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This hearty and flavorful Asian Chicken Salad is made with cabbage, mandarin oranges, cucumbers, bell peppers, almonds, marinated chicken and an easy homemade dressing.
The freshness, crunch and delicious flavor combination of this healthy Asian Chicken Salad has me making it every chance I get! I marinate the chicken in a simple sauce that's then converted to make salad dressing. The end result in restaurant quality, and I love that the salad can be prepared in advance.
How to Make Asian Chicken Salad:
- Marinate chicken: whisk together soy sauce, ginger, olive oil, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, and salt. Marinate chicken in 3 tablespoons of the marinade and refrigerate.
- Mix dressing by adding red wine vinegar and sliced green onions to the unused marinade.
- Combine lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, carrots, almonds, bell peppers, mandarin oranges, and cilantro in a large bowl.
- Grill chicken on medium high heat, cooking for about 3 minutes on each side. Slice chicken and add to the salad.
- Toss salad with desired amount of dressing. Garnish with crunchy wonton strips or chow mein noodles, if desired.
Make Ahead Instructions:
The dressing, marinating the chicken, and chopping the salad ingredients can be done up to one day in advance. Then, when it is time to eat just grill the chicken and toss the salad with the dressing.
Recipe Variations:
- Vegetarian: Leave off the chicken or replace with tofu.
- Toss in more Vegetables: Use any seasonal vegetables you have, including snap peas, edamame, sprouts, radishes, shredded brussels sprouts, celery, broccoli, etc. You can also use any type of lettuce or onion you have on hand.
More tasty Salads to try:
- Classic Wedge Salad
- Healthy Chicken Pasta Salad
- Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
- Waldorf Salad
- Thai Quinoa Salad
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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.
- 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.
- To the remaining marinade, add red wine vinegar and sliced green onions, to make a dressing for the salad. Refrigerate.
For the salad:
- Add lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, carrots, almonds, bell peppers, mandarin oranges and cilantro to a large bowl.
- Grill the 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.
- Pour desired amount of dressing on top and toss to combine. Garnish with crunchy wonton strips or chow mein noodles, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe January 2016. Updated May 2021 with new process photos.
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!