Thai Chicken Salad is an explosion of flavors all in one salad! It is filled with peanut marinated chicken, fresh cucumbers, carrots, avocado, cilantro, mint, and peanuts, all tossed in a peanut vinaigrette.
With the promise of warmer temps in the near future, my taste buds are slowly shifting from craving all of the casseroles to some lighter dishes with lots of fresh produce. I might be getting ahead of myself because after all, it is only March and I do live in Minnesota. Regardless, I’ve been busy developing a bunch of new salad recipes and I am obsessed with this Thai Chicken Salad!
This Thai Peanut Chicken Salad is SO full of flavor. It’s insane. The base of the salad starts with mixed spring greens, but if you’re not a huge fan, you can certainly use butter lettuce, romaine lettuce, and even chopped kale! Next, sprinkle on crunchy vegetables like cucumber and carrots, along with some avocado, cilantro and mint. I almost forgot about mint, but then I remembered how much I LOVE mint in fresh spring rolls, and I’m so glad I added it. The mint adds a freshness to the salad that is just beyond.
The protein in this salad is chicken thighs which are marinated in a peanut curry marinade. You can grill the chicken or cook it on the stovetop – both are delicious!
Lastly, this salad is topped with an AMAZING peanut vinaigrette. Not only was it perfect on this salad, but it was delicious on some noodles for my littles, too!
Yes. You can prep all of the different components, such as the chicken, vinaigrette, and chopping the vegetables (aside from the avocado) in advance. I would not assemble the salad until you are ready to eat, as it will likely get soggy.
Definitely! You will lose a tiny bit of flavor from the peanut marinated chicken but honestly, the peanut vinaigrette will make up for it!
Absolutely. Instead of the mixed spring greens, you could use chopped butter lettuce (this would be my preference), chopped romaine, or even chopped kale for this Thai Chicken Salad. If you use kale, I would recommend adding the dressing to the kale before the toppings, and stirring well to ensure the dressing adheres to the kale and softens it up a bit. I have also seen Thai salads made with shredded cabbage, which would also be delicious with this dressing and toppings!
Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad
Thai Chili Shrimp Lettuce Wraps