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This Thai chicken salad with peanut dressing is so fresh, bright, and easy to make! It’s a great way to use leftover or rotisserie chicken, and it’s on your table in just 20 minutes.
Love cabbage? Try my Best Coleslaw or Easy Egg Roll in a Bowl next.
Why you’ll love it
If you enjoy Thai food as much as I do, you’ll devour this Thai-inspired chicken salad. The peanut, lime, and ginger dressing is incredible. Pair it with crunchy cabbage, veggies, and fresh herbs, and you have one flavor-packed salad! I like to eat it year-round since it has ingredients available all the time.
Even picky eaters will enjoy it. This simple Thai salad will be a hit with your entire family. I like to consider it a salad for people who don’t really like salad. It’s that good. It’s also packed with so much good stuff that it’s filling enough to eat as a meal on its own.
What you’ll need
For the salad
- Coleslaw – I use a bagged coleslaw mix
- Chicken – use leftover Shredded Cooked Chicken or rotisserie chicken
- Scallions – they’ve got a fairly mild taste, but use red onion if you prefer
- Red bell pepper – to add crunch and color
- Cilantro and basil – I strongly recommend adding both these fresh herbs. They complement the dressing so well. If you can’t eat cilantro, sub for Italian parsley. Mint works too!
- Peanuts – chopped peanuts top it all off
For the dressing
- Peanut butter – I used a smooth creamy variety. I don’t recommend natural peanut butter for this recipe.
- Soy sauce, lime juice, honey – this trio makes up the wonderful savory-tangy-sweet flavor combination!
- Toasted sesame oil – it has a distinct flavor and is used in many Asian recipes. Don’t confuse it with the regular kind.
- Garlic powder – for another savory layer. Use fresh minced garlic instead if you like.
- Fresh ginger – it adds a punch of bold flavor
- Water – depending on the brand of peanut butter and how thick you like the dressing, you may have to add more than suggested to thin out the dressing
Pro tips and troubleshooting
- We’re using the toasted variety of sesame oil that’s darker in color and can be found in the Asian foods aisle along with soy sauce. Regular sesame oil has a lighter color and is often found with other cooking oils like olive oil, so don’t get that one.
- I use one of my favorite kitchen tools to grate the ginger, my Microplane zester/grater. It’s so much easier to grate when it’s frozen! Just store ginger in a ZipLoc freezer bag so you always have some handy.
- If you store your peanut butter in the fridge, make sure to let it warm up on the counter for a little before making the dressing so it’s not cold and hard and mixes properly. You can also add more water to thin it out to desired consistency.
How to make Thai chicken salad
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Add all the dressing ingredients to a bowl, and whisk until combined. Make sure to test it and adjust as necessary (more lime juice, honey, water, etc.) Prep all the salad ingredients, and place them in a large bowl.
Top the salad with the homemade peanut dressing, season with salt & pepper, and serve immediately.
Substitutions and variations
- If you don’t want to buy pre-bagged coleslaw mix, you can cut up/shred your own cabbage and carrots.
- Cucumber would be a great addition to this salad! I’d cut it up in fairly small cubes. I’ve also seen people add papaya.
- Want to make this a spicy Thai chicken salad? Try adding some crushed red pepper flakes, cut-up fresh Thai chilis, or some sriracha sauce to the dressing. A little heat would be fantastic here.
What to serve with this salad
- This is quite a large salad. It serves four as an main dish on its own no problem, but you could easily feed up to six people depending on how much they eat or if you serve it with something else. Serve with a dinner roll or crusty bread, and you’re good.
- If you want a riff on soup and salad, pair it with this light 15 Minute Thai Green Curry Soup.
Leftovers and storage
- This salad does work for leftovers for a day or so just fine, but it may get a bit less crisp. Just store in an airtight container and refrigerate.
- Keep in mind leftovers aren’t quite as good as when freshly made, so you could certainly halve all the ingredients if you don’t want anything left over.
- Or you could store the dressing in a jar in the fridge for up to a week and use when you’re ready!
More Thai-inspired recipes
Questions? Leave me a comment below! I’d love if you left a star rating and review. As always, tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram so I can see your creations.
Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 pound coleslaw mix
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1/4 cup scallions chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
- Small handful fresh cilantro chopped (optional but recommended)
- Small handful fresh basil sliced thin or torn (optional)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Dressing:
- 5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter see note
- 3 tablespoons water or more as needed
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon pure sesame oil see note
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Add the dressing ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and whisk together until smooth. Taste and adjust (e.g. add more lime juice or honey). If your dressing comes out really thick (peanut butter brands can vary), add even more water than suggested.
- Prep all the salad ingredients and them add to a large bowl. Toss with the dressing and serve immediately. Season with salt & pepper as needed.
Notes
- I don’t recommend using natural peanut butter for this recipe as the flavors and texture can be a bit off. I would use it sparingly and then taste and adjust the dressing as needed.
- I use the sesame oil found in the Asian section of the grocery store. It’s got quite a strong/nutty flavor. It’s darker in color and sometimes you’ll find it labeled as toasted sesame oil. I just buy whichever brand is in stock.
- You don’t need to add the cilantro or basil, but they definitely add extra flavor and freshness.
- Helpful hint: It’s much easier to grate ginger when it’s frozen. I always keep some fresh ginger in my freezer for when I need it. It also helps reduce waste (I always seem to waste fresh ginger when I don’t use it in time!).
- Serves 4-6. You may want to halve it if you don’t want leftovers.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on June 16, 2017. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
This sounds exactly like my kind of meal/salad! I live by myself and don’t know anyone else that would eat this, lol. So my question to you is that I made the dressing to use separately from the salad mixture. I’m afraid to refrigerate the rest of the dressing because I know that it will thicken quite a bit. Can it sit out of the fridge do you think? Also, what consistency should the dressing be? Should it be runny or thick? Unsure if I should add more water. Thanks ☺️
Hi! I would definitely refrigerate it for food safety reasons, but you could leave it on the counter a bit to warm up before you add it to the salad next time. I like the dressing to have a sort of medium consistency… kinda like ranch dressing. Not thin like a vinaigrette, but not like super thick either. When I make it with regular creamy peanut butter, I don’t need to add much water to it, but I’ve received feedback from readers who have used natural PB, and it has a very different consistency and seems to need a lot more water.
I added the basil and cilantro to the dressing and used a stick blender to combine. (Have to hide the cilantro) Awesome flavour.
Used Napa cabbage as the coleslaw mix didn’t look so fresh.
Excellent!! Glad you enjoyed it, Janet!
Do you peel the ginger before you freeze it? If not, is it easy to peel after it’s frozen before it is grated?
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thank you.
Hi Jody! I freeze it with the peel on (protects it), put it in a ZipLoc, and then I just grate the peel off in one spot and discard it, then once I get past the peel I just keep grating that one spot. Then I repeat as needed on other parts of the ginger until it’s mostly used up (or if it’s been in the freeze for a few months I decide to replace it).
Loved this recipe. It was quick and easy and a nice summer salad. Next time, I may add a little jalapeño to give some kick to the dressing.
Wonderful!!
Do you think almond butter would be an ok substitute for peanut butter? Asking for allergy reasons.
Hi Audra! You may want to see what others have said in the comments.. I believe people have made the swap. I never eat almond butter myself so I can’t really comment on it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Let me know if you try! 🙂
Sounds delicious. I can’t wait to make it. Lovely cool dinner for this hot summer.
Enjoy!! 🙂
I made this recipe yesterday and it was good but the sauce need some heat. I added 1 tsp. Of Sambal Oelek for some spiciness. I added more lime juice and some zest. I’m storing the salad and dressing separately for lunch during the week. While I was making the sauce I went ahead and doubled the amount.
Not sure what you mean by ‘natural peanut butter’? Is there non-natural peanut butter?
Yes. Natural peanut butter is becoming more popular these days… it’ll be clearly labeled as such. It typically just contains peanuts and salt. Its texture is different from your classic Kraft/Jif/Skippy varieties which contain preservatives and oils and sometimes sugars. Personally I love good ole regular peanut butter, but many readers have been making this recipe with natural PB, so I added the note. 🙂
This was a fantastic recipe. I used mint instead of cilantro, and I happened to have thai basil in my fridge as well. Both were quite delicious substitutions. We definitely think this was underdressed and would highly recommend using extra dressing. I also used a natural peanut butter (it’s what I have) and thought it came out fine. It did need a little extra liquid to thin it out some. I can’t wait to make this again. I’ll definitely add in more of the herbs (my were remnants from a different recipe) and use some fish sauce instead of soy. Just to see what it’s like. Maybe I’ll even toast up some sticky rice and treat it like a larb.
I digress.
Very delicious. Definitely try if you haven’t yet. I’ll definitely make this again and again and again…..
I’m so glad you liked it!! Yup, after hearing from many readers, it does sound that PB butter brands (and whether it’s natural or not) definitely vary. Glad you were able to tweak it to your liking. 🙂 Thanks for your review!
This was delicious. However, even though I don’t care for an overdressed salad, I found this to be a bit dry. I aimoly made a little more dressing and voila!