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This colorful Thai chicken salad with peanut dressing is loaded with crunchy cabbage, carrots, red bell pepper, green onions, shredded chicken, sweet mango, and chopped peanuts. Flavorful, healthy, and great for lunch or dinner!
If you love Thai-inspired recipes, then you’ll love these spring roll bowls! Try them next!
Why you’ll love it
Hearty salad – This healthy Thai salad is packed with veggies, protein, and a creamy peanut dressing. It’s so filling and satisfying that you’ll forget you’re eating salad!
Peanut dressing – This dressing is incredible! It’s so creamy and the peanut butter, lime, ginger and soy sauce work so well together. I suggest doubling the recipe because you’ll want to put it on everything!
The ingredients
For the salad
- Cabbage – Green or red cabbage can be used or a combo of both.
- Chicken – Cooked and shredded chicken breasts or thighs work. Rotisserie chicken is a great time saver.
- Carrots, red bell pepper, jalapeño, green onions – Crisp, crunchy, colorful veggies
- Mango – Adds a pop of sweetness to the salad and tastes so good with the dressing.
- Cilantro – If you don’t like cilantro, try using basil or Thai basil instead.
- Peanuts and sesame seeds – Give the salad a nice crunch and reinforce the flavors in the dressing.
For the dressing
- Peanut butter – Use natural creamy peanut butter. Nothing sweetened.
- Soy sauce – Adds a savory, salty, umami flavor to the dressing. Use low sodium and for gluten-free use tamari.
- Lime – Fresh squeezed lime juice give the dressing a tart citrus punch.
- Honey – The sweetener. Maple syrup can also be used.
- Fresh ginger – A little spicy and fresh! Pairs well with the lime and peanut butter.
- Sesame oil – Toasted sesame oil is best. It has a rich nutty flavor.
- Sriracha – For a little spicy kick, add sriracha.
- Garlic powder – Personally, I don’t like raw garlic. If you do, use 1 small clove, grated or minced.
How to make Thai chicken salad
This is an overview of the recipe with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
In a jar or small bowl, add all of the ingredients for the peanut dressing. Shake or whisk until well combined. If the dressing is too thick, add another tablespoon of water.
Finely chop the cabbage and add it to a large serving bowl.
Add the remaining salad ingredients to the bowl and toss together.
Start by pouring half of the peanut dressing onto the salad and tossing together. Add additional dressing as needed. Taste for seasoning and garnish with sesame seeds and extra chopped peanuts.
Tips
- I recommend using a microplane zester to grate the ginger and garlic. It grates extra fine so you don’t bite into any chunks.
- Save time and use a bag of coleslaw mix so you don’t have to chop the cabbage.
- Use toasted sesame oil for the dressing. It’s darker in color and has a nuttier flavor.
- The peanut dressing will thicken once it’s refrigerated. You’ll want to let it sit on the counter until it comes to room temperature or you can add a splash of warm water to it.
Variations
- Make a vegan Thai salad. Omit the chicken, add 1/2 -1 cup shelled edamame for protein. Replace the honey with maple syrup in the dressing.
- If you have a peanut allergy, replace the peanut butter with creamy almond butter and omit the peanuts in the dressing. You could also use the sauce that I made for this grilled chicken satay with almond butter sauce to replace the peanut dressing.
- Add cucumbers to the salad for extra veggies.
Storage
The Thai salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. By the third day it won’t be as crisp, but will still taste good.
If you want to make this salad for meal prep, don’t pour the dressing onto the salad. Wait to add the dressing the day you plan to eat it.
The Thai peanut dressing will keep in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
More Thai-inspired recipes
Did you make this Thai chicken salad? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Thai Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 4 cups shredded cabbage green or red cabbage
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 red bell pepper sliced thin
- 1 jalapeño seeds removed and finely diced
- 3 green onions sliced thin
- 1 mango diced or sliced thin
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Peanut Dressing
- 5 tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari gluten-free
- 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Add the dressing ingredients to a jar or small bowl. Shake or whisk until smooth and creamy. If the dressing is too thick, add another tablespoon of water or more as needed.
- Add all of the ingredients for the salad to a large bowl and toss together. Pour half of the dressing onto the salad and toss together until coated. Add additional dressing as needed. Taste for seasoning and garnish with sesame seeds and extra chopped peanuts.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
