Easy Thai Chicken Salad (gluten-free)

This Thai Chicken Salad is such an easy and delicious recipe for lunch or dinner. It is simple yet filled with flavors and tossed in a peanut dressing for an easy gluten-free and vegan recipe.

I am all about the EASY meals to prep right now. And this Thai chicken salad is 100% one of them. I make a big batch earlier in the week and can eat it for a few days. It stays fresh in the fridge and I just add dressing before eating so it doesn’t get soggy.

This is one of those healthy dishes that doesn’t taste overly healthy but you feel so good about eating it. It’s packed with veggies and fruit and protein and is well-rounded lunch or dinner idea. The flavor are going to win you over and I cannot wait to hear what you think!

Plus you will love even more how simple this is. I usually pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store to save time and it is perfect for chicken salads like this. I do a mix of white meat and dark meat from it. All of the flavors are perfection. 

If you’re serving this over the week, I recommend dressing right before serving or within a couple hours before. You don’t want it to get soggy if it’s in the fridge for a while. And when you do serve it, use lettuce wraps, crackers, toast, anything you’d like!

This is such a good high-protein lunch option that adds flavor to your meal.

What ingredients you need to make this Thai chicken salad with peanut dressing:

• Cabbage – shredded and I usually do a mix of green and red cabbage but either works
• Carrots – chopped and you will likely need 1-2 large carrots
• Ripe mango – peeled and cut but not when it is *too* ripe or it’ll be mushy in the salad
• Green onions – chopped scallions (the green tips)
• Red bell pepper – chopped and if you prefer another type of pepper, you can use that too
• Cooked shredded chicken – I usually buy a rotisserie chicken for this to save time
• Peanuts – if you can’t do peanuts then cashews or almonds work too!
• Peanut butter – creamy or chunky peanut butter works here and you can use cashew or almond butter instead of peanut butter
• Coconut aminos – I like to use this instead of soy sauce but if you don’t have it then soy sauce works too!
• Rice vinegar – I love using this for flavor in the dressing and acidity 
• Sesame oil – another ingredient for flavor but if you don’t have sesame oil then use olive oil!
• Lime – fresh from a lime is best or use bottled lime juice

How to prepare chopped Thai salad:

1. Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl
2. Make the dressing by mixing all of the ingredients together in a small bowl or mason jar
3. Toss the salad with the dressing before serving and enjoy chilled

FAQs on how to make this Thai chicken salad:

• You can easily customize this salad in many ways to work for you! Switch up the protein from chicken to edamame or shrimp or both. I also loving adding some salmon on top!
• If you want to add in some leafy greens, try chopped kale or spinach for added veggies to this – I love adding some shredded kale
• I love to add some wonton strips here too when I have and when my husband isn’t eating it (since he is GF) so if you love an added crunch then go for it
• If you want to skip making your own dressing, you can also use a bottled gingery peanut one too
• Don’t dress this salad until you are about to eat it! That way it doesn’t get soggy

A few other delicious and healthy salads to try:

The Viral Jennifer Aniston Salad Made Gluten-free

Greek Chicken Salad Without Mayo

15-minute Peanut Noodle Salad (gluten-free)

The Best Salmon Kale Salad Ever