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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Delicious!! The dressing is so yummy and makes a ton!! Next time I will use the measurements as a guideline for the salad ingredients as there is plenty of salad dressing to be absorbed. I used about 2/3 of it. I added more chicken, cilantro and carrots. I may still add more peanuts. Easy and delicious!!
EXCELLENT! Waay better than what we’ve had at restaurants. My husband and I ate this delicious salad again the next day. This definitely is a keeper, perfect for lunch or dinner guests as well. Thank you again Jenn for another great recipe!
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I made this for a neighborhood pot luck and it disappeared. I made it again for friends and it is just amazing! I used rotisserie chicken and when I prepped all the other ingredients ahead – easy to throw together in minutes. Perfect! For my personal use I’’ll add more ginger because that’s just me.
A delicious way to serve up rotisserie chicken! On this hot sumner night (feels like 99*), it so refreshing. Just added some chow mein noodles for extra crunch. Every one of your recipes is a winner. Thanks for sharing.
I used turbinado surger instead of honey in the dressing. It was fantastic!! Thank you!!!
Hi Jenn!
Could you add noodles to this salad?? If so, what type and would I need to adjust the dressing amount?
Thanks so much!
Jennifer
Sure, soba noodles would work nicely here and you may need to add more dressing depending on the amount of noodles you go with. You could start with making 1.25 the amount of dressing. I’d love to hear how it turns out with noodles!
Great dressing. Loved it. My finicky husband also loved it.
Quite excellent for my wife who has a great taste palette, but is also (Fill in the blank)-intolerant with many foods. As a working professional who spent time waiting tables and eaten in some of the best restaurants, she claims that this dressing mix is THEE BEST she’s ever had.
I just mixed the ingredients: Kudos to the author!
Her sister and husband will be here tonight for dinner after a 10 hour drive and this is on the menu
Soy sauce is made with wheat. Wheat is cheaper to ferment.
Tamari is made from soy.
This was good!!! I needed a last minute recipe with items I already had on hand. No cabbage, but it was still great. And the dressing is really good. I did diced chicken instead of shredded, still good. Thanks! This is a keeper.
Thank you, Chef Jenn!
Wonderful recipe! Perfect balance of vegetables for salad. My husband and i had this for dinner tonight. I have always wanted this salad dressing recipe, too. Canola, avocado oil worked, but I’m looking forward to trying with peanut oil.