Chinese Chicken Salad is unique, flavorful, and loaded with both protein and nutrients. It checks all the right boxes! Featuring easy to make peanut dressing and crunchy ramen noodles, this Asian chicken salad is anything but bland.
Why we love this Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe
Lunch just got so much more exciting. Check out why this Chinese chicken salad with peanut dressing is the perfect midday pick me up:
- 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.
What’s in peanut dressing?
The dressing for this Chinese chicken salad is so good! It’s a super simple recipe and is wonderfully tangy, sweet and salty.
- Rice vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Lemon juice
- Peanut butter
- Sugar
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How to Store
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.
Here are some helpful make ahead tips:
- 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.
Serving Suggestions
I love making Chinese chicken salad for lunch or dinner and enjoying it all by itself! If you did want to pair it with any Chinese side dishes, consider some classics like egg rolls or egg fried rice.
More Chicken Salad Recipes We Love
- Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Chicken Taco Salad
- BBQ Chicken Salad
- Honey Mustard Chicken Salad
- Crispy Chicken Salad
- Chicken Caprese Salad
Chinese Chicken Salad
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Ingredients
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice from ½ lemon
- 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 ounces Oriental flavored ramen noodles such as Maruchan (1 package)
- 16 ounces coleslaw mix 1 package
- 1 head bok choy thinly sliced
- 2 carrots julienned
- 5 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 cups sugar snap peas cut in half
- ¾ cup blanched and salted peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Place the chicken breasts on a foil-lined baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Cook for approximately 30 minutes or until cooked through.3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Make the Dressing: Place the peanut butter in a small microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, or until softened and smooth. Whisk together the oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice, peanut butter, sugar, and the seasoning packet from the ramen noodles. Set aside.1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter, 3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar, ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- Crush the ramen noodles and spread them on a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden. Set aside to cool.3 ounces Oriental flavored ramen noodles
- Place the coleslaw, bok choy, carrots, green onions, sugar snap peas, mandarin oranges, and cooked chicken in a large bowl and toss lightly.16 ounces coleslaw mix, 1 head bok choy, 2 carrots, 5 green onions, 2 cups sugar snap peas
- Lift individual servings onto a plate or bowl, drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with peanuts and noodles. Serve immediately.¾ cup blanched and salted peanuts
Notes
- 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, we wouldn’t recommend keeping leftovers.
- We 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!
How to make Chinese Chicken Salad Step by Step
Make the dressing: Place peanut butter in a bowl and microwave until smooth. Whisk it with 1/3 cup oil, 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 1/2 tbsp sugar, and the seasoning packet from the ramen noodles.
Toast the ramen: Crush ramen noodles and spread them across a pan. Cook at 350°F for about 12 minutes or until golden.
Toss the salad: Toss together 1 package of coleslaw, 1 head thinly sliced bok choy, 2 medium julienned carrots, 5 thinly sliced green onions, 2 cups sugar snap peas, mandarin oranges and 3 sliced cooked chicken breasts.
Assemble the salad: Place individual servings of the salad into bowls. Drizzle with dressing and top with peanuts and toasted ramen noodles.
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!