This Thai Chicken Salad recipe is always the star of the show whenever it’s served at our table. This easy, healthy salad come together in 15 to 20 minutes.
This Thai Chicken Salad recipe is always the perfect dish for a special (but easy) dinner. We’re celebrating here today and, true to form, my celebration food is savory and involves soy sauce. And what’s the occasion? Well, it just so happens that this little blog of mine turns 7 today. Seven years ago, I picked up my point and shoot camera after making a batch of French onion soup, snapped a couple of badly lit photos, wrote a story to go along with the recipe and hit “publish”. I started the blog as a lark, a creative outlet to channel my love of food and cooking. At that point, I had no idea that it was something that could become a full-time job and eventually contribute to the family income.
Here we are, 7 years and about 1000 recipes later, and I still get a high from coming up with a new recipe idea, getting the thumbs-up from my official taste-testers (my husband and boys – they love this Thai Chicken Salad recipe!) and sharing it with my readers. It just never gets old.
And in the spirit of recipes that I couldn’t wait to share with you, this Thai Chicken Salad recipe ranks right up there with some of my all-time favorites, such as Teriyaki Shrimp Tacos with Chili Lime Yogurt, Slow Cooker Hoisin Chicken and Rice Noodles with Chicken, Asparagus & Soy Ginger Sauce.
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You’re seeing the savory, soy sauce trend here, right?
I’m not kidding when I say that I could eat bowl after bowl of this salad. Napa cabbage, red cabbage and grated carrots are tossed together to form the base of a salad (or slaw), then pumped up with shredded chicken and a Thai-inspired dressing that includes soy sauce (of course!), a splash of fish sauce (Thai food wouldn’t be the same without it), rice vinegar and chili garlic sauce.
Dig in!
Watch how easy it is to make this Thai Chicken Salad:
And before signing off, I want to thank all of you for your loyal readership. I truly love what I do, and your comments and emails make my job that much more rewarding.
Other healthy Thai-inspired recipes:
Thai Shrimp Stir Fry with Zucchini
10-Minute Thai Shrimp, Cucumber & Avocado Salad
Thai Chicken Naan Pizza with Peanut Sauce, Red Pepper & Carrots
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #COOKINCANUCK and I’ll be sure to find it.
Thai Chicken Salad Recipe
Thai Chicken Salad Recipe…It’s virtually impossible to stop eating this delicious, healthy salad! 236 calories and 4 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP
Ingredients
- 1/2 Napa cabbage, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
- 1/4 small red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 2 medium carrots, grated (about 1 cup)
- 3 green onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup minced cilantro
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
- 3 tbsp slivered almonds, toasted
The dressing
- 1 lime, juiced
- 3 tbsp natural peanut butter
- 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tsp agave nectar (or honey)
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the Napa cabbage, red cabbage, carrot, green onion, cilantro and chicken breast. Toss with the dressing. Garnish with the toasted almonds. Serve.
The dressing:
- In a small glass bowl, combine the lime juice, peanut butter, soy sauce, agave nectar, fish sauce, rice vinegar and chili garlic sauce. Whisk until smooth.
Recipe Notes
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Liz says
Love this salad. Thank you and have a Wonderful Monday.
Ginny McMeans says
That salad is gorgeous! Love the dressing – sounds so flavorful!
Kathy says
When I see ” fish sauce” listed as an ingredient on a recipe, it makes my stomach churn! What is fish sauce? Is there a substitute? This salad looked delicious until I saw fish sauce as ingredient. Just makes me want to chunk the recipe!
Dara says
Hi Kathy, I get it! Fish sauce is not a pleasant smelling ingredient, but lends an amazing underlying flavor that is key to Thai food. If you’ve ever had Pad Thai, you’ve had fish sauce! It’s sold in most grocery stores, in the international aisle. If you really prefer not to use it, you could either leave it out or substitute with a bit of Worcestershire sauce, which happens to contain anchovies. I hope that helps!
Diane says
I am allergic to fish and sea food, but I found a recipe on the internet for a vegetarian fish sauce.
anne says
thank you
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Thank you so much for including my pad thai with this wonderful recipe!
Dara says
My pleasure! It looks wonderful!
Debbie says
This looks delicious and I cannot wait to try it. Thank you for sharing!
Debbie says
P.S. I almost forgot to say, congratulations! I’ve been following you for about 5 years now and love to see how you’ve progressed. It just keeps getting better. And your food photography skills are excellent.
Dara says
Thank you so much, Debbie! It is for readers like you that I keep doing this. Your loyalty means the world the me.
Kirsten says
Congrats on 7 years, Dara!
This salad looks delicious and I too would love to dig in.
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts says
Congrats on 7 great years!! This salad looks amazing, definitely my kind of flavors!
Katerina @ Diethood says
WOOOOOT!! Happy Blogiversary!! Celebrating with this beautiful, colorful salad is a must!
KalynsKitchen says
Congratulations on seven great years! Seems like only a year or two ago that we met, how can that be possible?
Sara @ Bitz & Giggles says
Congrats on 7 years! That’s such a wonderful accomplishment! This salad is so colorful and fun!
Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat says
Thank you so much for the link love Dara, and happy blogiversary!! My blog will be turning 6 next week and it’s crazy to think that something that started so spontaneously has turned into something so much bigger. Your salad looks absolutely phenomenal, and I’m a sucker for ALL things Thai so you’ve pretty much got me drooling over my keyboard right now! 🙂
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
Congrats on such a milestone — very exciting! I think you’ve found the perfect way to celebrate! I just love fresh cabbage, especially in a salad like this — and that dressing? I could eat it all day!
cathy pollak says
I think I would I eat the whole…it’s so gorgeous and perfect for Spring with all those colors.
Melanie | Melanie Makes says
Such a gorgeous salad, Dara – wish that bowl was on my table right now!
Sommer @aspicyperspective says
I’m dying to try this savory salad recipe!
Jeanna says
I just finished making this and I want to eat it all right NOW 🙂
I made mine without the chicken, so I added some extra veggies and some cold pasta. It’s all about the dressing and the cilantro for me.
Thanks for the great recipe! Now that I bought a bottle of fish sauce I guess I’m committed to making this often..YAY
Colleen (Souffle Bombay) says
Gorgeous! One of my very favorite dishes! Congratulations Dara! The world is lucky to have you sharing your recipes, weigh-loss journey and stories! Cheers to 7 more years!!
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says
Congrats on seven years!
Michelle @ Taste As You Go says
I’m a little late (as with most things these days), but I wanted to congratulate you on hitting such a big milestone with your blog. You’ve always been one of my favorite bloggers to keep tabs on and one of my biggest inspirations in the kitchen. Thanks for continuing to share such delicious recipes, Dara! xo
Dara says
Thank you so much, Michelle! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your kind words.
meg says
My son is allergic to peanuts. Could I replace the peanut butter with almond butter?
Dara says
Hi Meg, I haven’t actually tried it with almond butter, so can’t be certain, but I’d imagine that it would work well. I hope both you and your son enjoy it!
Tricia says
This looks so very good! My question is this…how well would it keep if I made it to pack for work lunches for a whole week? Would you keep everything separate, do you think?
Yulia says
Hi! A question from a fellow canuck) I am going to try this recipe, how do you cook your chicken for it?
Nany Reyes says
The best!!
Leigh Drachman says
Hi Dara! Just wanted to thank you for this awesome recipe. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE eating salads, but hate making them. Anyway, I was challenged by a friend to make and post a salad a day for a week and I found and tried yours! It is so good. I know it says four servings, but I am going to eat them all myself. I shared your recipe with out salad group with a link to your blog. Have a great day! #saladaday
Marina says
The salad looks amazing — and where could I find that beautiful blue/green/yellow bowl? It’s gorgeous! I hope you can provide a source so I can get one.
Dara says
I wish I could tell you! My parents picked it up at a pottery/craft fair, but I don’t know who the artist is. It’s one of my favorites!
Lisa says
Made this yesterday for a side salad to burgers at a Graduation Celebration. Everyone loved it and it doubled easily. I made everything in advance and refrigerated separately and assembled it at the party. Also, due to a peanut and almond allergy, we substituted Sun Butter (sunflower seed spread) for the peanut butter and roasted sunflower seeds for the almond slivers. It tasted great.
Ricki says
Loved this salad. Great way to use leftover chicken. I used toasted chopped almonds instead of slivered Added a nice crunch.
Kim Taylor says
Saw the video for this recipe on Facebook and knew I had to make it. It did not disappoint! I didn’t make any adjustments or substitutions and it was so good! Can’t wait to make it again.
Andrea says
This salad is absolutely delicious! Made it for the first time tonight and hubby asked that I add it to our regular rotation of meals. I used peanuts instead of almonds. Will definitely be making this on the regular. Thanks for sharing!!!!
Dara says
That’s great to hear! It’s one of my family’s favorites.
Erikka says
Super delicious! Loved the fresh and well-rounded flavors. My boyfriend had 3 servings, and he can be pretty picky! While I love fish sauce (I’m half-Filipino), my boyfriend hates the smell… I simply didn’t tell him that it was in it, and it didn’t bother him! We will be making this often!!