Asian Chicken Salad
This Asian chicken salad is packed full of crunchy cabbage, fresh veggies, tender chicken and tossed with the yummiest dressing. It keeps well for days!
This salad is incredibly delicious – an absolute explosion of textures and flavors! The tangy, slightly sweet dressing is out of this world. I could eat this for days and never get sick of it (oh wait, I did!).

Vegetables for Asian Chicken Salad
This salad is loaded with fresh, crunchy vegetables.
- Napa cabbage: Might also be called Chinese cabbage. You’ll need about 1 medium head of cabbage for this recipe. Cut the cabbage in half lengthwise and then turn each half cut-side down on the cutting board and slice across in thin shreds.
- Red cabbage: Cut the cabbage in half, remove the core, turn one half of the cabbage cut-side down and slice thinly. I use about 1/4 of a medium head of red cabbage for this recipe.
- Red bell pepper: Slice off the bottom and top. Remove the core. Cut the wide strip of remaining pepper in thin slices.
- Carrots: The carrots can be shredded on a box grater, in a food processor, sliced by hand, or storebought matchstick carrots work, too (which is what I use).
- Green onions: Trim off the root end. Finely chop white and green parts.
- Chopped cilantro: A half bunch of cilantro, chopped, is just about perfect for this recipe. You can add more or less, to taste.
The exact amount of vegetables for the salad is variable. Add more or less, to taste, and if you omit one vegetable or another, just make up for it in volume with another of the veggies.
I prefer all the vegetables, but especially the cabbage, thinly sliced.
You can use a food processor fitted with the shredding/slicing blade for optimal and even shredding, but I just get in there with a good old-fashioned knife and cutting board and slice as thinly as possible.
Add all of the salad ingredients to a bowl and prepare the dressing.
The Most Flavorful Dressing
The dressing for this salad is out-of-this-world delicious. You’ll need the following ingredients:
- Unseasoned rice vinegar: It’s important to use unseasoned since the recipe adds salt and sweetness with other ingredients.
- Soy sauce: I always use low-sodium; if using full-sodium soy sauce, omit the pinch of salt.
- Honey: Add more to taste, after blending, if needed.
- Toasted sesame oil: This is easily found in the Asian foods aisle.
- Olive oil: You can sub in another type of oil, if desired (grapeseed, vegetable, etc).
- Garlic and Ginger: Fresh garlic and ginger is always a good idea. I often use the frozen cubes, and that works great, too.
- Peanut butter: This adds the most delightful creamy sweetness to the dressing. It can be omitted for allergy purpose or other reasons, but I highly recommend using it for a well-balanced dressing.
Once the salad ingredients are tossed together, add the dressing, and toss again until evenly combined.
Make-Ahead Salad
Because cabbage, and not lettuce, makes up the base of the salad, along with other crisp veggies, it stays crunchy for a few days. Talk about best.lunch.ever.
Make-Ahead Game Plan
- If you are eating this for dinner but expecting leftovers, reserve the chow mein noodles and sesame seeds and add them just before serving.
- If you are intentionally making this salad ahead of time to serve later (as a full batch), I suggest chopping all of the vegetables and chicken and storing them in separate containers in the refrigerator. Make the dressing and also store in the refrigerator. Toss everything together when ready to serve.
I ate this salad for three days in a row, and I was still dreaming of it after it was gone.
It is refreshingly crunchy and delicious, and that tangy-sweet dressing with the vegetables and tender chicken is literally the best salad combo ever. I can’t wait for you to make it!
What to Serve With This:
- Fresh fruit
- Simple drop biscuits or Brazilian cheese bread bites or Easy Same-day Ciabatta Rolls
Asian Chicken Salad with the Yummiest Dressing
Ingredients
Salad:
- 4 to 5 cups finely shredded Napa cabbage, about 1/2 of medium cabbage (see note)
- 3 cups diced cooked chicken (see note)
- 1 cup finely shredded red cabbage, about 1/4 of medium cabbage (see note)
- 1 cup matchstick carrots (see note)
- 1 cup julienned red pepper
- 2 green onions, white and green parts finely chopped
- ¼ to ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Dressing:
- ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter (see note)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Topping:
- Chow mein noodles, for topping
- Toasted sesame seeds, for topping
Instructions
- Add all of the salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss.
- Add all the dressing ingredients to a blender and process until smooth. Taste, and add additional honey, salt, and pepper, if needed.
- Pour the dressing evenly over the salad and toss until evenly combined.
- Top with chow mein noodles and toasted sesame seeds (optional) and serve immediately. The salad keeps well for several days in the refrigerator – if making ahead of time, reserve the chow mein noodles and sesame seeds and add them just before serving.
Notes
- Cabbage: you can use a knife/cutting board or the shredding disc on a food processor for the cabbage. I prefer the cabbage finely sliced for this salad (I do it with a knife and just slice as thinly as possible).
- Carrots: the carrots can be shredded on a box grater, in a food processor, sliced by hand, or storebought matchstick carrots work, too (which is what I use).
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Yummy! I subbed broccoli slaw and red cabbage because it’s what I needed to use up and left out the cilantro because I’m one of THOSE people! Dressing is soooo good! It’s light and refreshing, not sweet and heavy. Keep up the good work! 🙂
PS – Did you see Jennifer Garner made a recipe from your book on her Pretend Cooking Show?
Thanks, Mary Ann! Appreciate you and your review/comment! And yes, I did see that! About fell off my chair, haha.
Mel,
I absolutely LOVE your website! Every time I think ” I should learn how to make..” or “I need a recipe for …”, it appears on your website. I had a recipe very similar to this that I’ve made for years. Except, it didn’t have the peanut butter in the dressing. Wow! What a game changer with the pb!
Thank you so much,
Jessica K.
Jessica – you are the kindest soul. Thanks for such a sweet comment! And I am SO happy you loved this salad! Thanks for letting me know!
The Best Salad Ever.
Ever.
Really.
I could go on but wouldn’t know where to stop.
Haha…thanks for chiming in with a review! Simple and to the point and sums up all that I feel about this salad, too! 🙂
Made a version of this based on what I had(bagged coleslaw mix, red peppers, fresh chives, cilantro, baked teriyaki chicken and pineapple, sesame sticks, peanuts and roasted ramen noodles). It was amazing. I could have added craisins and been happy with that. Thanks for this.
Love all the additions and variations, Dodi!
Delicious! We added peanuts along with the chow mein noodle toppers for extra crunch. The salad looked massive for just the two of us, and I assumed we’d have leftovers for days — but it was so good and light that there’s hardly any left. I think we could make this weekly and never get tired of it. Plus, slicing the veggies into thin strips is surprisingly relaxing!
Oh yay, Molly! Thanks for taking the time to let me know – so glad you loved this. Adding peanuts is a great idea!
Delicious!!
Thanks, Becky!
Delicious! I didn’t have any chicken so I made it without it. I’ll definitely be making it again!
Thanks, Shay! Glad you liked it!
Made for dinner last night! Used regular cabbage cause I had it. Same for the chopped up breaded chicken from Costco. Skipped cilantro bc 75% of the fam has the soap gene. Added crunchy Asian noodles. Would also be great with crunchy Raman. I could use a titch more sweet in the dressing. Overall a great recipe! Will make again for sure!!
Thanks for the review, Teri!
Made this tonight. It was good, but wasn’t quite what I was hoping. Maybe I went a little heavy on the veggies, because the amount of dressing may have not been enough to make it have a lot of flavor. I’ll try again and go lighter on the veggies.
Bummer, Bri – sorry you didn’t like this one! I really like this salad with everything chopped thinly or small…maybe that will help if you try it again?
I made this for dinner tonight for just the 2 of us! We both loved it cause it is so delicious & fresh & easy to make. We will have it for lunch most of the week and I didn’t add the dressing or chow mein ahead of time. LOVE LOVE all your recipes and this will go into our meal rotation. Thanks for making cooking easy for this 81-year-old!!!
Yay! Thank you! You’re amazing, Vi!
I am definitely going to give this a try–I often can’t get this type of dressing right and this looks perfect. I ate a version of this salad every day last summer but I also added a little bit of cooked ramen noodles (don’t judge–it’s seriously good–you should try it–it’s a texture thing!).
Not judging – that sounds interesting and yummy!
This is a great salad specially for my vegetarian nephew, he just won’t use chicken in his.
I also noticed you are using New West Knives – aren’t they great?? My son works in their main office/manufacturing place in Victor, Idaho
Oh how fun is that, DeAnne? I love my NewWest knives!
Delicious! I can’t wait to have it for lunch the rest of the week! I used green cabbage not red because that’s what I had.
Perfect substitution, Becky! So happy you loved it! This salad makes me really excited for lunch, too.
Was planning to make this for dinner last night and then got word that a cousin was coming in to town, so i doubled the salad (tripled the dressing), added edamame and mandarin oranges. Used gf soy sauce and left off the chow mein noodles to accommodate gluten haters. Seasoned the chicken with CMM Ramen seasoning before grilling.
Eating the leftovers for lunch as I type. The flavor may be even better the second time around!
Bought a rotisserie chicken on the weekend and was looking for an option for leftovers This was delicious. Will add it to my recipe bank for when I have extra chicken and want those Asian flavors.
Yay, Tami!
Making this for dinner tonight and just did a little taste test before we even grilled up some chicken (marinated in some of the dressing). It is divine. And I air fried some cashews with honey and Everything Bagel to add as an additional topper. My husband jerks asking what time we should eat. It’s 4:30 right now! 🤣
I meant to say “my husband’s JUST asking what time we should eat.” I would never (or hardly ever) call him a jerk. But let me just say that this salad was a home run!!
Hahaha, your follow up made me giggle, Laurie. I was pretty sure I knew what you meant in your original comment! Your honey air fried cashews sound absolutely amazing – with the seasoning? Oh my goodness, yum!!
Looks awesome, I will make it this week. I do love Napa! I have been using it for years, I add it to most salads I make. I will probably top with chopped peanuts too. Thanks for finding and sharing excellent recipes Mel. Your posts make my day!
Thanks, Cindy!
Napa cabbage is a highly underrated ingredient! It’s such a mild cabbage and I love it in salads. I’m vowing to eat more of it!
OMG this salad is so good. I received the email this morning and made it for lunch including cooking the chicken per the Mandarin Orange Chicken Salad recipe. This will definitely be on repeat and Im excited to add shredded zucchini and explore other veggies. I live in EC and chow mein noodles aren’t available so I added crispy dried onions. Thank you.
Sharon, YOU ARE AMAZING! I can’t believe you made this so quickly after I posted the recipe. I love the idea of adding other types of veggies (shredded zucchini – great idea!).
How did you know that I would need a little more instruction on how to cut the cabbage? Ha! This reminds me a lot of the Oriental Chicken salad at Applebees. It is one of my favorite things of all time. (Years ago, a friend of mine found me the copycat recipe for the dressing. This was before the internet was as big as it is now. She made the dressing and gave me the recipe as a birthday gift. To this day, it is one of the best/most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received.) The dressing doesn’t have peanut butter. I’m unsure, but I’ll give it a try at least once for you, Mel! I’m a texture person and the crunchiness is something I crave! Looking forward to this one!
Thanks, Shar! That IS the sweetest gift from your friend. I love that! That definitely speaks to my food-loving and food-giving heart. You can leave the peanut butter out (although it is really delicious). Or use the dressing you already make and love!
Do you use peanut butter with sugar or without?
The dressing works great with peanut butter like Skippy or Jif…or with natural peanut butter. In either case, I definitely recommend using a blender vs whisking – it helps incorporate the peanut butter much better.
This looks delicious!! I love a peanut dressing! It reminds me of a salad they sell at Trader Joe’s that is an individual pre done salad. I have tried to re create that peanut dressing so many times. 🤣 Can’t wait to try this!! Thanks Mel!
Hope you love it, Renee!