In the mood for Chinese but don’t want to order in? This Chinese chicken salad is the perfect option! Tossed in a tangy peanut sauce, ramen noodles and veggies, this is a great healthy option for when you are craving takeout.
I know that you guys are just going to love this Chinese chicken salad recipe!
This salad is full of textures and flavors and loaded with fresh veggies for a healthy make ahead lunch option. The addition of ramen noodles and a tangy peanut butter sauce make this a meal to remember!
For more Asian chicken recipes, check out my Tandoori Chicken Thighs and Thai Red Curry Chicken.
Why you will love this Chinese chicken salad
- Healthy: This is a great well balanced meal with lots of fresh veggies and good amounts of protein.
- Make ahead: You can prep the components of this salad ahead of time, perfect for when you know you have a busy day coming.
- Simple: This salad is really straight forward and simple to make and you will probably have most of the ingredients to hand already.
How to make Chinese Chicken Salad
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Season and bake the chicken breasts.
- Soften the peanut butter and mix together with the rest of the dressing ingredients.
- Bake the crushed ramen noodles.
- Mix together the salad ingredients with the chicken.
- Drizzle with the peanut sauce to serve.
Can you make it ahead of time?
The salad is best dressed before serving, but you can definitely make the components ahead of time.
- Bake the chicken up to 3 days before and keep covered in the fridge.
- The dressing can be made 3 to 4 days ahead of time and kept refrigerated.
- You can build the salad a day ahead of time and cover with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.
What’s in peanut dressing?
The dressing for this Chinese chicken salad is so good! Honestly I can (and might have done!) eat it straight out of the bowl. It’s a super simple recipe and is wonderfully tangy, sweet and salty.
- Rice vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Lemon juice
- Peanut butter
- Sugar
Can you use other cuts of chicken in this salad?
Yes! You can easily use chicken thighs, left overs from a Whole Roasted Chicken or Shredded Chicken. If you are in a real pinch you can even buy pre-cooked chicken from the store.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Using leftover chicken would make this an even quicker meal option.
- Drizzling the dressing on individual servings and putting the peanuts and noodles on at the end will ensure your salad doesn’t turn into a soggy mess and leftovers will be great the next day. If you mix everything together, I wouldn’t recommend keeping leftovers.
- I took the noodles out of the package for photography purposes, but it is much easier to crush the noodles when they are still in the package.
- What if you only have rice wine vinegar? Use it! I use whatever I happen to have in my pantry at the moment.
FREE EBOOK!
Download My Top 10 Chicken eBook
Subscribe and receive a free e-cookbook of our Top 10 Easy Chicken Recipes!
download now
Chinese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts cooked and sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 package of coleslaw 16 oz.
- 1 head of bok choy thinly sliced
- 2 medium carrots julienned
- 5 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 cups sugar snap peas cut in half
- ⅓ cup oil
- 3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 package ramen noodles oriental flavor
- ¾ cup salted and blanched peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Place chicken breasts on a foil lined pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook for approximately 30 minutes or until cooked through.
- Prepare dressing. Place peanut butter in a small bow and heat in microwave for 20-30 seconds until softened and smooth. Whisk together oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice, peanut butter, sugar, and the seasoning packet from the ramen noodles. Set aside.
- Crush ramen noodles and spread on a pan. Cook at 350℉ for 12 minutes or until just starting to turn golden. Set aside to cool.
- Place coleslaw, bok choy, carrots, green onions, sugar snap peas, mandarin oranges and cooked chicken in a large bowl and toss lightly.
- Lift individual servings onto a plate or bowl, drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with peanuts and noodles. Serve immediately.
Marilyn Henrickson Harter says
It doesn’t list mandarin oranges in the recipe. What size can and are they drained? Can’t wait to try this!
Becky Hardin says
As many as you would like, but definitely drain them!