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This Thai chicken salad with peanut dressing is so fresh, bright, and easy to make! It’s a great way to use leftover or rotisserie chicken, and it’s on your table in just 20 minutes.
Love cabbage? Try my Best Coleslaw or Easy Egg Roll in a Bowl next.
Why you’ll love it
If you enjoy Thai food as much as I do, you’ll devour this Thai-inspired chicken salad. The peanut, lime, and ginger dressing is incredible. Pair it with crunchy cabbage, veggies, and fresh herbs, and you have one flavor-packed salad! I like to eat it year-round since it has ingredients available all the time.
Even picky eaters will enjoy it. This simple Thai salad will be a hit with your entire family. I like to consider it a salad for people who don’t really like salad. It’s that good. It’s also packed with so much good stuff that it’s filling enough to eat as a meal on its own.
What you’ll need
For the salad
- Coleslaw – I use a bagged coleslaw mix
- Chicken – use leftover Shredded Cooked Chicken or rotisserie chicken
- Scallions – they’ve got a fairly mild taste, but use red onion if you prefer
- Red bell pepper – to add crunch and color
- Cilantro and basil – I strongly recommend adding both these fresh herbs. They complement the dressing so well. If you can’t eat cilantro, sub for Italian parsley. Mint works too!
- Peanuts – chopped peanuts top it all off
For the dressing
- Peanut butter – I used a smooth creamy variety. I don’t recommend natural peanut butter for this recipe.
- Soy sauce, lime juice, honey – this trio makes up the wonderful savory-tangy-sweet flavor combination!
- Toasted sesame oil – it has a distinct flavor and is used in many Asian recipes. Don’t confuse it with the regular kind.
- Garlic powder – for another savory layer. Use fresh minced garlic instead if you like.
- Fresh ginger – it adds a punch of bold flavor
- Water – depending on the brand of peanut butter and how thick you like the dressing, you may have to add more than suggested to thin out the dressing
Pro tips and troubleshooting
- We’re using the toasted variety of sesame oil that’s darker in color and can be found in the Asian foods aisle along with soy sauce. Regular sesame oil has a lighter color and is often found with other cooking oils like olive oil, so don’t get that one.
- If you store your peanut butter in the fridge, make sure to let it warm up on the counter for a little before making the dressing so it’s not cold and hard and mixes properly. You can also add more water to thin it out to desired consistency.
How to make Thai chicken salad
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Add all the dressing ingredients to a bowl, and whisk until combined. Make sure to test it and adjust as necessary (more lime juice, honey, water, etc.) Prep all the salad ingredients, and place them in a large bowl.
Top the salad with the homemade peanut dressing, season with salt & pepper, and serve immediately.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- A sharp, quality chef’s knife makes the chopping and prep work a breeze.
- This is the glass prep bowl pictured, and it’s easy to toss with kitchen tongs.
- I use one of my favorite kitchen tools to grate the ginger, my Microplane zester/grater. It’s so much easier to grate when it’s frozen! Just store ginger in a ZipLoc freezer bag so you always have some handy.
Substitutions and variations
- If you don’t want to buy pre-bagged coleslaw mix, you can cut up/shred your own cabbage and carrots.
- Cucumber would be a great addition to this salad! I’d cut it up in fairly small cubes. I’ve also seen people add papaya.
- Want to make this a spicy Thai chicken salad? Try adding some crushed red pepper flakes, cut-up fresh Thai chilis, or some sriracha sauce to the dressing. A little heat would be fantastic here.
What to serve with this salad
- This is quite a large salad. It serves four as an main dish on its own no problem, but you could easily feed up to six people depending on how much they eat or if you serve it with something else. Serve with a dinner roll or crusty bread, and you’re good.
- If you want a riff on soup and salad, pair it with this light 15 Minute Thai Green Curry Soup.
Leftovers and storage
- This salad does work for leftovers for a day or so just fine, but it may get a bit less crisp. Just store in an airtight container and refrigerate.
- Keep in mind leftovers aren’t quite as good as when freshly made, so you could certainly halve all the ingredients if you don’t want anything left over.
- Or you could store the dressing in a jar in the fridge for up to a week and use when you’re ready!
More Thai-inspired recipes
Questions? Leave me a comment below! I’d love if you left a star rating and review. As always, tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram so I can see your creations.
Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 pound coleslaw mix
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1/4 cup scallions chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
- Small handful fresh cilantro chopped (optional but recommended)
- Small handful fresh basil sliced thin or torn (optional)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Dressing:
- 5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter see note
- 3 tablespoons water or more as needed
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon pure sesame oil see note
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Add the dressing ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and whisk together until smooth. Taste and adjust (e.g. add more lime juice or honey). If your dressing comes out really thick (peanut butter brands can vary), add even more water than suggested.
- Prep all the salad ingredients and them add to a large bowl. Toss with the dressing and serve immediately. Season with salt & pepper as needed.
Notes
- I don’t recommend using natural peanut butter for this recipe as the flavors and texture can be a bit off. I would use it sparingly and then taste and adjust the dressing as needed.
- I use the sesame oil found in the Asian section of the grocery store. It’s got quite a strong/nutty flavor. It’s darker in color and sometimes you’ll find it labeled as toasted sesame oil. I just buy whichever brand is in stock.
- You don’t need to add the cilantro or basil, but they definitely add extra flavor and freshness.
- Helpful hint: It’s much easier to grate ginger when it’s frozen. I always keep some fresh ginger in my freezer for when I need it. It also helps reduce waste (I always seem to waste fresh ginger when I don’t use it in time!).
- Serves 4-6. You may want to halve it if you don’t want leftovers.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on June 16, 2017. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
Loved this! Hubby and I are doing WW and we are always looking for something quick, easy and low points. We didn’t add the peanuts because we didn’t have any, but we followed the rest of the recipe to a T. Very delicious. I even added a few dashes of Sriracha to the sauce. We will definitely make this again. Thanks!
I’m so glad it was a hit, Shanna! Thanks for your review! 🙂
Can you use natural peanut butter with this? It is a bit thicker and has no sugar. Should I add a bit more sugar than called for?
Hi June! You could, but you may need to tweak it a bit as you say. It’s not as smooth of a consistency, and you may need to add more water as well.
Thanks so much for another AMAZING recipe, Natasha!
I made this as a quick side instead of a full entree, so I skipped the chicken this time around and added some shelled edamame and chopped avocado that I had in the fridge/freezer! I also added some sriracha and red pepper flakes as you suggested for a bit of kick, and swapped the cole slaw mix with broccoli slaw mix. But it was FABULOUS!! I loved all of the different flavors and textures coming together. Definitely a new go-to in our house!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! 🙂
You’re very welcome, Katie!! So glad you liked it! 🙂
This recipe sounds delicious!!! Some questions: 1) do you peel your fresh ginger before you freeze it?
2) is it possible to substitute Stevia for the honey since I am diabetic?
3) do use use roasted unsalted peanuts?
4) can you use crushed red chili’s
Thank you again for this amazing recipe!!!
Hi Sharon! I don’t peel it. The peel protects it in the freezer. I just grate a bit of the peel off (like into the garbage) when I’m ready to use it, and then continue grating from there. Re: the Stevia, if you’re comfortable making the sub (like you’ve done it in cooking before), you could try, but it’s not something I’ve ever done in a salad dressing. I believe the peanuts were roasted and unsalted, yes. Sure, crushed red chilis would be fine. Hope you like the recipe! 🙂
Did you end up using stevia? I was thinking about subbing swerve.
What is the serving size for the 251 cals? A cup, two cups?
Hi Kim! It’s 1/6 of the recipe. I am not a trained nutritionist (or good at math, for that matter lol), so I only include the nutrition info that the recipe card automatically calculates, with a heavy disclaimer that it’s just an estimate, ingredients vary, etc. So, I am not sure what that works out to in cups, oz, or grams – sorry! If you are relying on the nutrition info for health reasons, for the most accurate results, you would weigh the ingredients using a kitchen scale and base it on the exact brands of ingredients you’re using.
The salad was quite good, but only after I adjusted the dressing significantly. When I started as shown it tasted like I was just pouring peanut butter over my salad. Had to increase everything else significantly to get the blend of flavors. Next time I will start with 2 Tb of peanut butter and the remaining ingredients until you get a good balance of flavors.
Followed the recipe as is with one exception – left out the cilantro because of a very strong dislike that would actually make the dish inedible for me.
It was still delicious !
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!! Yes, some people are born with the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap… can’t say I blame you for leaving it out haha.
This was fantastic and such a great change of pace!
I added a little water to thin out the dressing. I also added dried Chinese red peppers for heat and some seasoned rice vinegar to brighten it all up at the end. I halved the salad to take leftovers to lunch!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it, Amanda!! 🙂
We use PB2. It can be reconstituted by adding water to be like regular peanut butter. I would just do that and then add it to the recipe as stated. There are directions to reconstitute the PB2 on the jar.
Oops! Sorry. Replied to the wrong post.
Can this recipe be adapted to use a powdered peanut butter such as PB2?
Hello! I don’t know… I have never tried powdered peanut butter before. I mean, I don’t see why not… you could certainly experiment. Let me know!
How long does the peanut dressing last in the fridge? I loved the salad. It’s so refreshing on a hot day
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! I would say max one week, but that’s just a guess… I try to use up homemade dressings within 3-5 days usually.