Chopped Asian Salad with Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette
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Chopped Asian Salad with Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette is loaded with color and crunch to create a beautiful and delicious — not to mention healthy — one-bowl meal! So much better than Panera’s Asian Sesame Salad, with romaine lettuce as the only vegetable, this Asian chicken salad is loaded with carrots, red bell pepper, green onions, purple cabbage, chopped romaine, and mandarin oranges.
Why you’ll love this Asian Salad Recipe!
Here’s the best part: this vinaigrette dressing doubles as a marinade for the chicken breast! Either grill or bake the chicken, then add to the salad a few almonds, sesame seeds, and crispy wontons for even more crunch!
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken | You need just two boneless, skinless chicken breasts to serve about four people.
- Lettuce | The leafy chopped romaine lettuce is the perfect base for all the delicious flavors of the salad recipe.
- Cabbage | Shred about half of a small red cabbage for a vibrant pop of color and crisp texture.
- Bell pepper | I add a medium red bell pepper, julienned, for additional color and sweet flavor. You can use another color of bell pepper if preferred.
- Carrots | Shred your own carrots for the freshest flavor, or buy a bag of pre-shredded carrots for convenience.
- Green onions | Sliced green onions, whites and greens, add a tangy and subtle bitterness to enhance the sweeter flavors of the recipe.
- Oranges | Drain a can of sweet mandarin oranges to add to the salad.
- Toppings | If desired, top with crispy wonton strips and sliced almonds for an extra crunchy Asian salad,
Dressing Ingredients
- Garlic and ginger | Freshly grated ginger and a crushed garlic clove for subtle spice.
- Salt and pepper | Season the dressing with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Vinegar | I like to use rice wine vinegar instead of red or white wine vinegar for a delicate, somewhat sweet flavor to this chicken salad recipe.
- Sesame oil | Toasted sesame oil brings the classic Asian flavor. Sesame oil is potent, so a little goes a long way!
- Soy sauce | Another classic Asian ingredient is soy sauce. It adds a salty and savory touch to the other dressing ingredients.
- Honey | Sweeten the dressing with a bit of honey.
- Lemon juice | Fresh lemon juice brightens the flavors of the dressing and adds an acidic citrus touch.
- Olive oil | Because you use so little potent sesame oil, you also need the mild flavor of extra-virgin olive oil to complete the oil and vinegar dressing.
- Sesame seeds | Sesame seeds add a rich, nutty flavor, especially when toasted!
How to make Asian Chopped Salad with Sesame Dressing
Make an Asian Salad better than Panera Bread’s with bunches of fresh veggies and a delicious homemade dressing!
STEP 1 | Make the Asian salad dressing recipe
Start by grating fresh ginger and crushing a garlic clove. Place the ginger and garlic in a small bowl and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Then, press with the back of a spoon to muddle the mixture and make a paste.
Next, add the rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, and lemon juice, stirring well to combine. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking constantly until the vinaigrette is emulsified, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Lastly, stir in the toasted sesame seeds.
STEP 2 | Marinate the chicken
Now, pat the chicken dry with paper towels and place it in a large resealable plastic bag.
Pour half the vinaigrette, seal the bag, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Reserve the remaining vinaigrette for the salad.
STEP 3 | Prep the salad greens
While the chicken marinates, prep the salad greens and other salad toppings. Start by chopping one head of romaine, rinse, and spin dry in a salad spinner.
Next, coarsely shred the red cabbage with a box grater to make about one and a half cups. Shred or julienne a cup of carrots and slice the green onions.
Then, remove the seeds and veins from the red bell pepper and julienne or cut them into thin strips. Drain a can of mandarin oranges, and gently pat dry with a paper towel to remove any extra moisture.
Finally, toss everything into a large bowl and refrigerate until ready to finish assembling the salad.
STEP 4 | Cook the chicken
To grill the chicken:
Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, about 400 degrees. Drain the excess marinade from the bag, then cook the chicken over direct heat for 10 minutes, turning once. Once the juices run clear, the chicken is done.
To bake the chicken:
First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place the chicken on a lightly greased baking sheet, discarding the remaining marinade. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Once cooked, remove the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing or cutting it into cubes.
STEP 5 | Toss and serve!
Now, add the chicken to the salad bowl, drizzle with the reserved vinaigrette, and toss until all the ingredients are coated. Top the salad with crispy wonton strips and sliced almonds, serve fresh, and enjoy!
Tips from the Chef’s Home Kitchen
Try some of my favorite salads with loads of toppings for maximum flavor, like this Southwest Chicken Salad with Pico de Gallo, Chicken and Kale Salad with Thai Peanut Vinaigrette, or this Chicken and Mango Salad.
Variations and substitutions
- Toast the sesame seeds for more flavor. Toasting the sesame seeds is definitely worth a couple of extra minutes, and it’s so easy to do, so why not? Place sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat. Shake or stir for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly golden.
- More Toppings. Other topping ideas include chow mien noodles, crispy rice noodles, snap peas, sunflower seeds, snow peas, crunchy ramen noodles, or edamame.
- Gluten-Free Asian Salad. To make this salad gluten-free, you only need to omit the wonton strips and check the dressing ingredients for the GF-certified label. Easy!
- Thai Peanut Vinaigrette. Add peanut butter to the dressing for a Thai twist!
- Substitute the red cabbage with green cabbage if you prefer the more mild flavor over the pop of color. Or use napa cabbage for a sweeter taste.
- Add fresh herbs, like cilantro and basil, to the dressing-marinade for more flavor.
- Swap the olive oil for avocado oil or another favorite.
- If preferred, substitute the rice vinegar with another vinegar, like red wine, rice wine, or apple cider vinegar.
Storage tips
If all of the salad is not eaten in one sitting, portion the salad into bowls and then drizzle it with the Asian salad dressing. Once the greens are dressed, you won’t want to keep any leftovers, as the salad will get soggy.
Also, this recipe is excellent for meal-prepped lunches! The key is portioning and packing ingredients separately. This bento 3-compartment lunch box set is perfect for that!
- In the largest compartment, add the salad greens tossed with the veggies, but leave out the mandarin oranges as they could wilt the lettuce. Sprinkle with almonds.
- Add the mandarin oranges to one of the small compartments and add cubed cooked chicken to the other.
- Use smaller resealable containers to pack servings of sesame ginger vinaigrette and wonton strips.
Frequently asked questions
There are several ways to grate carrots. I usually julienne them with a sharp knife. However, you can also use a box grater, peeler, or a grating attachment on a food processor.
It’s not common knowledge that ingredients like soy sauce contain gluten. So, check all the salad dressing ingredients for the GF-certified label. As for the soy sauce, it is best to use coconut aminos or tamari in its place.
For a creamy ginger dressing, add a couple of tablespoons of cashew cream, peanut butter, or tahini.
Looking for more Asian-Inspired Recipes?
If you’re a fan of Asian flavors, these Asian Crackers are a must-try snack, side, or appetizer. You should also check out my Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe, Thai-Style Chicken Fried Rice, and my Ginger Salad Dressing, too.
What to serve with Asian Salad
Serve the Asian salad recipe as a main dish with a cozy soup, like this one with homemade pork meatballs.
Or serve it as a side salad with this easy Beef Pad Thai recipe or my 30-minute instant pot Egg Roll in a Bowl Recipe.
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Asian Salad with Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 medium garlic clove crushed
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds toasted
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 bunch romaine lettuce chopped
- ½ small red cabbage shredded
- 1 medium red bell pepper julienned
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 3 green onions sliced
- 1 11-oz. can mandarin oranges, drained well
- 1 cup wonton strips salad topper
- ¼ cup sliced almonds optional
Instructions
- Grate the ginger and place in a small bowl with a crushed garlic clove. Sprinkle with sea salt and muddle to make a paste.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and place in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour half of the vinaigrette into the bag with the chicken Seal the bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Reserve the remaining vinaigrette for tossing the salad.
- While the chicken marinates, toss together the romaine, red cabbage,, red bell pepper, carrots, green onions, and mandarin oranges in a large bowl and set aside.
- Preheat the grill to medium high heat, approximately 400 degrees. Cook the chicken over direct heat (discard the marinade in the bag) for 10 minutes, turning once, until the juices run clear and the chicken is done.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing or cutting into cubes.
- Add the chicken to the salad and drizzle with the reserved vinaigrette. Top with wonton strips and almonds and serve.
Notes
- To toast sesame seeds, place in a dry skillet over medium heat. Shake or stir for 2 minutes, until golden.
To bake the chicken:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken on a lightly greased baking sheet, discarding the marinade. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
About Sheila Thigpen
Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer
Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.
Absolutely fabulous! I added water chestnuts and used chow mein noodles instead of wonton wrappers!
Delicious!!! My Favorite Salad by far!!!! You won’t be disappointed!!!!