Chinese Chicken Salad
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Make a restaurant-quality Chinese chicken salad at home with this easy recipe featuring crisp veggies and tender chicken tossed in a delicious sesame-ginger dressing.
Chinese chicken salad is a California-style dish that perfectly blends the flavors of Chinese and American cuisine. Although it was a trendy restaurant menu item in the 1990s, for me, it’s a timeless favorite that will never go out of style. In fact, I would happily eat a salad like this every night of the week if I didn’t have a family to feed! The combination of fresh veggies, like Napa cabbage, crunchy carrots, and crisp bell peppers, combined with tender chicken and a sesame-ginger dressing make for a light and refreshing meal that always leaves you feeling satisfied.
In this version, I’ve swapped out the traditional fried wonton strips with nuts to make the salad a bit healthier. However, if you prefer the crispy crunch of wontons, go ahead and add them in! The recipe is very easy to throw together, especially if you use leftover or rotisserie chicken instead of cooking your own — give it a try to see why it’s one of my all-time favorites!
Table of Contents
“Great salad—crunchy and flavorful, and very easy. I used some of the dressing to marinate pounded chicken breasts for a couple of hours then grilled them. Will definitely make again!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chinese Chicken Salad
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the dressing: In a food processor or blender, combine all of the dressing ingredients.
Blend until smooth.
Assemble the salad: Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
Add dressing, little by little, and toss to combine, until the salad is dressed to your liking.
Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.
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Chinese-Style Chicken Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing
Make a restaurant-quality Chinese chicken salad at home with this easy recipe featuring crisp veggies and tender chicken tossed in a delicious sesame-ginger dressing.
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ⅓ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3½ tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup Asian/toasted sesame oil
- ⅓ cup peanut or vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1½ inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (see note)
For the Salad
- 4 cups chopped Napa cabbage
- 4 cups chopped romaine (or substitute more Napa cabbage)
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- ½ cup grated carrots, from 2 carrots
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ⅓ cup salted cashews or peanuts
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
Instructions
- Make the dressing: In a food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Assemble the salad: Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing, little by little, and toss to combine, until the salad is dressed to your liking. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.
- Note: For easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger, click here.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 608
- Fat: 48 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Sugar: 19 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 19 g
- Sodium: 989 mg
- Cholesterol: 53 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Another lovely Asian salad to have on a hot summer day. I substituted rotisserie chicken and added peanuts. A big hit with my husband.
Forgot to mention I didn’t add the honey as I am on a keto diet. Didn’t affect the taste at all
The salad dressing was delicious and will be my new go to dressing for all Asian salads. I didnt follow the chicken recipe as I had lots of vegetables in my garden that i needed to use so i stir fried instead
Made this salad for my husband who is not especially enthusiastic about a salad for dinner. This was delicious and he loved it! It has great texture, lots of crunch and flavor and satisfied even his “manly” appetite. It takes a few minutes to prep the veggies, but it’s well worth it. I made extra salad veggies and refrigerated them separately without the chicken meat so I could use them for another meal. If you are going to do the chopping, why not get two meals out of it, right! Thanks, Jenn! Another “go to” on my list!
exactly my same sentiments. hubby also doesn’t care much for salad dinners…but he liked this one. The sauce was not to sweet but just right with roasted sesame oil. I sautéed sliced chicken breasts because I cannot buy ones with skins; instead of the romaine, I finely sliced white cabbage, a carrot, red bell pepper, mini cucumbers and sweet onion which gives a nice crunch with the thinly sliced raw vegetables and peanuts. This recipe is definitely one to share with friends and keep in the recipe box. Thank you Jenn.
Appallingly sweet! …and I only used 3 T honey. Next time I would up the amount of sesame oil, perhaps by 2 times and use ½ to 1 T of honey.
How many cups of romaine/cabbage is the equivalent of four romaine lettuce hearts, chopped?
Good question Jackie! I haven’t made this in so long, but I think it may be about 10 to 12 cups of chopped romaine.
Hi – If I only have boneless/skinless chicken breasts would you recommend the oven (would the cook time be different than the skin on/bone in?) or the grill? Thanks!
I’d pound and grill them after seasoning them with a little salt and pepper. Hope that helps!
YUM! Snuck a couple bites while making a double recipe for a potluck this evening. Here’s the wonderful thing: I hadn’t yet tried it myself but I know using any of Jenn’s recipes will always land a hit.
I’m thinking shrimp or using a precooked chicken shredded will easily work here too. Or adding mandarin oranges to the side along with those wonton fried strips for those that love them. So good, can’t wait to eat a giant bowl tonight!
I love this salad dressing! I make it frequently and just use it on my every day normal salads and it makes them all so good! Thank you for this salad dressing recipe, its so easy and contains clean ingredients!
Delicious, Definitely a keeper. Will make again!