This crunchy Thai Chopped Salad with chicken and our homemade peanut dressing is a healthy and flavorful main-dish that is super fresh and satisfying. It’s full of crisp veggies, salty peanuts, and juicy chicken all coated in our creamy peanut dressing.
You can use any type of chicken to make this recipe - grilled chicken, leftover chicken, shredded chicken, or even rotisserie chicken. Best of all, this recipe is perfect for meal prep as most of the ingredients can be made ahead of time and stored separately in the fridge.
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Thai Chopped Salad
When you find yourself craving something exciting for lunch, this Thai Chopped Chicken Salad may be just what you’re looking for. It’s made with a rainbow of crunchy veggies and Thai-inspired flavors that range from sweet and salty to tangy and fresh.
To cut down on prep time, I like to use a bag of coleslaw mix and pre-cooked chicken. This way, you’re only looking at about 20 minutes before you can dig in. This Thai Chicken Chop Salad is also perfect for meal prep as long as you keep the dressing and veggies separated. You can even store in separate portioned containers to have grab-and-go salads all week long.
Thai Chicken Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken - you can use any kind of shredded or diced cooked chicken that you want. Rotisserie chicken works great, as does our Thai Marinated Chicken Breast recipe. Feel free to leave out the chicken completely if you want to make this vegetarian.
- Green Onions - you’ll want these to be thinly sliced.
- Red Bell Pepper - you can use any kind of bell pepper, either sliced thin or diced.
- Peanuts - chopped peanuts or cashews add flavor and crunch.
- Coleslaw Mix - this is an easy solution because it involves zero chopping. Shredded broccoli mix works great, too. You could also shred your own red cabbage and carrots
- Salt and Pepper
Thai Salad Dressing
- Peanut Butter - while I usually use creamy peanut butter, you can definitely use crunchy if you don’t mind a sauce that isn’t completely smooth.
- Water - instead of water you could substitute coconut milk.
- Sugar - this recipe calls for granulated sugar, but brown sugar or even cane sugar would make a great substitute. You could even use a touch of maple syrup or honey.
- Soy Sauce - again, you can use regular soy sauce, low salt, or even tamari. If you have it already, a teeny dash of fish sauce will also pack a punch of flavor.
- White Wine Vinegar - this helps round out the flavors. You could substitute a bit of rice vinegar.
- Lime Juice - for the best flavor, use fresh lime juice.
More Thai-Inspired Salad Ingredients
If you want to mix and match, here are a few more ideas for Thai salads:
- Fresh cilantro
- Crispy rice noodles
- Diced cucumber
- Edamame beans
- Red pepper flakes
- Diced mango
- Shredded Napa cabbage
How to Make This Thai Chicken Salad Recipe
- Add salad ingredients to a large bowl. In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked chicken, green onions, bell pepper, peanuts, coleslaw mix, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Make the peanut dressing. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the peanut butter, water, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar. Cook peanut sauce over low heat while whisking. Bring to a low boil, then remove from the heat, whisk until smooth, and allow to cool to room temperature before stirring in the lime juice.
- Toss the salad. Once the peanut dressing has cooled to room temperature, add as desired to the bowl with salad ingredients and toss until coated.
- Serve. To serve, top with additional crushed peanuts and an extra drizzle of peanut dressing, along with red chili sauce if desired. Enjoy!
Chopped Thai Salad Recipe Variations
Here are a few simple ways to create different variations of this base Thai Chopped Salad recipe:
- Spicy Thai Chicken Salad: Add a little Thai chili sauce or red pepper flakes to the dressing.
- Coconut Curry Thai Chicken Salad: Add diced mango, sliced avocado, and shredded coconut. Drizzle the salad with a coconut curry dressing made from coconut milk, red curry paste, lime juice, honey, and ginger, then top with toasted coconut flakes.
- Thai Beef Salad: Substitute shredded cooked beef (such as flank steak or sirloin) for chicken in your Thai salad.
- Thai Shrimp Salad: Use cooked shrimp instead of chicken in your Thai salad.
- Tofu Thai Salad: Make a vegetarian Thai Chopped Salad by replacing the chicken with cubed tofu.
- Thai Quinoa Chicken Salad: Add cooked quinoa to your Thai chicken salad for extra protein and fiber.
- Thai Noodle Chicken Salad: Add cooked rice noodles to the salad for a hearty and satisfying meal.
- Thai Chicken Salad Wraps: Wrap your Thai chicken salad in large lettuce leaves or rice paper wrappers for a fresh and healthy meal on the go.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can easily thin down your peanut dressing with a touch of water. Add about 1 teaspoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
The good news is that you can use just about any kind of chicken for this salad. Rotisserie chicken works great, as does diced or shredded leftover chicken. Crock pot chicken also works great.
Yes! This salad is perfect for meal prep as long as you keep the salad veggies, the chicken, and the peanut dressing in separate airtight containers in the fridge. The dressing will be good for up to 5 days, while the veggies and chicken can be stored for up to 3 days.
Storing Instructions
- Thai Salad Dressing: store your peanut dressing in a jar or another airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Thai Chicken: leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Veggies: as long as they are stored separately, they can be stored in a covered bowl or airtight container in the fridge overnight.
Thai Chopped Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups Cooked Chicken shredded or chopped
- ¼ cup Green Onions sliced thin
- ½ large Red Bell Pepper sliced or diced
- ¼ cup Peanuts chopped
- 15-18 ounces Coleslaw Mix
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
Thai Peanut Dressing
- ¼ cup Peanut Butter
- ¼ cup Water or more as needed to thin for dressing
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- ½ teaspoon White Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked chicken, green onions, bell pepper, peanuts, coleslaw mix, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the peanut butter, water, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar. Cook peanut sauce over low heat while whisking. Bring to a low boil, then remove from the heat, whisk until smooth, and allow to cool to room temperature before stirring in the lime juice.
- Once the peanut dressing has cooled to room temperature, add as desired to the bowl with salad ingredients and toss until coated.
- To serve, top with additional crushed peanuts and an extra drizzle of peanut dressing, along with red chili sauce if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More of the Best Salad Recipes
- Thai Chicken Salad
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Italian Dressing
- Honey Mustard Dressing
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Fall Harvest Salad
- Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad
- Southwest Crispy Chicken Salad
- Grilled Chicken BLT Salad
- More Salad Recipes
- More Asian-Inspired Recipes
This Thai Chopped Salad is fresh, flavorful, healthy, and crazy delicious. It's loaded with crunchy veggies and juicy chicken all coated in a creamy homemade peanut dressing.
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