This Thai chicken peanut salad is a macro-friendly, high protein lunch that’s loaded with crisp veggies, shredded chicken, and the most flavorful creamy peanut dressing. It’s great for either meal-prep lunches or as a light dinner salad. Comes together in just 20 minutes!
Why You’ll Love This Thai Chopped Salad Recipe!
- It's super healthy (but tastes like it isn't) - Not only is this a high protein salad, it's low calorie, and high fiber too. 344 calories, 33g of protein, and 10 grams of fiber per serving.
- Comes together fast (like, 20 minutes fast) especially if you use pre-shredded slaw and rotisserie chicken.
- It's great for meal prep since it's packed full of hearty vegetables that keep well. We show you how to turn these into mason jar salads!
- It’s light but filling—you get all those fresh, crunchy veggies with a creamy peanut dressing that hits the spot.
- You can easily tweak it to fit your macros—cut back on carrots to lower carbs or add more chicken if you want extra protein.
Love high protein salads that are great for losing weight? ❤️ Then you'll also want to try our Mediterranean diet chicken salad, Mexican street corn chicken salad, and creamy Southwest chicken salad!
✨ Grab your free printable list of high protein foods to help plan more protein packed meals like this!
👉 Click here to get the list
Ingredient list
You can save time by using a bagged coleslaw mix and pre-cooked chicken like rotisserie or sliced grilled chicken breast.
- Green & purple cabbage – Use a mix for color, or just one type for simplicity. Bagged coleslaw mix (without dressing) works great and often includes carrots.
- Shredded carrots – We used pre-shredded to save time.
- Red bell pepper – Swap with yellow, orange, or green as needed.
- Cucumber – We used Persian cucumbers, any variety will work.
- 1 lb shredded cooked chicken – You can buy rotisserie or precooked chicken from the store. Or you can use our recipes for healthy baked chicken or grilled chicken.
- Chopped cilantro
- Green onions
- Crushed peanuts – for garnish
Dressing
- Natural peanut butter – Look for no added sugar.
- Coconut aminos or wheat-free tamari – Soy sauce works if not gluten-free.
- Fresh lime juice – Avoid concentrate, fresh is always best.
- Rice vinegar – Not rice wine vinegar, they aren't the same.
- Sweetener – Honey, agave, or monk fruit to taste.
- Sesame oil
- Ginger paste – We love frozen ginger cubes, of course you can use fresh minced ginger too.
- Red pepper flakes – Optional, for heat.
📌 See the recipe card below for exact measurements.
Nutrition Swaps
- Vegan: You can make this a high protein vegan salad by swapping the chicken for edamame beans and adding a grain like quinoa too, just like we did with our edamame crunch salad with quinoa.
- Low Carb/Keto: Skip the carrots and use monk fruit or erythritol instead of honey. This brings the carbs down from the 16g net carbs listed. All the other veggies and dressing ingredients are already low carb.
How to Make Thai Chicken Salad
Here’s a quick overview on the salad recipe steps. Full instructions are in the recipe card below!
Step 1.
Make the dressing. Whisk everything together and thin it with a little water as needed. (We love frozen ginger cubes for a quick shortcut!)
Step 2.
Toss the salad. Combine all the chopped veggies and chicken in a big bowl.
Step 3.
Dress and serve. Drizzle on the peanut dressing and garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro. Or keep the dressing on the side if you’re meal prepping.
Meal Prep & Storage
Storage: Thai chicken salad will last for 3 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. We recommend storing the dressing separately, unless you're making it into an Asian mason jar salad (tips on that below).
Meal prep portions: The recipe in total makes 12 cups of salad, each serving is 2 cups at 344 calories per serving. The calories in the recipe card allow for 2 tablespoon of dressing per person as a light coat, if you have extra calories 3 tablespoon of dressing is terrific too.
Jar salad tips: When assembling a mason jar salad, the general rule is: start with the dressing, then layer in the hearty veggies, protein (and grains if you're using any), followed by the softer veggies. Top it off with fresh herbs, anything crunchy, and finally your greens.
We split the cabbage into different layers so it wouldn’t all end up on top when you pour the salad into a bowl—makes for better texture and easier mixing when you're ready to eat!
Common Questions
Can I make it ahead for a party?
Yes! This makes a great dinner salad or potluck salad too. Prep the salad base and dressing up to 24 hours ahead. Toss the salad and dressing together right before serving. Add more garnishes like chopped peanuts or cilantro to make it look fresh.
Absolutely. You can swap the peanut butter for almond, cashew, or even sunflower seed butter if you're avoiding peanuts. The flavor will be slightly different but still delicious.
Rotisserie chicken works great, or you can cook and shred your own using two forks, your fingers to pull the chicken apart, a stand mixer, or just chop it with a knife. Whatever’s easiest!
Yes! If you're not keeping it low carb, adding cooked rice noodles, quinoa, or jasmine rice is a great way to turn this into a bigger, bowl-style meal.
More Shredded Chicken Salads
- Chicken salad with cranberries
- BBQ chicken sweet potato bowls
- Chicken strawberry spinach salad
- Greek salad bowls with chicken
More healthy Thai recipes
- Thai peanut noodles - an authentic pad Thai recipe
- Thai curry rice noodles
- Vegan zucchini curry
- Thai curried cod
- Thai coconut chicken soup
- Thai edamame crunch salad - a high protein high fiber vegan salad
This post was originally written in 2022 and it got a refresh in 2025 with new photos and tips. It's a Whole Lotta Yum!
If you loved our recipe, please leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and leave us a comment too! Connect with us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube!
✨ Grab your free printable list of high protein foods to help plan more protein packed meals like this!
👉 Click here to get the list
Recipe
Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage
- 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup diced cucumber
- 1 lb shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken or precooked chicken slices (notes below on cooking your own)
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 green onions sliced
- ¼ cup chopped peanuts
Dressing
- ½ cup natural peanut butter without added sugar
- 4 tablespoon coconut aminos or wheat free tamari or soy sauce if you aren't GF
- 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar not rice wine vinegar (they're different)
- 2 tablespoon sweetener honey, agave, or monk fruit (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste or minced ginger
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- To make the dressing, in a small bowl combine the peanut butter, coconut aminos, lime juice, rice vinegar, sweetener, sesame oil, ginger paste, and red pepper flakes. Add 3-4 tablespoon of water to thin out the dressing to the preferred consistency.
- In a large bowl, toss the cabbages, carrots, red bell pepper, cucumber, chicken, cilantro, and green onions. If you're serving the salad immediately, add the salad dressing and garnish the finished dish with chopped cilantro and crushed peanuts. If you're eating the Thai peanut salad as a meal prep lunch, store the dressing separately.
Notes
Nutrition
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