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!
Video
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
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!