This high-protein, Thai-inspired chicken salad features crunchy slaw, edamame, fresh herbs, roasted peanuts, and a light peanut-lime dressing—no-cook and perfect for lunch or meal prep.
Thai Chicken Salad
This easy Thai chicken salad starts with crunchy cabbage slaw, tender chicken breast, and plenty of cilantro, then gets tossed in a lightened-up peanut-lime dressing made with powdered peanut butter. It delivers all the bold, savory-sweet flavor you expect from a Thai chicken salad, but with less fat, more protein, and a dressing that balances bright lime, salty umami, gentle heat, and just a touch of sweetness. It’s great for meal prep since it holds up well in the fridge and works just as well for an easy weeknight dinner as it does for lunch the next day.
Why This Salad Works
I was craving a Thai chicken salad that was high in protein, loaded with crunchy vegetables, and still felt fresh and satisfying. While traditional Thai chicken salads don’t always include peanuts, I loved the flavor and crunch. I played around with using powdered peanut butter instead of full fat and it came out great! Flavorful without weighing the salad down, for a meal that feels both light and filling.
- Hearty and satisfying with 50 grams of protein, making it great for lunch or dinner
- No cooking required if you start with leftover or rotisserie chicken
- Meal prep perfection: The crunchy cabbage slaw holds up beautifully in the fridge, staying crisp and fresh for days without getting soggy.
If you love salads like this that are big on flavor and protein, you might also enjoy my Asian Chicken Salad with Chili Crisp Dressing and Asian Chicken Chopped Salad—both easy, satisfying options that work well for lunch or meal prep.
Ingredients You’ll Need
First up, we have the Thai chicken salad ingredients, then the peanut-lime dressing. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
Thai Chicken Salad
- Slaw Mix: Buying a bag of coleslaw is a great shortcut. It delivers the same crunch without the need to slice a head of cabbage.
- Bell Peppers: I like to use half a red pepper and half a yellow pepper to make the salad more colorful. However, you can use all red or all yellow. Just remove the stems and seeds, then thinly slice.
- Chicken Breasts: Dice or shred cooked chicken breasts. Boneless thighs or rotisserie chicken work as well. If you don’t have leftover chicken, I’ve included directions in the recipe card for roasting chicken breasts in the oven.
- Honeycrisp Apple for sweetness and crunch
- Edamame for extra protein and fiber
- Cilantro and Scallion Greens for added flavor and complexity
- Roasted Peanuts: Although not a traditional Thai salad ingredient, I like the crunch and nutty flavor they add.
- Toasted Sesame Seeds sprinkled on top for garnish
Thai Chicken Salad Dressing
- PBfit is a roasted peanut butter powder that tastes like peanut butter but with fewer calories and less fat.
- Lime Juice’s acidity balances the peanut butter’s richness and the sriracha’s heat.
- Water thins the dressing.
- Low-sodium Soy Sauce for umami. Use tamari if you’re gluten-free.
- Maple syrup for sweetness. I also like this zero-sugar maple syrup if you’re trying to cut back on added sugar.
- Oil: Toasted sesame oil adds a nutty flavor, but neutral avocado oil also works.
- Sriracha and Sambal Oelek for spice. If you don’t like spicy food, omit them.
- Ginger: Grate fresh ginger root with a microplane, or use ginger paste, which is a great timesaver.
How to Make Thai Chicken Salad
Once all your ingredients are chopped, just toss everything together and enjoy! See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions.
- Make the Thai peanut dressing by whisking all the ingredients together in a bowl.
- Assemble the salad: Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and toss with the dressing.
Variations
- Switch up your greens: I like using cabbage because it holds up well throughout the week, but if you’re eating it the day of, you could use romaine.
- Protein: Switch out the chicken with shrimp or steak.
- Add more vegetables, such as avocado, shredded carrots, or sliced cucumbers.
- Vegetarian/Vegan: Replace the chicken with more vegetables or tofu.
- Fruit: Any kind of apple will work, even Granny Smith if you prefer a more tart bite. And if you want to get creative, try this dish with mango or mandarin oranges.
- Allergic to peanuts? Omit them or substitute sunflower seeds. For the dressing, use Wow Butter.
- Peanuts: Swap them with roasted cashews, almonds or sunflower seeds.
- Not into cilantro? Skip it or switch it out with mint, basil, or chives, or a mix of all three.
- Sweetener options: Use honey instead of maple syrup.
- Nut Butter: If you can’t find PBfit, use natural peanut butter or, if needed, almond butter or sunflower seed butter.
Serving Suggestions
This healthy Thai-inspired chicken salad is very satisfying, but if you’d like a side dish, here are some ideas. The wonton chips would be good crushed over the salad.
Meal Prep Tips
Because this salad uses coleslaw as the base, it’ll hold up better for meal prep than salads made with leafy greens. Waiting to add the dressing will also keep it fresher.
- Divide all the ingredients, except the apples and peanuts, among 4 meal- prep bowls, then put the lids on.
- If you’re taking them to work or school, pour the dressing into 4 small airtight containers to bring with you.
- Before eating, chop the apples, add the peanuts, and toss the salad with the dressing.
Storage
- Salad with dressing will last up to 2 days. You may want to discard the peanuts if they’re too soggy and the apples if they’re too brown or mushy.
- Salad without dressing will last up to 4 days, depending on how fresh your chicken is. Cooked chicken will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days total.
More Meal Prep Salad Recipes You’ll Love
For more meal prep ideas, check out these five delicious chicken salad recipes to inspire your next meal!
- Autumn Kale Salad with Chicken
- Taco Salad
- Mason Jar Cobb Salad with Buttermilk Ranch
- Food Cart-Style Chicken Salad with White Sauce
- BBQ Chicken Salad
Thai Chicken Salad with Light Peanut-Lime Dressing
Ingredients
- 5 heaping cups slaw mix
- ½ small red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and thinly sliced
- ½ small yellow bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and thinly sliced
- 3 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or diced* (1 lb)
- 1 honey crisp apple, chopped
- ½ cup shelled edamame, if frozen, thawed
- ½ cup cilantro leaves
- ½ cup scallion greens, chopped
- ¼ cup dry roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
For the Dressing:
- ½ cup PBfit peanut butter powder, or PB2
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 3 tablespoons water
- 4 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce, or gluten-free tamari
- 4 teaspoons maple syrup, or sugar free
- 1 ½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil, or avocado oil
- 2 to 3 teaspoons sriracha, or sambal oelek, omit if you don’t like spice
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger, or ginger paste
Instructions
- To make the dressing, add all of the ingredients to a medium mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.
- To a large bowl or 4 meal prep bowls add or divide the slaw mixture, bell peppers, chicken, apple, edamame, cilantro and scallions.
- If serving right away, drizzle with the dressing, peanuts and sesame seeds. If meal prepping, transfer dressing to small containers and toss when ready to serve.
Very tasty. Crunchy, fresh a great mix of flavors with some kick.
Absolutely amazing recipe. I love a big salad (Seinfield reference), that leaves me full but not feeling blah. The flavors just combine perfectly and you dont need extra dressing because the flavors of the apple, cilantro, and scallions enhance the peanut dressing. This salad reminds me of Panera’s Spicy Thai Chicken Salad that was discontinued. Your recipe is definitely going into my meal plan rotation.
Yes, same!! Thank you!!
I plan to make this for my lunches for next week and have two questions:
1) Do you think I could use PB protein powder instead of PB2 or PBfit? It has whey protein in addition to the ingredients in the other two. It is what I have in the pantry.
2) Would you recommend chopping and adding the apples when you make the salad or add them later if you’re going to eat this over multiple days?
3) Could I convince you to come do an event at Sidetrack Bookshop in Royal Oak, MI for your next cookbook? I’m a bookseller there and we’d love to have you!
Gina, I soooo second Rachel’s request! Please consider adding a stop here! You have many fans in the Detroit area!
♥
Excellent lunch recipe! I left out apples because I ate them for breakfast, and I didn’t add the toasted peanuts or sesame seeds. I added a little extra water to the dressing so it would be exactly one cup to divide into 1/4 cup per serving. I calculated 5 points on my iHealthi app that uses the freestyle WW points system. Great flavor! I made just the salad for one and saved the dressing for later in the week. I grilled chicken so I have it ready to go for more lunches.
This was really good! Brilliant salad.
Thank you!
I REALLY liked this. It has similarities to a recipe I love to make but improves on it in several ways.
– This uses peanut butter powder, which I would sub in for my previous recipe. I like knowing how much to use and having the flavor without the extra fat.
– This doesn’t use red cabbage, which the previous recipe did. I always had to go to a second store for it.
– This doesn’t premix the dressing in, which means I have time to decide when to have it. The clock isn’t counting down to spoilage.
– This makes s very reasonable amount so I don’t turn a healthy meal into an unhealthy one by overeating.
Love this! Thanks!
Wow! Huge portions and delicious!
Not to be dramatic but I want to have this salad for lunch every day for the rest of my life 😂 Kidding, but seriously it’s a keeper for me for sure. Pretty easy to meal prep and the dressing is awesome.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Fresh and delicious. I drizzled the dressing on individual servings so the whole bowl doesn’t get soggy. Leftovers for work lunch tomorrow! This is a keeper!
Any recommendations for subbing tofu for protein? I don’t eat chickens
I haven’t tried it with tofu but I think crumbling and sauteing it would work.
This was so easy to prepare and wonderfully delicious! I had never tried PB2…so glad I did! I added grated carrot and cucumber to up the veggies. I don’t eat red meat so I am always looking for new chicken recipes. This salad will be added to our weekly rotation. Thank you!
I like the carrots and cucumber suggestion!!
Easy to pull together for a quick meal. I used a pre shredded bag of coleslaw to base. Didn’t have cilantro on hand.
We both loved this salad and the dressing!
Great!!
This is an excellent salad. The dressing was disgusting
This was super yummy! I added just a little purple cabbage to the slaw mix and only did half the siracha.
I am vegetarian – – if I doubled the edamame and left out the chicken what would the macros be on that?
This is such a yummy salad! Lots of flavor! AWESOME!!!
When I added this recipe to WW app it came to to 11 points, any idea what I am doing wrong?
Made this for lunch today (and several more lunches). Every bite was a great explosion of wonderful flavors.
I would like to try this. Do you have a nut free alternative? Thank you!
Yes, omit the peanuts or substitute sunflower seeds. For the dressing, use Wow Butter.
This salad is delicious (one serving is huge!), and the dressing is “killer” good! I added extra edamame but otherwise followed the recipe exactly as written. I will be making this frequently!
So, so yummy. I didnt have any edamame on hand, so defrosted some peas instead. Absolutely delicious, and I will be making this frequently.
The ingredients are tasty and complement each other well. I found the salad to be dry, however. I understand trying to keep the calories in check but it really could use a double dose of the dressing.
You could always double the dressing if that’s what you need.
Great flavors! I used thick sliced (from deli)turkey breast instead of chicken.
Super flavorful and satisfying! Used regular organic crunchy peanut butter and was delicious! The apple is a must. Will definitely make again!
The recipe says “Nut Butter: If you can’t find PBfit, use natural peanut butter or, if needed, almond butter or sunflower seed butter.” How much natural peanut butter should I use to replace the ½ cup PBfit peanut butter powder? I look forward to making this recipe.
about ¼ cup natural peanut butter
Can you substitute just regular out butter in the dressing?
Sure
This was a fantastic recipe. I made it last night. Perfect blend of Thai spices. Definitely going to make it again.
Want to try this recipe but if I use regular peanut butter, now much would I use? I love all your recipes and have most books!
I have the same question. I want to use natural peanut butter, not the powder.
Sure thats fine
Hi Gina!! I absolutely hate cilantro (yes, I am one of those). Is there an alternative herb I can use?
Maybe parsley?