With bright, crunchy veggies and a ridiculously tasty peanut sauce, this Thai-Inspired Peanut Chicken Salad will be a lunch that you’ll look forward to all morning long!
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Thai Chicken Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Thai Chicken Salad
- Recipe Tips
- How to Serve Thai Peanut Chicken Salad
- How to Store
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Healthy Lunch Recipes
- Video
- Thai Peanut Chicken Salad Recipe
- Recipe Contributors
This recipe is…
We love make-ahead lunches around here: make a batch on a Sunday, and you’ll have multiple meals to help streamline the hectic work week ahead. But the biggest pitfall when it comes to meal-prepping veggie dishes is the dreaded soggy salad syndrome that turns fresh salad greens to lifeless mush after a couple days in the fridge.
That’s not the case with this Thai-Inspired chicken and veggie dish. It calls for sturdy veggies like cabbage, carrots, and bell peppers, which stay crisp for a few days in the fridge. Then, come lunch time, just toss them with a quick peanut dressing, and sprinkle crushed peanuts on top for extra crunch.
While this Thai-Inspired 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. Together — with just thirty minutes of prep, most of which is easy chopping + tossing — you’ll have an entire week of Cook Once, Eat All Week: Lunch Style salads (3 quinoa + 3 Thai). The duo is delicious for dinner too!
If you’re in the market for another delicious meal prep lunch recipe, this high protein bean salad is a great pick!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Only takes 15 minutes to whip up!
- Packed with flavor, color, and texture
- Easily to customize
- Created to pair with our Southwestern Quinoa Salad recipe: together, they’ll give you a full week’s worth of healthy and delicious lunches
Thai Chicken Salad Recipe Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to add to your grocery list so that you can whip up this Thai chicken salad. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Green and purple cabbage – the combo of two colorful and crunchy brassicas is the base of this veggie-packed dish.
- Carrots – a cup of shredded carrots adds sweetness and color
- Cucumber – diced cucumber gives refreshing flavor
- Red bell pepper – diced red (or yellow, or orange) bell peppers go into the mix
- Chicken – 2 cups of shredded chicken (about 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken or chicken thighs)
- Cilantro –roughly chopped cilantro adds bright herbal flavor
- Green onions – boost flavor and add more color
- Peanuts – 1/4 cup of crushed peanuts adds crunch to the finished dish
- Peanut butter – creamy natural peanut butter is the base of our super easy dressing
- Coconut aminos – 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos give the dressing depth
- Lime juice – adds a burst of citrus flavor
- Honey – just 2 teaspoons of honey sweetens and rounds out the dressing
- Sesame oil – adds toasty, nutty flavor
- Red pepper – a pinch of crushed red pepper gives just a little heat
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Dressing – this creamy and delicious peanut dressing is super quick to make. (All you need to do is blitz some pantry staples up in a blender.) But if you’d rather, feel free to sub in a store-bought variety. Just thin it with a little water or lime juice if it seems too thick to toss with the chicken and veggie mixture.
- Chicken – this recipe calls for 2 cups of rotisserie chicken. If you’d rather cook yours at home, follow our guide to making shredded chicken in the slow cooker or Instant Pot and save the extras for another meal.
- Herbs – if you’re not a fan of cilantro, swap in another fresh green herb. Thai basil can be hard to find at grocery stores, but its distinctive and authentically Thai flavor is worth seeking out for this dish if you can find it. Mint leaves also taste delicious in this dish: add the leaves whole, torn, or sliced.
How to Make Thai Chicken Salad
This is essentially a chop, shred, slice, blend, and toss situation…SO easy!
Step 1: for the peanut dressing, blend all ingredients until smooth.
Step 2: for the salad, add all ingredients but crushed peanuts to a large bowl.
Step 3: Toss to combine.
(*If you’re meal-prepping or planning to eat this dish later, leave the dressing on the side. Both elements will last for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.)
Step 4: when you’re ready to eat, drizzle the peanut dressing over top and toss again. Top with crushed peanuts and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Creamy v. crunchy: you can use either type of peanut butter for this recipe, although creamy with give you smoother results.
- Double up: make a double batch of this creamy peanut dressing to use as a veggie dip, or to toss with cooked noodles and fresh or cooked veggies.
How to Serve Thai Peanut Chicken Salad
If you’re serving this dish right away, toss the chicken-veggie mix with the dressing and top with crushed peanuts.
How to Store
The salads will save best (and stay super crunchy) stored in airtight containers in the fridge. To prevent a wilted, soggy salad, store the peanut dressing separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Like ours, most Thai chicken salad recipes are made up of crunchy shredded cabbage and tons of fresh, crunchy veggies – plus a little bit of extra crunch thanks to chopped peanuts or slivered almonds.
This meal prep recipe calls for two simple strategies to keep the ingredients crunchy. First, we use ingredients like cabbage and carrots as the base, which hold up better to storing and dressing than more delicate lettuces.
Thai salad dressing is typically made with a base of peanut butter that gets seasoned, and thinned out with other liquids like water and lime juice. Our recipe includes those core ingredients, plus honey, sesame oil, crushed red pepper flakes, and coconut aminos.
More Healthy Lunch Recipes
If you tried this Thai Peanut Chicken Salad, or any other recipe on the Fed & Fit website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Video
Thai Peanut 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
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Cassy Joy Garcia
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I am so glad I gave this recipe a shot! I wasn’t super confident about the peanut butter dressing but it is sooo good! I used a premade shredded superfood blend for the salad portion which made this recipe super easy! I didn’t have natural peanut butter so I used regular and just added a little extra water to the dressing to thin it out. Can’t wait to have this for lunches this week.
That’s awesome! So glad you enjoyed it, Brooke! Thanks for sharing this with us!
We love this and it’s on the menu again this week! I definitely use the peanut butter because there’s just nothing like peanut sauce in Thai inspired dishes IMO. This recipe is a winner for sure, and a perfect summer dinner.
I totally agree…love that combo! Thanks for sharing this with us, Lisa!
This salad is so easy, refreshing, and DELICIOUS! The dressing is GOLD. I could drink it. I used to buy Thai Peanut Dressing because I didn’t know how to make it but it’s simple ingredients and SO delicious. I’m a teacher and this will be a quick, easy, go-to lunch when I have to go back to work! It’s amazing.
ME TOO…it takes some serious restraint to not drink it straight from the jar! We’re so glad you love this recipe, Sarahi!
Delicious, easy, makes my belly happy salad! I made this and took to work for my lunch each day! Kept me full and no guilt!! Give it a try!
Awesome, Pam! Thank you for sharing this with us!
So so yummy. This is a regular in my meal prep rotation. It’s perfect for summer – fresh and crunchy!
So so yummy. This is a regular in my meal prep. Perfect for summertime – fresh and crunchy!
Wahoo! So glad you love it, Lyssa! Thanks for sharing this with us!
Looks delicious! Anything with Thai and peanuts is a winner for me!
Same! Glad you love it, Erin!
I’ve made this 4 times in the last couple of months & it’s consistently good!! I love how quickly it comes together & the peanut dressing is a game changer!
Totally agree! I can’t get enough of the dressing! We’re glad you love it, Lauren!
Loved the dressing! I had left over shredded Brussel sprouts and added those too! This salad is so colorful. Love me a salad with all the fixings!
What a great addition! Thanks for sharing this with us, Macy!
Sooo delicious!! The only thing I didn’t have was coconut aminos but other than that it was perfect. I will recommend it!
Wahoo! Thanks so much, Ana! We’re glad you loved it!
Love this salad!!! I did part chicken and part chick peas and packed it for lunches!!
Oh, I love that idea, Joline! I’ll have to try that next time!
The dressing is amazing!! Make a double batch!
Totally agree! So yummy! Glad you love it, Becca!
OMG this salad i used almond butter instead of peanut butter and it was still so good! Best summer salad so far
Yum!! So glad you loved it, Kristen!
One of my favorite salads! Great for lunch. I slow cook chicken breast and shred….and the dressing…
The dressing is SO GOOD, right?! It’s seriously my favorite. We’re so glad you enjoyed this salad, Nicole!
So easy, and so delicious. I struggle to eat “all the colors” in my foods. I’m like a child in that I have to hide veggies in things to consume them (or dress them with a dressing that I can eat with a spoon). This recipe is just that. I ended up doubling the amount of rotisserie chicken and threw in a yellow bell pepper. It was a perfect, easy, and quick dinner to have while the weather is warm, too (no oven required!). I just prepped the components and put them in their own storage container for the fridge. That way, my husband and I could pick and choose how much of each thing we wanted in our own salad (he’s not a fan of carrots, for example). This one will be a staple in our meal rotations.
The best kind of dinner, right?! Easy and so flavorful! Thanks for sharing this with us, Michelle!