Asian Sesame Chicken Salad Recipe

As many of you may know, I am a huge fan of salad recipes. Fresh, crunchy, colorful, creative – they are delicious. And I must say, this Asian chicken salad recipe (similar to those served at Panera and Chick-Fil-A) is a great way to pack a ton of fresh vegetables in your diet.

Much like my Creamy Avocado Chicken Salad, Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad and Waldorf Chicken Salad recipes, this Asian-style chicken salad is packed with vibrant, crunchy ingredients. And has become one of my favorite chicken recipes so far.

More than anything, I think this warm sesame chicken salad is a great meal-worthy dinner salad recipe you can make on a Tuesday night.

But I haven’t even gotten to the best part – the Asian sesame ginger salad dressing! This delicious dressing is the reason my husband and I loved this salad.

The Asian-style sauce is flavored with almond butter, which is then topped off with sliced crunchy almonds. If you are not a fan of almond butter, feel free to substitute it with peanut butter and chopped peanuts – but more on that later.

Ingredients

The simple ingredients for this Asian sesame chicken salad recipe comes in three parts – the chicken, the homemade almond sesame dressing and the salad.

For the chicken, you will need chicken breasts (I used Bone-in chicken breasts), vegetable oil (grapeseed or olive oil will work), kosher salt, and black pepper.

For the Asian sesame dressing recipe, gather together unsweetened almond butter, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, garlic, fresh ginger, chile pepper sauce (my favorite is Sriracha) and coarse sea salt.

And for the salad, get ready to shred green and red cabbage (aka purple cabbage), carrots, romaine lettuce (or curly salad greens), edamame beans, sesame seeds, sliced almonds, and fresh cilantro.

A Few Helpful Notes About The Ingredients

• Chicken: This is a great recipe to use leftover or store-bought rotisserie chicken if you don’t have time to roast your own. Or you can even try this super flavorful Baked Chicken Thighs.
• Cabbage: This is a heartier version of the popular Panera Asian Chicken Salad as it contains cabbage, both green and red, in addition to the romaine. Don’t be tempted to use more cabbage than the recipe states (which I usually do) as you won’t have enough sauce to coat the greens.
• Pan roast sliced almonds: If you have a few extra minutes, toast the sliced almonds in an empty skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes while stirring constantly. Doing so brings out their nutty flavor and take this easy salad recipe to a whole new level.

• Additional Sweetness/Citrus: Following in the footsteps of the Panera Bread version, I topped it off with a few slices of tangerines (a type of Mandarin oranges). However, you can use sliced orange as well. The fresh citrus fruit adds beautiful color and a pop of fresh flavor.
• With or Without Almond Butter: The Asian sesame chicken salad dressing I used here includes 3 tablespoons of almond butter (peanut butter would also work). I find that almond butter makes it heartier with its earthy flavors. However, if you are going after a copycat Panera Asian chicken salad recipe, you can use 3 tablespoons of olive oil instead.

How To Make Asian Sesame Chicken Salad

This Oriental chicken salad recipe can be prepped and ready in a few easy steps. Simply:

1. Roast the chicken: Start with roasting a couple of bone-in chicken breasts in the oven. Pat the skinless chicken breasts dry with paper towels and place on a baking sheet. Brush both sides of the chicken with vegetable oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 425-degree oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the thickest part of the chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
2. Mix the dressing: In a small mixing bowl (or mason jar), whisk together the almond butter, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, garlic, ginger, Sriracha and sea salt. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Toss the shredded vegetables and cooked chicken: In a large bowl, pour in half the dressing, then add the green and red cabbage, carrots, romaine, and sliced chicken breast strips. Gently stir to equally distribute, then pour the remaining dressing on top and toss to combine. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes for the cabbage to wilt and flavors to combine.
4. Garnish and Serve. Stir in the edamame, then sprinkle with sesame seeds, sliced almonds, chopped cilantro, and tangerine slices. Enjoy!

Variations

Even though I love this Asian sesame salad as is, a few fun twists and variations include:

• With Peanut Butter: Replace the almond butter with unsalted and unsweetened creamy peanut butter. Need more peanut flavor? Use roasted peanuts instead of sliced almonds.
• With Wonton Strips: Replace the roasted sliced almonds with an equal amount of crispy wonton strips. A little more indulgent, but incredibly delicious!
• Without Edamame: The edamame beans take this Asian salad to a whole new level, but they are optional. Feel free to omit them if you don’t have any on hand.
• Whole30: To compliment a Whole30 diet, simply omit the edamame beans and honey, replace the soy sauce with gluten-free coconut aminos, replace the rice vinegar in the salad dressing with fresh citrus juice (lemon, lime, orange or tangerine will all work) and use your favorite Whole30 approved (no added sugar) chili sauce.

Make-Ahead, Storage & Storage Instructions:

To Make Ahead: If this Asian chicken salad is a part of your meal prepping or want to make it ahead, you can:

• Make the sesame salad up to a week in advance and keep it in a jar (tightly sealed) in the fridge.
• Slice the cabbage and shred the carrot as a part of your meal preparation. Keep them in airtight containers.
• Roast the chicken a day before, slice and store in airtight containers.
• Prep the rest of the ingredients right before you are ready to assemble it

Storage: What I love the most about this Sesame Asian Salad is that the leftovers make the best lunch/dinner the next day. Simply place the leftovers in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days.

To Meal Prep: Prep every component of the recipe separately. Store them in separate airtight containers and assemble right before serving.

Got Some Extra Cabbage? Try These Recipes:

If you liked this cabbage packed Chinese chicken salad and/or have some extra cabbage left on hand, here are a few more recipes you can try:

• Stuffed Cabbage Soup recipe
• Cabbage Salad
• Easy Chicken Lo Mein

Asian Sesame Chicken Salad Recipe

By Aysegul Sanford

Yields: 4 servings

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

This Asian Sesame Chicken Salad Recipe is a great way to secretly pack your family’s diet with a ton of vegetables. Drizzled with quick almond sesame dressing this Asian-flavored chicken salad is a scrumptious meal worthy dish you will make over and over again.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 2 bone-in chicken breasts (12-13 oz each)
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground

For the salad dressing:

• 3 tablespoons natural almond or peanut butter, (unsweetened/unsalted)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
• 1 teaspoon chili pepper sauce I used Sriracha – optional
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt

For the salad:

• 4 cups green cabbage, shredded (1/2 head)
• 2 cups red cabbage, shredded (1/4 head)
• 1 medium-size carrot (½ cup, shredded)
• 2 cups romaine lettuce or curly salad greens, shredded (1 medium head)
• 1 cup edamame beans shelled
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 3 tablespoons sliced almonds
• 3 tangerines peeled and sliced
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped

Instructions

• To Roast The Chicken: Pre-heat the oven to 425 F Degrees. Pat-dry the chicken breasts with paper towels. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Brush both sides of each chicken breast with the 2 teaspoons of oil and sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 35-45 min or until a thermometer inserted in the center registers 165 F degrees. Take it out of the oven, cover with aluminum foil, and let it sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
• Slice chicken into small bite-size cubes, place it in a bowl and set aside.
• To make the dressing: Place almond butter and honey in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, Sriracha, and sea salt. Allow it to marinade on the kitchen counter for 10 minutes.
• To make the salad: Pour half of the dressing at the bottom of a large bowl. Add in green cabbage, red cabbage, shredded carrot, and romaine lettuce in the bowl. Toss to coat. Add the sliced chicken. Pour in the rest of the dressing over and toss to combine. Allow the salad to sit on the kitchen counter for 5-10 minutes for all the flavors to combine.
• Stir in the edamame. Garnish with sesame seeds, sliced almonds, tangerine slices and fresh cilantro. Serve.

Video

Notes

Variations

• With Peanut Butter: Replace the almond butter with unsalted and unsweetened creamy peanut butter. Need more peanut flavor? Use roasted peanuts instead of sliced almonds.
• With Wonton Strips: Replace the roasted sliced almonds with an equal amount of wonton strips. A little more indulgent, but incredibly delicious!
• Without Edamame: The edamame beans take this Asian salad to a whole new level, but they are optional. Feel free to omit them if you don’t have any on hand.
• Whole30: To compliment a Whole30 diet, simply omit the edamame beans and honey, replace the soy sauce with gluten-free coconut aminos, replace the rice vinegar in the salad dressing with fresh citrus juice (lemon, lime, orange or tangerine will all work) and use your favorite Whole30 approved (no added sugar) chili sauce.

Make-Ahead Instructions:

If this Asian chicken salad is a part of your meal prepping, you can:

• Make the sesame salad up to a week in advance and keep it in a jar (tightly sealed) in the fridge.
• Slice the cabbage and shred the carrot as a part of your meal preparation. Keep them in airtight containers.
• Roast the chicken a day before, slice and store in airtight containers.
• Prep the rest of the ingredients right before you are ready to assemble it.

Storage Instructions:

Place the leftovers in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 524kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 1356mg | Potassium: 1008mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 5704IU | Vitamin C: 74mg | Calcium: 210mg | Iron: 4mg

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Asian

Keywords: Asian Sesame Chicken Salad, Panera Sesame Chicken Salad

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This post was originally posted in August 2014. It has been updated with new information and minimal edits to the original recipe in June 2020.