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!
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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!
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
- Red bell pepper – 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!
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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
The dressing is amazing!@
I agree – it’s one of my very favorites!! We’re so glad you enjoyed it!
I just made this and am wondering if the dressing should be refrigerated? Thanks!
Yes, dressing should be stored in the fridge. Hope you love it!
Really yummy! Dressing turned out really thick, any tips?
Add a tablespoon of water at a time until it thins out to the right consistency!
Can I meal prep this salad for 5 days for work lunches?
Definitely! Just wait to put the dressing on it until you’re ready to eat it!
This recipe is amazing! The peanut sauce is better than anything I’ve ever had from a bottle or even in a restaurant. SO GOOD! It’s definitely best with the cabbage, but if we’re looking for a shortcut we’ll just make chicken and the sauce and add it to bagged salad.
I totally agree, Laura! This sauce is my FAVORITE ever. So glad you all are enjoying this one!!
I made the sauce with maple syrup (because that’s what I had on hand) it’s one of my absolute favorites! On repeat often at our house, I serve deconstructed for my toddler & he gobbles up this sauce!!
Love that, Courtney! It’s on repeat at my house too! Thanks for sharing this with us!
Great recipe for a hot day when you don’t want to heat up the house with the oven , etc. I added a bit of red pepper flakes for spice and some sesame seeds instead of peanuts.
Great additions! We’re glad you enjoyed it, Kris!
As a follow-up to my earlier 5-star review, my husband just enjoyed some of the salad leftovers for lunch today and said, “Keep this one in the rotation – this is so delicious!” Also, my adult son who doesn’t like ‘stuff mixed all together’, enjoyed the salad last night for dinner AND took some to work today for lunch instead of a sandwich! Whoa – high praise all around!
SCORE! That’s awesome, Kris!!!
Congratulations to our Recipe of the Week Challenge winner, Samantha B! Please check your email for more information!
Really yummy, perfect summer recipe!
Wahoo!!! I totally agree!
I was honestly skeptical about trying this recipe because I am not a huge thai fan but decided to try it anyways and I am glad that I did!! The peanut dressing was SO good- my 6 yr old just wanted to eat it by the spoonful lol. I loved the freshness of this salad and it was perfectly balanced. Nothing was overpowering anything. I also used some chicken that I had already cooked for the week instead of rotisserie chicken. So good that I ate it for lunch and dinner and even my 14 month old loved it too! 🙂
That’s amazing, Ashley! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!
This was a family hit, and the dressing so yummy I could drink it!❤️
I also loved that it stayed so fresh, my family was able to enjoy for 2 lunches- this is a definite repeat !
I totally agree…that dressing is the best!! We’re so glad your family enjoyed this, Lisa!
YUM!!! I saw this recipe and had all of the ingredients on hand (minus the cilantro – not for me!). This was delicious.
Wahoo!! Thanks for sharing this with us!
This salad is so delicious!! I love the crunch of it and I used the cabbage mix from Trader Joe’s to make it even simpler. I did use my new favorite cookbook “Cook Once Eat All Week” to roast my own chicken!! Thanks for teaching me how easy that is to do myself rather than buy rotisserie chicken.
I’m loving your kitchen demo videos and these recipe challenges to motivate me to try some new recipes while I have so much extra time in my days. Thank you!!
That’s so great to hear, Laura! Thank you so much!
We made this for lunches this week and it was perfect! It was simple, came together quick, and was VERY filling! I love quick and delicious meals. We will definitely make it again!
Awesome!! So glad you enjoyed it, Lindsay!
Love this! I doubled this so that my husband and I both had lunch for the week. It was easy and stayed fresh all week.
Good idea!! Thanks for sharing this with us!