This Thai Chopped Chicken Salad is both healthy and flavorful (thanks to fresh, bright, crunchy veggies and a ridiculously tasty peanut sauce) and will be a lunch that you’ll look forward to all morning long!
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The only thing better than a delicious, healthy lunch is an already-made, ready-to-eat, delicious, healthy lunch! While this salad can absolutely be enjoyed on its own for two days worth of meal prepped lunches, it was created to work in tandem with our Southwestern Quinoa Salad to give you an entire week of lunches – it’s Cook Once, Eat All Week: Lunch Style, if you will! After just thirty minutes of prep (that consists of mostly chopping + tossing), you’ll have a week’s worth of ready-to-enjoy salads (3 quinoa + 3 Thai) for your midday lunch break!
Do note that this salad will make for a really yummy light dinner too! However you choose to eat it, you won’t be disappointed!
What is Thai Chicken Salad?
The bulk of most Thai chicken salad recipes is made up of crunchy shredded cabbage (rather than a flimsier romaine lettuce base) and tons of fresh, crunchy veggies, and (typically) a little bit of extra crunch thanks to chopped peanuts or slivered almonds.
Thai Chicken Salad Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to add to your grocery list so that you can whip up this Thai salad ASAP!
- 1 1/2 cups each of shredded green and purple cabbage
- 1 cup of shredded carrots
- 1 diced red bell pepper
- 1/2 of a diced cucumber
- 2 cups of shredded chicken (about 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken or chicken thighs)
- 1/2 cup of roughly chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup of sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup of crushed peanuts
- 1/4 cup of natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon of lime juice
- 2 teaspoons of honey
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
How to Make Thai Chopped Chicken Salad
This is essentially a chop, shred, slice, blend, and toss situation…SO easy!
- Shred the Chicken – shred 2 cups of rotisserie chicken. Alternatively, shred 2 cups worth of chicken breast (here’s a guide to making shredded chicken in the slow cooker or Instant Pot!)
- Dice the Bell Pepper – dice the bell pepper into ¼ inch pieces.
- Shred the Cabbage – shred about 1½ cups of both the purple and green cabbage.
- Chop the Cilantro – give half the head of cilantro a rough chop!
- Slice the Green Onions – thinly slice the green onions and…
- Dice the Cucumber – …dice half a cucumber into ¼ inch chunks.
- Make the Peanut Dressing – blend together the peanut butter, coconut aminos, water, lime juice, honey, sesame oil, and crushed red pepper flakes until smooth.
- Assemble – toss together the cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, cucumber, chicken, cilantro, and green onions, and then divide evenly between 3 meal prep containers. When you’re ready to enjoy your salad, top with the peanut dressing!
This colorful, delicious, and good-for-you Thai Chopped Chicken Salad is sure to turn around even the bleakest of days! Enjoy!
Thai Chopped Chicken Salad Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve included tons of veggies in this recipe already, but feel free to add ANY veggie that you love to the mix! Mung bean sprouts and edamame would be especially delicious. If you’re not sold on the idea of shredded chicken here, feel free to use cooked shrimp in its place!
The salads will save best (and stay super crunchy) stored in airtight containers (we like this same-sized glass set) in the fridge. To prevent a wilted, soggy salad, store the peanut dressing separately. If you’re taking your lunch to-go, these small containers are the perfect size for your peanut dressing!
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More Favorite Lunch Recipes
Thai-Inspired Chopped Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage*
- 1 1/2 cups shredded purple cabbage*
- 1 cup shredded carrots*
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1/2 cup diced cucumber
- 2 cups shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken or about 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions1/4 cup crushed peanuts for garnish
For the Peanut Dressing:
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- For the peanut dressing: blend all ingredients until smooth.
- For the salad, add all ingredients but crushed peanuts to a large bowl and toss to combine, then drizzle the peanut dressing over top and toss again. Top with crushed peanuts and serve. If you are planning to eat later, leave the dressing on the side and pour it over when you are ready to eat so that the cabbage doesn’t get soggy. This will last for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
- You can use 4 cups of coleslaw blend in place of the shredded cabbage and carrots for this recipe!
- You can substitute sunbutter, almond butter, or cashew butter in place of the peanut butter, if desired.
- For a vegetarian salad, substitute the chicken with chickpeas, or another favorite vegetarian protein!
Nutrition
Four stars as is, but 5 stars if you add 1T rice wine vinegar to the dressing! Easy, quick, and very delicious!
We’re glad you liked it!
Made this salad this weekend when i was with my sisters. We all loved it and now they both made it into their meal prep for the week. So Good!
We’re so glad you all loved this salad, Jenny! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!
WOW. I just made this for lunches this week and took one bite and had to come leave a review! This is SO flavorful and delicous! I added some red curry paste to the dressing but other than that followed the recipe exactly. This will definitely be on repeat this summer!
We are so glad to hear that this was a hit! The red curry paste sounds like a delicious addition. Thank you for taking the time to share with us.
So good and guilt free! How much is a serving btw? I could eat the whole thing!!!
The recipe makes 3 servings, Jessica! I agree – it’s one of my very favorite recipes!!
It’s SO delicious. Love all the veggies – so colorful, and super filling yet light enough for a hot summer day. This would be an awesome side dish along grilled protein, too. Putting it on repeat!
That’s so great to hear! I love this salad too!