Thai Chicken Salad

This Thai Chicken Salad is amazing and is super fast and simple to make.  Combine everything in one large bowl and serve it up with your favorite crackers, bread, or croissant.  It will be delicious.

Chicken salad in a clear glass bowl on a blue background with wooden serving thongs, perfect light meal by The Food Cafe.

Thai Chicken Salad | The Food Cafe

Thai Chicken Salad

Salad really doesn’t have to be boring and this Thai Chicken Salad will for sure convince you of that.  Salad is one of those great sides that can turn into the main meal with the simple addition of protein, like chicken.

So often we just eat salad as a little side dish or the first course to our main meal at a restaurant.  So why not turn it into something so much more?  Thai Chicken Salad is robust and full of flavor.  It has the ability to stand on its own, so you won’t have to worry about adding anything along with it except maybe some warm naan bread or soft flaky croissant to spread it on.

I think one of my favorite things about salad is its versatility and simplicity.  It really isn’t hard to throw a salad together and call is lunch or dinner.  I find serving this Thai Chicken Salad with naan bread is sensational.  Naan is so soft and buttery, the salad goes perfect right on top of it.  I like to toast my naan in the oven for a few minutes and then place the chicken salad on it and slice into chunky pieces and serve.  It literally melts in you mouth.

You get some crunch from the grapes, cabbage, peppers, carrots, sesame sticks and roasted peanuts, accompanied by the smooth creamy texture of the chicken and mayo, it is a win win.  You will definitely love this chicken salad at first bite.  Be warned!! It is very addicting.  You can leave the chicken out for a vegetarian version and it will still taste amazing.

What type of chicken do I use in Thai Chicken Salad?

  • To simplify things and make this salad quickly, I used the chicken breast meat from a rotisserie chicken. That way it was already cooked and all I had to do was remove the skin and shred it with a fork.
  • You can also cook your own chicken breast the way you like them, broiled, backed, BBQ’d, or fried and use that as well.

Chicken Salad that is made with grapes with a thai flavor on a black cutting board served on flat bread by The Food Cafe.

What goes into a chicken salad?

  • Shredded chicken, either chicken breast you cook or the chicken breast meat from a rotisserie chicken.
  • Cabbage
  • Red pepper
  • Red grapes
  • Matchstick carrots
  • Diced green onions
  • Sesame sticks
  • Roasted peanuts
  • Garlic salt
  • Maple syrup
  • Sweet rice vinegar
  • Light mayonnaise

How many days can you keep homemade chicken salad?

  • Make sure to store the chicken salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  It can be stored for 3 to 5 days.  If you leave the salad our at room temperature for 2 hours or more, it should be discarded since bacteria can grow quickly.

Looking for more delicious salad recipes?

Thai Chicken salad made in a glass bowl being served with wooden thongs by The Food Cafe.

Thai Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken ( I used just the breast meat)
  • 2 cups chopped purple cabbage
  • 4 green onions, diced
  • 1 cup matchstick carrots
  • 1 red pepper chopped, seeds and membrane discarded
  • 1 cup cilantro, roughly choppped
  • 1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts
  • 1/2 cup sesame sticks
  • 1/2 cup grapes, sliced in half
  • 3/4 cup light mayonnaise. ( I used Smart Balance Light )
  • 2 Tablespoons sweet rice vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl combine all salad ingredients and mix well to combine.
  2. Chill in refrigerator until ready to eat.
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