A delicious and healthy Chinese chicken salad that you can make in advance and refrigerate. I like to make a big batch and enjoy it over a few days.
I’m really enjoying this Chinese chicken salad lately. It is tasty, healthy and filling. It’s also very easy to make, and it uses up any leftover chicken you might have.
Of course, if you don’t have cooked chicken breast, you can make some. Here’s a good recipe for baked chicken breast.
The ingredients you’ll need
Here’s an overview of what you’ll need to make this tasty salad. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below:
- Shredded cooked chicken
- Shredded raw cabbage
- Sliced green onions
- For the dressing:
- Light soy sauce or a gluten-free alternative
- Sesame oil
- Rice vinegar
- Honey
- Minced garlic
- Minced fresh ginger
- Red pepper flakes
How to make Chinese chicken salad
It’s so easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
- In a large bowl, toss together the shredded chicken, shredded cabbage, and sliced green onions.
- In a small jar, mix the dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad and toss to coat.
- Cover and refrigerate for one hour to allow the flavor to meld.
- Toss again before serving.
Is this a healthy recipe?
To keep this Chinese chicken salad healthy, I use sesame oil and honey in the dressing, avoiding vegetable oil (RBD oils) and brown sugar.
Some recipes add canned mandarin oranges to this type of salad. I prefer not to, simply because I’m not fond of fruit in savory salads. I also don’t add grapes to my chicken salad.
You can definitely skip the crunchy noodles and keep this salad lower in carbs and gluten-free. The cabbage provides plenty of crunch. And if you’d like, you can add 1/4 cup of slivered almonds.
Despite the honey in the dressing, this salad is low-carb. A BIG bowl of it has only 9 grams of carbs. You could also use a low carb honey substitute if you wish. But real honey tastes so good, and the small amount used here is really worth it, in my opinion.
How to serve Chinese chicken salad?
This is a main-course salad. It has chicken and vegetables and it’s very substantial and filling. It’s the perfect lunch, of course. But I also like to serve it for dinner, especially in summer when I don’t feel like cooking.
There’s no need to serve this salad with sides. Just serve a bowl of it for a tasty, satisfying meal.
Can you keep the leftovers?
Yes! You can keep them for 3-4 days in the fridge, in an airtight container. I like to make a big batch of this tasty salad and then enjoy it over the course of a few days.
One of the best things about Chinese chicken salad is that you can make it in advance and refrigerate. In fact, it tastes better as the flavors are allowed to meld, so it’s best to make it a few hours before you plan on serving it.
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Chinese Chicken Salad
INGREDIENTS
- 3 large cooked chicken breasts (1.5 lb.)
- 1 lb. shredded cabbage (6 cups; 1/2 medium head)
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions, green part only (2 oz)
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce (or use a gluten-free alternative and add salt as needed)
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Use your hands to shred the chicken breasts. Place the chicken pieces in a very large mixing bowl.
- Add the shredded cabbage and the green onions and toss together.
- In a small jar, add the dressing ingredients. Shake well to mix. Pour over the salad and toss to coat (I use my hands to ensure everything is well-coated).
- Cover and refrigerate for one hour to allow the flavors to meld. Toss again before serving.
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., has been following a healthy real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She has taken 
