This Asian chicken salad is full of flavor and texture! Made with chopped romaine, crunchy cabbage mix, green onions, cooked chicken, almonds, cilantro, wonton strips and a homemade dressing!
Looking for more salad recipes? You’ll love my antipasto salad, Greek salad with chicken and BBQ chicken salad.
Table of Contents
Chinese Chicken Salad
This Asian chicken salad is fresh, light, crisp, filling, crunchy, pretty and delicious. It is one of my favorite salads to make for potlucks, girls lunches or a healthy dinner idea at home. It’s also my go-to whenever I see it on the menu at a restaurant.
It’s loaded with all types of delicious toppings like shredded chicken, green onions, almonds, cilantro, wonton strips and an easy Asian dressing. The fresh flavors and different textures all pair perfectly together. Take one bite and you will be in heaven!
Recipe Ingredients
The salad comes together quickly and only needs a few fresh veggies, several toppings, a tangy dressing, and a bit of chicken to really shine.
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Cooked chicken: Shredded rotisserie chicken works really well, but you can also use grilled chicken breasts or even slow cooker teriyaki chicken for added flavor.
- Romaine lettuce: This crisp green gives the salad just the right amount of crunch.
- Coleslaw mix: I prefer to buy this prepackaged to save on time, but you can chop green cabbage or red cabbage, radishes, and carrots individually, if you prefer.
- Sliced almonds: The nuttiness is the perfect counterbalance to the sweet acidity of the dressing.
- Green onions: These perk up the salad with just a little bit of tang.
- Wonton strips: This salad isn’t complete without the crunch of store-bought or homemade wonton strips.
- Cilantro: This herb adds a fresh and bright flavor to the salad.
- Asian Chicken Salad dressing: Vegetable oil, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and a little sugar make the perfect dressing to highlight all the flavors in this salad.
Variations
- Rotisserie chicken, shredded chicken or grilled chicken all taste great.
- Use whichever greens you have on hand. Spinach or kale work great too.
- Add extra vegetables such as chopped cucumber or bell peppers.
- Add mandarin oranges for a sweet and delicious addition.
- Switch the almonds for peanuts or cashews.
- You can also use Chinese rice noodles instead of wonton strips.
- Use slow cooker teriyaki chicken for the base (or make instant pot teriyaki chicken).
How to Make Asian Chicken Salad
This salad is as easy as 1, 2, 3 steps.
- Combine. Add the romaine and coleslaw mix in a large bowl and stir. Top with chicken, almonds, green onions, wontons, and cilantro.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
- Toss the salad. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Helpful Tips
- Homemade wonton strips. Make your own wonton strips instead of buying from the store. They are extra delicious and easy to make!
- Dressing in advance. You can make the dressing in advance and store in the fridge until ready to serve. It’s one less step to worry about.
- Main or side. This dish can be served as a side with this Thai lettuce wraps recipe or as a main dish. As a main dish, it will serve around 4. As a side, it will serve 6 to 8.
Recipe FAQs
This salad is great for meal prep meal prepping! Divide the ingredients among 4 to 5 meal prep containers and store in the fridge. I store the wonton strips in a separate bag so they don’t get soggy. I add the dressing and wonton strips right before serving.
Simply omit the chicken and amp up the veggies (add cucumber, bell peppers, broccoli, etc.) or replace the chicken with baked tofu. Both will taste delicious.
Absolutely! I would chop it finely and then maybe add sliced carrot for a little bit of sweetness.
More Asian Inspired Dishes
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Asian Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 6-8 cups romaine lettuce
- 2-3 cups classic coleslaw mix , no dressing
- 2 cups cooked chicken , I like to use rotisserie, chicken strips or grilled chicken
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ cup wonton strips
- ¼ cup vegetable oil , or canola oil
- 2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar , or white wine vinegar
- 1-2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Salt , to taste
- Ground black pepper , to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce and coleslaw. Place the chicken, green onions, almonds, cilantro, and wonton strips on top.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar and sesame oil until the sugar is dissolved. Salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle the dressing over the salad.
- Toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: 30 Minute Meals, 30 Minute Meals, Asian, Chicken, Chicken, Dairy-Free, Dinner, Salads
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Crisp & delicious!! I never get sick of eating Asian salads. They are my favorite & always so tasty!
Asian salads are always so good! I love the flavor of the dressing & the crunch from the wonton strips.
This is one of those that everyone gets excited about when you bring it to a luncheon! The dressing is my favorite part.
Asian Chicken Salad has all of my favorite flavors! I love the crunchy wonton strips too!
This is the most delicious salad I’ve ever made! Quick and easy. Perfect for this busy mama that wants something more on the healthy side. I made the salad dressing (in the recipe) which was so easy and very flavorful. Tasted better than a restaurant! This will definitely be on my weekly lunch list going forward! Thanks for another great recipe!!!!
Your comment made my day! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! :)
One of my favorite chicken salad recipes!
Our go to salad all summer long! This one is a keeper
I just made this for lunch and it is incredible! I love the Asian flavors, I am so happy I have leftovers!
I LOVE a good Asian chicken salad! I’m excited to try this one
Hope you enjoy! :)