This loaded Thai Chicken Salad has fresh, crunchy veggies, delicious marinated chicken, and a simple homemade peanut sauce dressing. It’s the perfect healthy, filling, and flavorful lunch that is easy to make at home.
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Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing
This Thai Chicken Salad recipe is proof that eating a fresh, healthy salad for lunch does not have to be boring. It’s full of crunchy veggies like shredded lettuce, carrots, bean sprouts, and cilantro, then topped with tender, juicy Thai marinated chicken and our creamy peanut sauce dressing made with soy sauce and fresh lime juice.
Best of all, both the chicken and dressing can be made ahead of time, meaning that all you’ll need to do when lunchtime rolls around is assemble. You could also use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken to save even more time. Feel free to add other Thai-inspired ingredients like bell peppers, cucumber, or cabbage, or try one of our other favorite Thai Chop Salad, Ramen Cabbage Chicken Salad, Chicken BLT Salad or Chicken Salad for Sandwiches.
Ingredients in Thai Chicken Salad
Thai Marinated Chicken
- Chicken Breasts - this recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breasts but you could absolutely substitute bone-in or boneless chicken thighs, chicken tenders, or chicken wings. You could also use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken as a shortcut.
- Avocado Oil - you can also use olive oil or vegetable oil for the marinade ingredients.
- Soy Sauce - any kind of soy sauce will work, including regular, low salt, or even tamari.
- Lime Juice - fresh lime juice tastes the best.
- Garlic - it’s best if you can use fresh minced garlic, but the jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Ginger Powder has a great ginger flavor and makes things easy, but you could also use 2 teaspoons of fresh minced ginger instead.
- Water - this is just to thin down the marinade a touch.
- Green Onions - you’ll want these to be thinly sliced.
- Red Pepper Flakes - these add just a touch of heat to the marinade. You could also substitute a dash or two of Thai sweet chili sauce.
Peanut Sauce 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 wine vinegar.
- Lime Juice - for the best flavor, use fresh lime juice.
Other Salad Ingredients
- Lettuce - I like to use either romaine lettuce, butterhead lettuce, or a mix for the shredded lettuce. Kale, red cabbage, and Napa cabbage are all great substitutes.
- Carrots - you can either shred your own carrots with a cheese grater or food processor, or purchase shredded carrots.
- Bean Sprouts - you can usually find these in the refrigerated areas in your local produce section.
- Crispy Rice Noodles - look for these in the Asian section of your grocery store.
- Cilantro - this is optional but tastes amazing. You could substitute fresh mint, fresh bail, or even use all three.
- Green Onions - these should be thinly sliced.
- Peanuts - chopped peanuts or cashews taste great in this salad.
- Sweet Chili Sauce - you’ll just need a little dash to add a lot of flavor.
How to Make This Thai Chicken Salad Recipe
- Marinate the chicken breast. In a medium bowl or other container, add the chicken, 1 tablespoon of avocado oil, soy sauce, lime juice, minced garlic, ginger, water, thinly sliced green onions, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir until combined, cover with plastic wrap, and let marinate for 20 minutes-24 hours in the fridge.
- Cook the chicken. Once you have marinated the chicken, remove the chicken from the marinade, discard the remaining marinade, and let the chicken come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Cook the chicken on a grill, in the oven, or in a pan until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Make the peanut sauce dressing. Add peanut butter, water, sugar, soy sauce, white wine vinegar, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small pan. Heat over medium high heat while whisking and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature before stirring in the lime juice.
- Assemble the salad. Prepare the salad ingredients and layer in individual bowls as desired. Slice the chicken and add to the salad. Drizzle Peanut Sauce dressing and chili sauce over the top. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t have time to marinate and cook chicken just for this salad, feel free to use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or even cooked salmon. You will still get plenty of Thai flavor from the peanut sauce.
Luckily, Peanut Sauce Dressing will last for up to 5 days in the fridge. Just store it in an airtight container or jar and give it a good shake before using.
While you will want to wait to dress the salad just before serving, you can prepare the chicken and dressing ahead of time if you want. The cooked chicken will last in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the peanut dressing will last for up to 5 days. If you make the dressing and chicken ahead of time, all you’ll need to do when it comes time to serve is assemble.
Storing
- Peanut Sauce: store your dressing in a jar or another airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Chicken: leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Thai Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Thai Marinated Chicken
- 2 pounds Chicken Breasts boneless, skinless
- 1 Tablespoon Avocado Oil
- ¼ cup Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 2 teaspoon Garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon Ginger Powder or 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 3 Tablespoons Water
- 4 large Green Onions sliced
- ½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
Peanut Sauce Dressing
- ¼ cup Peanut Butter
- ¼ cup Water
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- ½ teaspoon White Wine Vinegar
- 1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
Other Salad Ingredients
- 2 heads Romaine or Butterhead Lettuce shredded
- ½ cup Carrots shredded
- ½ cup Bean Sprouts
- 2 cups Crispy Rice Noodles
- ¼ cup Cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup Green Onions sliced thin
- ¼ cup Peanuts or cashews, chopped
- ¼ cup Sweet Chili Sauce
Instructions
Marinated Chicken
- In a medium bowl or other container, add the chicken, 1 tablespoon of avocado oil, soy sauce, lime juice, minced garlic, ginger, water, thinly sliced green onions, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir until combined, cover with plastic wrap, and let marinate for 20 minutes-24 hours in the fridge.
- Once you have marinated the chicken, remove the chicken from the marinade, discard the remaining marinade, and let the chicken come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Cook the chicken on a grill, in the oven, or in a pan until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and set aside.
Peanut Sauce Dressing
- In a small pan, add the peanut butter, water, sugar, soy sauce, white wine vinegar, and crushed red pepper flakes. Heat over medium high heat while whisking and bring to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature before stirring in the lime juice.
Assembling the Chicken Salad
- Prepare the salad ingredients and layer in individual bowls as desired. Slice the chicken and add to the salad. Drizzle Peanut Sauce dressing and chili sauce over the top. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Easy Salad Recipes to Try
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Italian Dressing
- Thai Chicken Chopped Salad
- Honey Mustard Dressing
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Fall Harvest Salad
- Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad
- Grilled Chicken BLT Salad
- More Salad Recipes
- More Asian-Inspired Recipes
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This crunchy Thai Chicken Salad recipe is a super simple way to pack a ton of flavor into a healthy lunch. It's filled with crunchy veggies, Thai marinated chicken breast, and plenty of creamy peanut butter dressing.
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