This Rainbow Asian Chicken Salad recipe is dangerously addictive. It's perfect for a crowd and is also great to make as a healthy meal prep for the week!
Rainbow Asian Chicken Salad
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Sometimes great recipes just happen. No planning. No inspiration. One moment you're trying to figure out what you're going to eat and BAM! You're hit with inspiration. And that pretty much sums up the story of how this Asian salad recipe was created.
A few weeks back, I had made an Asian-inspired meal prep one day and brought it over to my parents' house to enjoy lunch with my mom. Unfortunately, I had also forgotten the dressing that went with it. So I went into her fridge and pantry and created a sort of Thai peanut dressing right then and there that was so completely delicious that both of us could not stop eating our bowls.
While we were eating our lunch that day, we both agreed that this peanut dressing would taste even more fantastic over some sort of Asian salad. It would be a healthy and delicious meal on it's own or an excellent side dish-to-pass to enjoy with friends and family. So naturally I had to go home and recreate this salad, and boy, am I glad I did.
Frequently asked questions about this Asian Chicken Salad recipe:
- Can I make it without chicken? Yes! There are so many veggies in here, it would totally work!
- Can I make the dressing in advance? Yes! I'd encourage you to assemble the salad and make the dressing in advance, but don't actually dress the salad until just before serving to avoid everything getting soggy.
- Can I make this as meal prep? Sure! Make the full recipe and divide it between your containers. Once again, hold off on dressing them until just before serving.
- How much salad does this make? This recipe makes a good size salad that's perfect to bring to a party as a dish to pass. You can easily half the dressing and just make a salad small enough for one or two people as well. I left the amounts of the salad fixings open for this very reason!
Helpful tools for making this Rainbow Asian Chicken Salad:
Asian-Inspired Rainbow Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Salad:
- 4 cups cut Romaine lettuce packed
- 1 cup sliced red bell pepper,
- 1 cup sliced baby cucumbers,
- ¾ cup Edamame, shelled
- 1 cup shredded carrots,
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage, shredded
- ½ cup Thin chow mein noodles
- 2 pieces Cooked chicken breast, sliced thin (leftover grilled or rotisserie chicken also works)
- 5-6 sprigs Cilantro, lightly torn
- 2-3 Scallions, sliced thin on the diagonal
- Lime wedges, for garnish
Peanut Dressing
- 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons Sriracha
- 2 teaspoons honey
Instructions
- Chop all salad ingredients and combine in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings to your taste if necessary.
- Refrigerate until serving. When ready to serve, pour the dressing on your salad and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Toss gently. You want the ingredients to be lightly mixed together — if you toss too vigorously you could mash up some of the vegetables.
- Play around with the texture. The variety of veggies in this Asian chopped salad will give you a crunch in every bite! The bell peppers and cucumbers in particular add much to the overall texture. Consider adding some nuts, snow peas, or red onion for even more!
- Add fruit. Some Asian salad recipes will sometimes call for a touch of fruit, so if you want to add some sweetness to the mix I encourage you to do so! Mandarin oranges, mangoes, or chopped pineapple are all great options.
- Wait to add the dressing just before serving. Remember to add the dressing just before serving! Otherwise, you'll end up with a soggy mess.
- Ingredients to Prep Ahead: Clean all veggies, cut lettuce, shred. carrots and cabbage, cut cucumbers, slice red peppers and mix dressing.
- Leftovers and Storage: This lasts up to 5 days without dressing in airtight containers in the fridge.
Nutrition
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