Thai Peanut Chicken Salad

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Thai Peanut Salad — Eat the RAINBOW with this EASY, healthy salad that’s ready in 20 minutes!! Juicy chicken and crisp vegetables are tossed in the BEST PEANUT SALAD DRESSING ever!!

Thai Peanut Salad — Eat the RAINBOW with this EASY, healthy salad that's ready in 20 minutes!! Juicy chicken and crisp vegetables are tossed in the BEST PEANUT SALAD DRESSING ever!!

Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing 

This Thai peanut salad is easy, ready in 20 minutes, healthy, and packed with so many different flavors and textures. Just looking at it makes me smile because it feels like I’m eating the rainbow.

And I love peanut sauce. Always have, always will.

Peanut sauce makes everything taste amazing including this Thai peanut chicken salad that’s loaded with veggies and topped with the heavenly sauce. It’s is so easy to make at home, takes two minutes to whisk together, is far more cost-effective than small store-bought jars, and you control the ingredients.

I adapted the peanut sauce portion of today’s recipe from my Peanut Chicken with Peanut Noodles.

The salad has crispy sugar snap peas, bell peppers, crunchy carrots, and salty peanuts on top of hearty greens and red cabbage with tender, sesame-scented chicken.

Cilantro and green onions add another layer of flavor that complements the peanut sauce which is flavored with sesame oil for authenticity, honey, apple cider vinegar, and ginger.

I broke the recipe for Thai chicken salad with peanut dressing into three parts: peanut sauce, chicken, and salad ingredients.

Thai Peanut Salad — Eat the RAINBOW with this EASY, healthy salad that's ready in 20 minutes!! Juicy chicken and crisp vegetables are tossed in the BEST PEANUT SALAD DRESSING ever!!

Thai Peanut Salad Ingredients 

For the salad itself, you’ll need the following ingredients: 

  • Olive oil
  • Sesame oil
  • Chicken breasts
  • Romaine lettuce or kale
  • Sugar snap peas
  • Red bell pepper
  • Red cabbage 
  • Carrots
  • Peanuts
  • Green onion
  • Fresh cilantro

And to make the creamy Thai peanut salad dressing, you’ll need: 

  • Creamy peanut butter
  • Honey
  • Sesame oil
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Ground ginger 
  • Salt and pepper
  • Garlic
  • Cayenne pepper (optional) 

Thai Peanut Chicken Salad - Eat the RAINBOW with this EASY, healthy salad that's ready in 20 minutes!! Juicy chicken and crisp vegetables are tossed in the BEST PEANUT SAUCE ever!!

How to Make Thai Peanut Salad

The great thing about this Thai peanut dressing salad is that you can prep the individual components ahead of time and toss everything together throughout the week, or assemble the whole dish to enjoy immediately. 

Here’s how the Thai peanut chicken salad is made: 

  1. Make the Thai peanut dressing for the salad: It’s as quick and easy as whisking together the dressing ingredients. 
  2. Cook the chicken: Season and cook in an oiled skillet. I dice my chicken into 1-inch chunks so that they cook quicker and therefore have less chance of drying out around the edges. 
  3. Assemble the salad: Toss everything together. Add as much dressing as you like! 

Thai Peanut Salad — Eat the RAINBOW with this EASY, healthy salad that's ready in 20 minutes!! Juicy chicken and crisp vegetables are tossed in the BEST PEANUT SALAD DRESSING ever!!

Thai Chicken Salad Recipe Variations 

This is a simple but flavorful salad recipe that you can tweak as you see fit. Here are some options: 

  • Veggies: Add extra veggies or substitute any you don’t like or don’t have. The Thai peanut salad dressing pairs well with pretty much any vegetable! 
  • Chicken: Substitute boneless chicken thighs or replace with tofu. If using tofu, I recommend grilling it or cooking it in the mixture of olive and sesame oils until crispy on the outside. 
  • Peanut dressing: Replace a teaspoon or two of the sesame oil with toasted sesame oil (careful, it’s potent!), use fresh ginger instead of ground, and likewise you can also substitute the fresh garlic with ground. 

Can This Recipe Be Prepared in Advance? 

Yes! The peanut salad dressing lasts for at least two weeks in the fridge, the chicken can be cooked up to four days in advance, and the veggies can be chopped and stored in separate containers for about a week.

Store everything separately in the fridge, then assemble when you’re ready to eat! The salad is great cold or hot. 

Thai Peanut Salad — Eat the RAINBOW with this EASY, healthy salad that's ready in 20 minutes!! Juicy chicken and crisp vegetables are tossed in the BEST PEANUT SALAD DRESSING ever!!

Tips for the Best Thai Peanut Salad

Feel free to mix and match the veggies in this Thai chicken salad to use up what you have on hand, but I wouldn’t alter the peanut sauce recipe because it’s perfect as-is.

You likely won’t need all of it for the salad and extra will keep for a week in the fridge.

The chicken is straightforward easy-peasy, and if you don’t have every single ingredient for the salad, don’t sweat it. Omit or improvise with what you do have.

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5 from 1 vote

Thai Peanut Chicken Salad

By Averie Sunshine
An EASY, healthy salad that's ready in 20 minutes! Juicy chicken and crisp vegetables are tossed in the BEST PEANUT SALAD DRESSING ever!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Additional Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4
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Ingredients  

Peanut Salad Dressing

  • heaping 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons ground ginger, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed, optional
  • pinch cayenne pepper, optional and to taste

Chicken

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 to 1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper

Salad

  • 4 cups romaine lettuce or kale, or your favorite greens
  • 1 cup sugar snap peas, snow peas may be substituted
  • 1 cup diced red bell peppers
  • 1 cup red cabbage, sliced into thin ribbons
  • ½ cup grated carrots
  • ½ cup peanuts, roughly chopped if desired (I used honey-roasted peanuts)
  • 1 green onion, sliced into thin rounds
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons cilantro, finely minced

Instructions 

Peanut Salad Dressing

  • To a medium bowl add all ingredients and whisk to combine until smooth and incorporated.
  • Taste, check for seasoning and flavor balance, and make any necessary adjustments (i.e. more honey, more peanut butter, more salt, more sesame oil, etc.). I like my sauce on the thicker side but you can add more vinegar/honey to thin it if desired; set aside.

Chicken

  • To a large skillet, add the olive oil, sesame oil, chicken, evenly season with salt and pepper, and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 to 7 minutes, flipping intermittently so all sides cook evenly. Cooking time will vary based on thickness of chicken breasts and sizes of pieces.
  • Remove skillet from the heat and allow chicken to cool in pan while you assemble the salad.

Salad

  • To a large platter or bowl, add all ingredients plus the chicken and any cooking juices, and evenly drizzle with peanut sauce, to taste.

Notes

You likely won’t need all of the peanut sauce. Extra will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week. Salad is best served fresh.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 811kcal, Carbohydrates: 41g, Protein: 57g, Fat: 49g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 36g, Cholesterol: 120mg, Sodium: 1732mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 26g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

More Thai-Inspired Recipes: 

FAVORITE EASY CHICKEN RECIPES HERE

Peanut Chicken with Peanut Noodles – Easy, ready in 20 minutes, tastes better, and way healthier than takeout!! Peanut sauce automatically makes everything taste AMAZING!!

Peanut Chicken with Peanut Noodles - Easy, ready in 20 minutes, tastes better, and way healthier than takeout!! Peanut sauce automatically makes everything taste AMAZING!!

Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce — Healthy rolls that taste just like your favorite Asian restaurant makes!! Fill them with your favorite veggies along with shrimp, chicken, or tofu – totally customizable!

Peanut Noodles with Mixed Vegetables and Peanut Sauce – Fast, easy, fresh, healthy, and ready in 5 minutes!

Peanut Noodles with Mixed Vegetables and Peanut Sauce

Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken — The easiest peanut chicken ever and your slow cooker does all the work!! Topped with crunchy peanuts, cilantro, green onions, and the peanut sauce is irresistible!!

Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken - The easiest peanut chicken ever and your slow cooker does all the work!! Topped with crunchy peanuts, cilantro, green onions, and the peanut sauce is irresistible!!

Thai Coconut Chicken Stir Fry — Chicken, sugar snap peas, bell peppers, and carrots simmered in a rich coconut milk broth that’s irresistible! Layers of flavor, easy, ready in 20 minutes and healthy!

Thai Coconut Chicken Stir Fry - Chicken, sugar snap peas, bell peppers, and carrots simmered in a rich coconut milk broth that's irresistible!! Layers of flavor, EASY, ready in 20 MINUTES, and HEALTHY!!

Easy Chicken Satay With Peanut Sauce — Look no further from this FAST and EASY recipe for authentic-tasting Thai chicken satay.

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. Made this last night for a light summer dinner. It was enjoyed by all. Love the peanut sauce and the crunch…yum!

    1. Honestly I’ve kept this peanut dressing in my fridge for over a month and it’s fine. Do as you see fit of course but I really don’t think you’d need to freeze it because it’s a great keeper.

  2. The lunch of my dreams! Light, but still flavorful and filling. Totally adding this one to my to do list!

  3. I am new to daily salads and have found the perfect dressing makes everything better – this one is top notch!

    1. That’s awesome that you’re on the daily salad train! And yes the right dressing can make it or break it for sure!

  4. This is a beautiful salad…the more colorful, the better! I love the idea of extra peanut sauce–perfect for more salad or veggie dipping. Gotta try it–Thai sounds good this week!

    1. I had this twice over the weekend because it was so good (and so colorful)! I’ve used your peanut sauce recipe for years (circa 2009, 2010) and I love the fresh ginger in this one. I always have a stash of peeled ginger knobs in the freezer and it’s easy to grate them on a microplane. 

      1. I love that you made this twice! over the weekend and that you are able to remember my peanut sauce recipe from the vintage years :) Thank you for always being here through the years!!!! Can’t tell you how much it has meant to me over the years :)