Thai Chopped Chicken Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette

4.12

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Need something a little different in your summer salad routine? Thai Chopped Chicken Salad might be just the thing. With a rainbow of crunch from peppers and peanuts, protein from tender shredded chicken, and a bit of sweet spice from peanut dressing, this salad is gluten-free and only 350 calories per serving.

overhead image of Thai Chicken Salad in white bowls

What’s not to love?

We decided to shirk convention and book a lakeside getaway the weekend before Memorial Day. Take that all you crowded highways and overpriced hotels.

With visions of the wraparound deck at the house we rented, I’ve got summertime recipes on the brain. We plan to do little more cooking than throwing things on the grill and chopping veggies for salads. This one is in the running for favorite at the moment. Loaded with bright colors and tons of crunch, it’s even got a little sweetness from fresh mango.

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I’m totally digging on chopped salads these days, including one of my other recent favorites, this Asian Chopped Salad with Sweet Sesame Vinaigrette. They require a little extra time because you want to slice and dice all those ingredients into small, even(ish) pieces. But when tossed together with a flavorful dressing, you can spear a bit of everything on your fork.

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pouring peanut dressing on Chopped Chicken Salad

And as much as I love a homemade Thai Peanut Sauce, the sweet and spicy dressing on this salad is just as good if you use store-bought Peanut Sauce (I like the Trader Joe’s and Thai Kitchen versions).

Chicken Salad in a white bowl with salad tongs

What about you sweet readers? Have something fun planned this weekend or next?

More Colorful Salad Recipes

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adding peanut sauce to chicken salad
4.12 from 9 votes

Thai Chopped Chicken Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette

This fresh salad gets lots of crunch from vegetables and peanuts and is totally irresistible thanks to that creamy, spicy, slightly sweet Peanut Vinaigrette. I could drink that stuff.
Prep: 20 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 4

Equipment

  • Knife
  • Mixing Bowl

Ingredients 

Salad:

  • 2 heads Romaine Lettuce
  • 2 Bell Peppers, any color, thinly sliced
  • 1 Mango, sliced
  • 1 cup Shredded Carrots
  • 1/2 cup Peanuts, roasted and unsalted
  • 2 cups cooked Shredded Chicken (I like to use store-bought rotisserie chicken)

Spicy Peanut Dressing:

  • 4 Tablespoons Thai Peanut Sauce (store-bought or homemade)
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 2 teaspoons Honey
  • 2 teaspoons Rice Vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Lime Juice

Instructions 

  • Finely chop the lettuce and slice peppers and mango into thin strips. Toss lettuce, peppers, mango, carrots, peanuts and chicken.
  • Make the dressing by whisking together peanut sauce, oil, honey, vinegar and lime juice. Taste and adjust to your preference, adding a bit more honey if you’d like it more sweet or lime juice if you’d like it more tart.
  • Just before serving, add half the dressing to the salad and toss well. Serve salad with remaining half of dressing on the side and add to your preference.

Nutrition

Calories: 455kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 439mg | Potassium: 1377mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 35061IU | Vitamin C: 110mg | Calcium: 143mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef
Cost: $8.00
Calories: 455
Keyword: Chicken Recipe, chicken salad, easy dinner, easy salad recipe, gluten free, lunch, summer
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The only thing that seemed to save these rainy mornings we had all week were many, many books with Dad…

Molly Clara and Frank Reading

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About Jess Smith

Jess is the recipe creator and photographer at InquiringChef.com. She spent nearly a decade as the Chief Recipe Developer for the award-winning meal planning app Cook Smarts. Her colorful, healthyish recipes have been featured in popular online publications including Parade, Hallmark, and HuffPost.

4.12 from 9 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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7 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made this today. Followed the recipe exactly, including the peanut dressing. It was outstanding! My wife and I couldnโ€™t stop eating this! Thanks for sharing. Highly recommend!!

  2. Did you include the dressing in your calorie count? Seems like the salad would easily be 351 calories without that calorie dense dressing. Sounds delicious though!

    1. Hi Laura! Yes – this calorie count includes dressing. It’s a surprisingly light salad, but one that I find really filling (my husband needs about 1.5 servings of this one). I use MyFitnessPal.com to verify all nutrition data on this site.

  3. 5 stars
    This looks delicious! And with the store bought dressing – totally do-able! Yum! Anytime you post a Thai dish, I’m all in!