Made with romaine lettuce and lots of crunchy, colorful veggies, this Asian chicken salad recipe serves up a flavorful punch. It’s the perfect healthy meal when you don’t want to heat up the house!
For another light and easy meal, try this Mexican chopped salad.
I love this recipe for its simplicity and flexibility. It’s a good one to set up salad bar style, making it easy enough for people to leave off the ingredients that they don’t enjoy. And if you have additional veggies in the crisper? By all means, add them to the mix!
Asian chicken salad
If you use leftover chicken or take-away rotisserie chicken, this is a perfect summertime meal that doesn’t require any cooking. Prepare the veggies in advance and all you’ll need to do at the end of a busy day is assemble them.
This recipe is also a stellar option for make-ahead lunches. Set up your containers, divide the ingredients between them, and you’ve got healthy lunches made for the week!
Ingredients
Romaine lettuce — The base of this salad is romaine lettuce. The sturdy lettuce holds up well with all of the other toppings. That said, iceberg lettuce or napa cabbage could easily be swapped in here.
Chicken — Any kind of cooked chicken works here. Use up leftovers from last night’s roasted chicken dinner, sauté chicken breasts, or if you’re in a time crunch, pick up a rotisserie chicken. (It happens!) You could also very easily use leftover steak, pork, or fish. You could even use leftovers from this slow cooker orange chicken recipe!
Toppings — From crunchy red bell pepper to sweet mandarins and salty peanuts, the toppings for this salad give it enough flavor and variety to make it a full meal. Add wonton chips and sesame seeds if you like!
Salad dressing — The ingredients for this dressing are what give this salad its trademark Asian flavor. Soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil combined with oil and peanut butter make it a favorite!
Making this Asian chicken salad
There are a few ways to assemble the ingredients, depending on if you like individual bowls or one big shared salad, but in any case, it’s a matter of combining the salad fixings and tossing them with dressing.
- Make the salad dressing by combining ingredients until well blended.
- Prepare salads in individual bowls or in a large salad bowl.
- Toss the salad with the dressing prior to serving.
Could it be any easier??
Did you enjoy this salad? Be sure to give it a star rating!
Ingredients
- 5 – 6 cups romaine lettuce coarsely chopped
- ½ cup thinly sliced purple cabbage
- ½ cup julienne sliced carrots
- ½ cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
- 1 cup mandarin oranges drained well
- 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
- 3 cups cooked chicken sliced, shredded, or cubed
- 1/2 cup wonton chips optional
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds optional
For the dressing:
- ½ cup avocado oil or light olive oil
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl or jar until well blended.
- Prepare salads in individual bowls, in a layered trifle bowl, or in a large salad bowl.
- Toss the salad with the dressing prior to serving or let diners add their own.
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