Fresh and crunchy Thai Chicken Salad filled with cabbage, bell peppers, carrots and cilantro all tossed together with a delicious ginger-sesame vinaigrette!
Let me just say this recipe proves that salads do NOT have to be boring! Bright, colorful and with so much flavor, this Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad is hands down a favorite of mine and one I love to make time and time again. Not only is it delicious, but it makes such a great side dish to any Asian meal OR tastes incredible all on its own! The ginger-sesame vinaigrette is to DIE for which is one of my go-to dressings you’ve probably already seen in several of my dishes such as this Asian Shrimp Salad and my Asian Chicken Salad. I love this recipe in particular because of the combination of flavors and, of course, the delicious crunch!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- shredded chicken – I love making this with rotisserie chicken because it’s quick, easy and SO flavorful! You can also make your own chicken or even substitute the chicken with shrimp. Pro tip: use your crock pot or Instant Pot to make the most flavorful, fall-apart shredded chicken! Simply throw your chicken into the pot, add 1/2 cup chicken broth and turn it on!
- chopped cabbage – I like to use napa cabbage, but you could use regular cabbage, chopped romaine, or iceberg lettuce
- grated or matchstick carrots – to make things easier I usually just buy store-bought matchstick carrots, but feel free to grate your own carrots if you have some on hand
- bell pepper slices – I like to use red for the color, but feel free to use any color you’d like
- cilantro and green onions
- crunchy wonton strips – I get a bag of these at Target or you can make your own by baking strips of wonton wrappers in the oven. You can also substitute wonton strips with some chopped peanuts or cashews so you can still enjoy that good crunch!
- ginger-sesame dressing (see the delicious recipe below!)
So Easy to Make!
This really is such a simple salad to throw together, but tastes like you put a ton of work into it….which is definitely my kind of meal. Feel free to also add extra veggies and herbs if you have some on hand like slices of cucumber, shredded zucchini or even asparagus. The best salads are the ones you make to YOUR liking so have fun with this recipe!
If you’re a fan of spicy food, add some heat to this salad by throwing in some diced red chilies or even mixing in some spicy Sriracha with the dressing!
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Prepping and Storage
You can easily make this ahead of time by tossing together the salad and storing the dressing in a separate container. I also like to shred my chicken ahead of time and store it in the fridge. When ready to serve, just drizzle the dressing on top and toss the salad together. OR if you’re prepping this salad for your lunches for the week, keep the dressing in a separate container and use right before eating so the salad stays fresh and crisp!
More Salads You’ll Love
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- Healthy Greek Salad
- Strawberry Balsamic Salad
- Healthy Broccoli Salad
- My FAVORITE Detox Salad
Hope you all enjoy this Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad and if you love this recipe as much as we do, please leave me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using the hashtag #eatyourselfskinny! I love seeing all your delicious recreations!
Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 4 cups shredded napa cabbage
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken, I used rotisserie
- 2 cups grated or matchstick carrots
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup wonton crisps, or you could use chopped peanuts
For the Ginger-Sesame Dressing:
- 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a small jar with a sealed lid and shake well until combined. I also use this jar to store any extra dressing to use for the week.
- To make the salad, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Drizzle salad with ginger-sesame dressing and mix until fully coated. Garnish with wonton crisps (or chopped peanuts), serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! I’ve made it twice and it’s perfect. My family loves it!
Tasted great! I’d like it a bit spicer, any ideas of what I could add or change to give it a little extra kick?
Can I use a different dressing?
Absolutely!
Delicious and very healthy!
However, it took me over an hour to chop and shred everything, even using a mandolin and food processor.
Not sure how you can say it is 5 minutes of prep. Just the dressing took 5 minutes.
You can buy carrots that are julienned and cabbage that is already shredded.
I used a bag of pre-packaged coleslaw mix (without dressing of course). This came with the 2 colors of cabbage and carrots, then I just added the red pepper, chicken an dressing!
when keeping the dressing separate, does it need to be refrigerated?
Only keep the dressing separate if you’re making it to store for later so that the salad doesn’t get soggy 🙂
Delicious. I loved it!
My husband hates cilantro… could I sub basil (thai) or parsley or both?
Fresh basil would taste great in this!
This recipe looked like something I really would like. I made it per the recipe. However, it was bland and needed something. Well, then I made another batch of the salad dressing, then added it to the Crunchy Thai Chicken mixture. It then was wonderful! It just needed more of the salad dressing, to add to the flavor. I know this adds to the calories, but that is what it needed. I will be making this again. I may use shrimp instead of chicken the next time.