But don’t worry, fish sauce is a great ingredient in this peanut dressing. Why? Well, because it’s very flavorful. It tastes equal bits salty and fishy. It balances out the flavors of dressings and sauces when used with other ingredients like soy sauce, lime juice, etc.
If you’re still on the fence about it, my advice is to make the dressing without the fish sauce first, try it, then add the fish sauce and try the dressing and see which version you prefer more.
Expert Tips
- Don’t dress this salad until right before you’re going to eat it or it will run the risk of getting soggy too quickly.
- The dressing will keep in the mason jar for up to a week. Be sure to shake or whisk before using to combine any settled ingredients.
- Slice the cabbage into very thin pieces so that you can eat it without cutting your salad.
- Carrot matchsticks work well in this Thai salad but you could also use carrot dices or thin sliced rounds.
More Recipes Like This
For more healthy Asian recipes, check out my popular blog posts for Chopped Asian Salad, Best Ever Baked Teriyaki Chicken, and Asian Kale Salad with Creamy Peanut Dressing.
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Thai Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped romaine or green leaf lettuce
- 1 cup chopped kale, or 1 additional cup other lettuce
- 1 cup chopped green cabbage
- 1 cup chopped red cabbage
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
- ½ cup edamame
- 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- 2 bell peppers, I used red and yellow
- 1 cup diced or shredded cooked chicken
- ½ cup wonton strips
Peanut Dressing
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ¼ cup toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar , or honey
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger, or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1-2 teaspoons sriracha, to taste
- splash of fish sauce, if you have it on hand
- 2-3 tablespoons water, as needed, to thin
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine lettuce, kale, cabbage, green onions, edamame, cilantro, carrots, bell peppers, chicken, and wonton strips.
- In a food processor or blender combine all dressing ingredients and pulse 20-30 seconds. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time to thin, as needed. Pour over salad and toss just before serving.
Notes
- Don’t dress this salad until right before you’re going to eat it or it will run the risk of getting soggy too quickly.
- The dressing will keep in the mason jar for up to a week. Be sure to shake or whisk before using to combine any settled ingredients.
- Slice the cabbage into very thin pieces so that you can eat it without cutting your salad.
- Carrot matchsticks work well in this Thai salad but you could also use carrot dices or thin sliced rounds.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Another quick healthy recipe bursting with flavor! I am already looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
You mentioned tacos I would love a good recipe please
There’s a few taco recipes on this website! If you search “tacos” in the search bar, the recipes will pop up and you can pick the one you want to try, or try them all 😉
Please send me the sweet chili sauce dressing that can be used on Thai chicken salad. Thank me!
I’m sorry, I’m not sure what dressing you’re asking for. This recipe has a peanut dressing and the instructions to make it. 🙂
I loved the salad part, but the dressing just didn’t do it for me. Maybe leave out the peanut butter? There’s so much other good stuff in there.
This was so delicious!
Wow! What a fresh, light and hearty salad! Made this on a hot, hot, hot day when I didn’t want to cook. I poached chicken breasts in water seasoned with garlic, ginger and kefir lime leaves. I also added corn to the salad and omitted kale. Absolutely delish!! Thank you 🙏🏼
Super good for a hot evening dinner. Good textures and flavor perfect for leftover rotisserie chicken
how long do it take to cook ?
This recipe calls for cooked chicken.
Oh my gosh! I’ve been making your OTHER Thai chicken salad for yeaaaaars and my family loves it–the one I’m guessing this updated, with the peanut sauce and the additional sweet chili sauce dressing?!?! I have the recipe memorized–except for the chili dressing, which I stupidly never wrote down. Please tell me it’s still somewhere on your site and I’m just not seeing it (or I will have a revolt on my hands hahaha)
I can send you the recipe via email. Please send me an email from the contact form.
Hi Tiffany,
Kudos on your wonderful cooking blog. I’d really love to make this salad, but it has a scary amount of salt. I use a rice soy sauce substitute, but I don’t know how much salt might be in sriracha sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar. Do you have any suggestions for cutting the salt content?
Many thanks,
Louise