Healthy Asian Chicken Chopped Salad

A healthy version of the restaurant classic, this crunchy, flavor-packed Chinese chicken chopped salad is filled with veggies and tender chicken tossed in a creamy, peanut dressing.

Whenever I see a Chinese chicken salad on a restaurant menu, I always order it! How can I resist the salty, sweet, crunchy, savory goodness?!

Like any restaurant dish, making it at home is always the best way to slash calories and control the quality of ingredients. By making a few simple swaps, I’m able to turn this into a healthy, guilt-free dish I can enjoy on the regular.

To start, I add TONS of crunchy veggies that fill me up with few calories including red and green cabbage, red bell peppers, scallions and shredded carrots.

For added protein and healthy fats, I add in shredded chicken breasts and chopped peanuts. This is a great way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken but you can use any leftover meat you have on hand such as pork tenderloin or steak.

For the creamy peanut dressing I use natural peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce and fresh garlic. Chili paste such as Sambal Oelek gives the dish a nice kick of heat which you can dial up or down to taste.

While most restaurants add sugar to the dish, I skip it to save empty calories. Want to make it a bit sweeter? Whisk in a little brown sugar to the peanut dressing.

Your fork is waiting.

Healthy Asian Chicken Chopped Salad

Course: Entree Salad, Salad

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese

Keyword: asian recipe, chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 396kcal

Author: Liz DellaCroce

This crunchy, flavor-packed Chinese chicken chopped salad is filled with veggies and tender chicken then tossed in a creamy, peanut dressing.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 cups shredded cabbage red or green
• 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 12 ounces shredded cooked chicken breast such as rotisserie
• 1/2 cup scallions minced
• 1/2 cup cilantro minced
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts minced

Creamy Peanut Dressing

• 3 tablespoons creamy natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chili paste optional
• 1 clove garlic minced
• warm water to thin optional

Instructions

• All all of the salad ingredients to a large bowl (cabbage through roasted peanuts); set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together dressing (peanut butter through garlic) until smooth. Add a bit of warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin if you prefer a thinner consistency. Note: you may need to add additional salt to taste. 
• Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss well. Check for seasoning before serving and adjust accordingly.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 2cups | Calories: 396kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1552mg | Potassium: 813mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 132.8% | Vitamin C: 85.9% | Calcium: 8.4% | Iron: 11.4%

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?If you tried this recipe I would love to to see it and have you share! Tag me @thelemonbowl using the hashtag #thelemonbowl!

WANT MORE RECIPES?Sign up for my FREE NEWSLETTER and never miss a post!

Interested in more Asian inspired recipes? Check out my Pinterest board!