Asian Sesame Chicken Salad Recipe

A bowl of Asian Sesame Chicken Salad is being placed on a table

Asian Sesame Chicken Salad Recipe

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.

Course Salad

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Asian Sesame Chicken Salad, Panera Sesame Chicken Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 524kcal

Author Aysegul Sanford

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