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Salad for dinner? Yes, please! Packed with crunchy veggies and tender chicken, this Chinese chicken salad is the kind of light, feel-good meal you’ll crave all summer long.
Chinese chicken salad is a California-style dish that blends Chinese and American flavors in the best way. It may have peaked on restaurant menus in the ’90s, but I think it’s just as good today.
With crisp Napa cabbage, crunchy carrots and bell peppers, tender chicken, and a sesame-ginger dressing, it’s fresh, colorful, and satisfying enough to be dinner. I swap the usual fried wonton strips for toasted nuts to keep it a bit lighter, but if you love the crispy crunch of wontons, go ahead and add them. It’s easy to throw together, especially if you’ve got leftover or rotisserie chicken on hand.
“We loved the salad and especially the dressing! It makes a lot and the leftovers were just as good!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chinese Chicken Salad
- Napa cabbage and romaine: The combination gives the salad plenty of crunch. You can use all Napa cabbage if you prefer.
- Bell pepper, carrots, and scallions: Add color, sweetness, and a little bite.
- Cooked chicken: Rotisserie chicken is a great shortcut, but any leftover cooked chicken works well.
- Cashews or peanuts: Add a salty crunch in place of the usual fried wonton strips.
- Sesame-ginger dressing: A combination of rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, toasted sesame oil, garlic, and fresh ginger gives the salad its tangy, savory-sweet flavor. Be sure to use toasted sesame oil, which has a much richer, nuttier flavor than regular sesame oil.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How to Make Chinese Chicken Salad
Make the dressing: In a food processor or blender, combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, vegetable oil, garlic, and ginger. Blend until completely smooth.
Assemble the salad: Combine the Napa cabbage, chopped romaine, bell pepper, scallions, grated carrots, fresh cilantro, salted cashews or peanuts, and shredded chicken. Add the dressing, little by little, and toss to combine, until the salad is dressed to your liking.
Serve: Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, serve, and enjoy!
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
This salad is great for making ahead, as long as you keep the dressing separate until you’re ready to serve.
Make ahead: Prepare the dressing up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate in an airtight container. You can also chop the vegetables a day ahead and refrigerate them separately from the chicken and nuts. When ready to serve, combine everything and toss with as much dressing as you like.
Storage: Leftover undressed salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, provided the cooked chicken is still fresh. Once dressed, the salad is best eaten right away, while the vegetables are still crisp and crunchy. Give the dressing a good shake or whisk before using, as it may separate in the refrigerator.
Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ⅓ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3½ tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup sesame oil (see note)
- ⅓ cup peanut or vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1½-in 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: In a large bowl, combine the Napa cabbage, romaine, bell pepper, scallions, carrots, cilantro, cashews or peanuts, and shredded chicken.
- Dress and serve: Add the dressing a little at a time, tossing until the salad is dressed to your liking. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Look for toasted (Asian) sesame oil, which is dark in color and nutty in flavor, not the light, untoasted variety.
- Check out easy guidance for how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger.
Nutrition Information
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.
See more recipes:
More Asian-Style Salads You’ll Love
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Your recipe did not disappoint. I can not wait to try others. Thank you for a great meal. Keeper!!
Alexis
Sonoma, California
Out of this world! Thank you so much for this spectacular dressing recipe!
Is the sesame oil in the sesame ginger dressing roasted or unroasted?
Hi Eugene, either one is fine!
Whats the portion size for this?
I think a portion would be about 2 generous cups. Hope you enjoy!
I don’t use peanut oil but I like the nut flavor. Would it be better to substitute vegetable oil or a combination of vegetable oil and peanut butter?
Hi Kami, I would just use vegetable oil in place of the peanut oil.
The calorie count seems extremely high. Is this for the entire salad or per serving?
Hi Polly, Please see the updated nutritional data – it was incorrect. The calorie count is for one dinner-size portion.
Sounds like a fantastic recipe. Wondering if you meant roasted sesame oil or unroasted?
Hi Julie, unroasted is fine. Enjoy!
Love this recipe for chicken salad, so delicious, fresh and satisfying. Your pictures are lovely too.
Just tried the Chinese Chicken Salad, and it was wonderful!! Been trying your recipes for the last year and have never been disappointed!! Thank you for all the recipes!! Can hardly wait for the cook book!!
Best…Dennis
I made this today for my husband and I and we both loved it!! The only thing I omitted was the cilantro, other than that followed the recipe to a “T”. It was quick and easy to make. Try this one, you will not be disappointed.
I would really like to try this salad recipe, however, my husband can’t have nuts. Is there a substitute for the peanut oil or can I just leave it out?
Thanks
Vegetable oil would be a good substitute. Enjoy!