Asian Chicken Salad with Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette

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This Asian Chicken Salad is a from-scratch one-bowl meal packed with romaine, shredded red cabbage, carrots, red bell pepper, and sweet mandarin oranges — dressed in a homemade sesame ginger vinaigrette that doubles as the chicken marinade and keeps in the fridge all week. No bottled dressing needed. Marinate the chicken while you prep the salad, then grill or bake until done. Simple, colorful, and a far cry from the bagged kind.

My husband is not always the easiest sell when it comes to salads. Like many people, he tends to look at a bowl of greens with a fair amount of suspicion, but this one he actually asks for by name.

Personally, I think the combination of textures is what really makes it special: tender grilled chicken, crisp romaine, shredded red cabbage, and those crunchy wonton strips on top give you something interesting in every bite. You can even add a few almonds, sesame seeds, and crispy wontons for even more crunch!

The vinaigrette does double duty here: half goes into the chicken marinade, and the rest is reserved for dressing the salad. Nothing goes to waste.

If you love salads with a little more heartiness to them, check out more of my salad recipes. My Harvest Salad and Taco Salad with Catalina Dressing are two that I reach for again and again.

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 flavors of the salad.
• 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 garlic are essential. A microplane zester makes quick work of both.
• Salt and pepper | Season the dressing with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
• Rice 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!

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. Place sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat. Shake or stir for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly golden.
• Swap grilled chicken for rotisserie chicken. If you want to skip the marinating and grilling step entirely, shredded rotisserie chicken works. You can also try a different kind of chicken, like my Huli Huli Chicken.
• More Toppings. Other topping or garnishes include chow mein noodles, crispy rice noodles, snap peas, sunflower seeds, snow peas, avocado, 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.
• Thai Peanut Vinaigrette. Add peanut butter to the dressing for a Thai twist!
• Use coleslaw mix in place of the individual cabbage and carrots. A bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix is a great shortcut and gives you a similar color and texture with half the prep work.
• Substitute the red cabbage with green cabbage if you prefer a milder flavor over the brighter color. Or use napa cabbage for a sweeter taste.

How to Make Asian Chicken Salad

This is my take on the Panera-style Asian salad — lots of fresh veggies and a homemade dressing in place of bottled.

STEP 1 | Make the dressing

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 into the bag with the chicken. 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 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!

Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Tips

To store: Store the undressed salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Store the reserved vinaigrette in a jar in the fridge for up to one week. Add the dressing and crunchy toppings just before serving.

To store the grilled chicken: Cooked chicken can be refrigerated separately in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Slice and add to fresh salad as needed.

To make ahead: The vinaigrette can be made up to a week in advance and stored in a mason jar in the refrigerator. Shake or whisk well before using. The salad vegetables can be prepped and stored undressed up to a day ahead. The chicken can be marinated overnight.

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.

What to Serve With Asian Chicken Salad

This Asian chicken salad can be served as a full meal or with a few sides to make it a spread! I love to serve it with my Asian Crackers. 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.

And if you’re looking for something to wash it all down, a big pitcher of Southern Lemon Iced Tea is just the thing!

Asian Chicken Salad

Author: Sheila Thigpen

This Asian Chicken Salad is a fresh, colorful one-bowl meal loaded with romaine, shredded red cabbage, carrots, red bell pepper, and sweet mandarin oranges, all tossed in a homemade sesame ginger vinaigrette. The dressing does double duty — half marinates the chicken, and the rest dresses the salad.

4.91 from 10 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Additional Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine Asian

Servings 4 servings

Calories 516 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 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.
• Add the rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, and lemon juice and whisk until combined. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking constantly until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the toasted sesame seeds.
• 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 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.
• To toast sesame seeds: Place in a dry skillet over medium heat. Shake or stir for 2 minutes, until golden.
• Food safety: Reserve half the vinaigrette for the salad before the chicken touches the rest. Once raw chicken has been in the marinade, that portion can’t go back on the finished salad.
• Infused flavor: Mash the ginger and garlic into a paste with a pinch of salt so the flavor spreads through the whole dressing.
• Avoid soggy salad: Drain and gently pat the mandarin oranges dry so they don’t thin the dressing or keep the salad crisp. Also, add the wonton strips right before serving so they stay crunchy.
• Storage: Store the undressed salad in the fridge up to 2 days; keep the vinaigrette in a jar up to 1 week. Dress and add toppings just before serving. Store cooked chicken separately, airtight, up to 3 days.
• Make-ahead notes: vinaigrette up to a week, vegetables up to a day, chicken marinated overnight.

Nutrition

Serving: 4servingsCalories: 516kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 24gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 29gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 433mgFiber: 6gSugar: 15g

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.

Keyword chicken, chopped salad, ginger, sesame oil, sesame seeds