Thai Chicken Salad
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If you’re craving a fresh, flavorful meal, this Thai Chicken Salad is exactly what you need! It’s loaded with tender chicken, crisp veggies, and tons of texture, all tossed in a creamy, nutty Thai peanut dressing that brings the perfect balance of sweet and savory. It’s easy to make in 10 minutes, great for meal prep, and works just as well for a quick lunch as it does for a light dinner. Bright, bold, and totally crave-worthy, this is one salad you’ll actually look forward to eating!
Why this recipe is the best
- It saves time without sacrificing flavor. You get bold, Thai-inspired flavors and a satisfying meal in just 10 minutes, perfect for busy lunches or weeknight dinners.
- It uses simple, shortcut ingredients. Rotisserie chicken, pre-shredded veggies, and a quick peanut dressing make this recipe feel effortless but still homemade.
- It’s fresh, filling, and versatile. Light enough for a quick meal but hearty enough to keep you full, with easy swaps to fit whatever you have on hand. It’s great in a tortilla wrap, lettuce wrap, or even served in endive spears as an appetizer!
Ingredients
Here I explain the best ingredients for this Thai chicken salad recipe, what each one does, and substitutions you can make. For the exact ingredient measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Chicken – I recommend using cooked chicken pulled from a rotisserie chicken. This is what helps this recipe come together so quickly! If you want to cook chicken breasts at home, you can use this recipe for Instant Pot Shredded Chicken and make it up to 3 days before you prepare the salad.
- Cabbage – feel free to use shredded purple cabbage or green cabbage, or a combination of both.
- Shredded carrots
- Peanuts – I recommend roasted, salted peanuts for this recipe.
- Cilantro
- Green onions
- Peppers (optional) – you can use red jalapeno peppers, or Thai chilies, to add some spice to the salad. If you want a pepper without the spice, you can finely dice a red bell pepper, and add it to the salad.
- Thai peanut dressing – to make the dressing you’ll need creamy peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, maple syrup, chili garlic sauce and fresh lime juice. Simply blend these all together to make a quick and delicious salad dressing.
If you want to make a copycat Cheesecake Factory Thai Chicken Salad, you can also add rice noodles, cucumbers, and bean sprouts to the salad.
Instructions
- Blend all of the ingredients for the salad dressing together in a blender or food processor.
- Add the chicken, cabbage, carrots, peanuts, cilantro, green onions, and chili peppers to a large bowl. Add the salad dressing and toss everything together.
Easy as that, in two simple steps you have a delicious salad!
Ways to serve it
You can simply eat this dish as a salad, or you can add it to a warm tortilla to make a delicious wrap. You can also serve it in lettuce cups for a light meal, or serve it in endive spears for a simple, yet impressive appetizer.
More Thai-inspired recipes
If you love this salad, you’ll love these other popular Thai-inspired recipes!
Thai Peanut Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
- 2 cups cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup carrots, shredded
- ½ cup peanuts, chopped
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup green onions, chopped
- 2 Thai chili peppers or jalapenos, optional – for spice
- 1 lime, sliced into wedges
Thai Peanut Dressing
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup, or honey
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
- ½ teaspoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients for the Thai peanut dressing to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Toss the chicken, cabbage, carrots, peanuts, cilantro, green onions, and peppers together in a large bowl.
- Add the peanut dressing to the salad and toss to combine. Serve the lime wedges on the side for squeezing over the salad.
Notes
- To make the salad gluten free, use gluten-free soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos, in the Thai peanut dressing.
- Thai peanut chicken salad leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Facts
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