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My Asian Chicken Salad recipe has everything we love, from cabbage, mandarin oranges, and almonds, to tender marinated chicken, all tossed in an easy homemade dressing.
Asian Chicken Salad is all I want in a salad.
This Asian Chicken Salad might be my absolute favorite salad! The combination of crunchy cabbage, sweet mandarin oranges, and that savory marinated chicken is just perfect and the fact that the marinade pulls double duty as the dressing? Total game changer. I've brought this to potlucks, made it for lazy Sunday lunches, and thrown it together on busy weeknights, and it never disappoints. It's so easy to prep ahead and is perfect for meal prepping lunches!
Try my other salad recipes, like Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, Orzo Salad, Chicken Pasta Salad, Italian Grinder Chopped Salad, and Cold Noodle Salad!
How to make Asian Chicken Salad:
Marinate Chicken: Whisk the dressing/marinade ingredients together except for the red wine vinegar and sliced green onions. Pour 3 tablespoons on top of the chicken to marinate and place in the refrigerator then stir the red wine vinegar and sliced green onions into the rest for the dressing.
Grill Chicken: On medium high heat, grill your chicken for about 3 minutes per side. Let it rest for a few minutes then slice the chicken.
Assemble: In your salad bowl, combine lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, carrots, almonds, bell peppers, mandarin oranges, and cilantro. Place chicken on top then toss the salad with the desired amount of dressing. Garnish with crunchy wonton strips or chow mein noodles and serve immediately.
Asian Chicken Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Marinade and Dressing:
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped ginger
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce, , or more, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 green onions, , finely chopped
- 2 boneless, skinless breasts
For the Salad:
- 1 large head romaine or green leafy lettuce, , chopped
- 2 cups chopped red, green or napa cabbage
- 1/2 english cucumber, sliced
- 1 carrot, , shredded
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds or cashews
- 1 bell pepper, (any color), chopped
- 11 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
For Topping:
- Handful Crunchy chow mein noodles or wonton strips, , optional
Instructions
- Make Marinade: Whisk together the soy sauce, chopped ginger, olive oil, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, and salt.¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped ginger , ¼ cup olive oil, 2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce, 1 Tablespoon sesame oil, ½ teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce, ½ teaspoon salt
- Marinate Chicken: Add 3 tablespoon of the marinade to a bowl or large ziplock bag (the rest will be reserved for the dressing). Cut the chicken breasts in half, lengthwise (butterfly), to create 6 thin chicken breast halves. Add to the marinade and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3-4 hours.2 boneless, skinless breasts
- Dressing: To the remaining marinade, add red wine vinegar and sliced green onions, to make a dressing for the salad. Refrigerate.¼ cup red wine vinegar, 2 green onions
- Salad: Add lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, carrots, almonds, bell peppers, mandarin oranges and cilantro to a large bowl.1 large head romaine or green leafy lettuce, 2 cups chopped red, green or napa cabbage, ½ english cucumber, 1 carrot, ½ cup sliced almonds or cashews, 1 bell pepper, 11 ounce can mandarin oranges, ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Grill chicken on medium high heat, cooking for about 3 minutes on each side, flipping once, until cooked through. Remove to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Slice the chicken against the grain and add to the salad.
- Serve: Pour desired amount of dressing on top and toss to combine. Garnish with crunchy wonton strips or chow mein noodles, if desired.Handful Crunchy chow mein noodles or wonton strips
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe January 2016. Updated May 2021 and May 2026.
Very good salad. I used fresh mandarin oranges, green peppers and omitted the cilantro.
The dressing is more than enough to cover the entire salad, even though it may look like it. One suggestion – If you are planning to have leftovers the next day, pour a small amount salad dressing on individual salad portions, not the entire salad. Otherwise, your lettuce might be wilted.
Easy and tasty!
I loved this salad. My son gave it 3-1/2 stars as he does not like peppers. Too bad.
Fabulous recipe! My whole family enjoyed it…the youngest asking if we could have it again tomorrow. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for your great recipes – have tried many over the past few weeks and have not been disappointed.
Excellent ! Nice change from just lettuce. I left out the salt.
This was excellent 👏 We both loved it and he’s normally a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Will be making it again soon. (If there’s any leftovers, it tastes even better the second day)
I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s a huge hit. Everyone loves it. Only change I make is to add a few cloves of garlic to the marinade/dressing. So great with garlic added.
Is it supposed to be served while chicken is still warm or can I grill the chicken ahead of time and serve as a cold salad? Thanks
Either way would be delicious!
This is one of the best salads I have ever had! It was the perfect amount for my fiancé and I for dinner. Very filling and delicious!
Really good!