Chopped Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing
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This Chopped Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing is incredibly delicious and equally simple to make.
This post has been sponsored by Sprouts. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Kroll’s Korner running!
Dontcha just adore a good chopped salad?
This highly flavorful salad is packed with fresh romaine, shredded Napa cabbage, crunchy wonton noodles, sweet mandarin oranges and edamame. YUM!
Plus it’s more nutritious than the Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad I ate growing up. (Remember that salad?)
It’s May (how?!) and that means it’s already summer weather here in Fresno.
To me, summer means healthy, vibrant and fresh summer salads! And this salad is really checking all the boxes.
The bonus is that I purchased all of the ingredients for this recipe from Sprouts.
Sprouts allows me to get everything I need to stock my fridge and pantry at affordable prices. Their farm-fresh produce is always stocked beautifully and I can find everything I need in the produce department.
Sprouts is hands-down my favorite grocery store. I love wide range of products!
The gangs all here:
- Romaine
- Napa Cabbage
- Red Cabbage
- Carrots
- Shredded chicken or Sesame chicken strips
- Wonton noodles
- Mandarin Oranges
- Scallions
- Slivered Almonds
But wait. It get’s better (as if all of those fresh veggies and awesome add-ins isn’t enough!)
The sesame salad dressing is a dreamboat dressing that I want to drink it’s THAT good.
When you mix the salad with the dressing you get:
- Bursts of flavor in every bite
- Crunch from the crispy fresh lettuce and wonton noodles
- A touch of sweetness from the mandarins which are so rewarding and juicy
- An easy and flavorful super fresh summer salad!
Whether you choose organic produce or not, there is something for everyone!
How to Make This Chopped Chicken Salad
- If you have shredded chicken on hand, that makes this recipe even EASIER to make.
- If not, check out the recipe below to see my pro tip on how to make shredded chicken in a breeze.
- You can also check out this crispy sesame chicken recipe that pairs perfectly with this salad!
- In a large bowl combine the shredded chicken with romaine, Napa cabbage, purple cabbage, carrots, edamame, and wonton noodles.
- The mandarin oranges, scallions and almonds can be gently tossed in or placed on top.
- Prepare the dressing in a bowl or mason jar and drizzle it over the salad. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds if you’d like.
Voila! Light, refreshing, summer Chopped Chicken Salad recipe ready in minutes.
Expert Tips
- Add some crunch to the salad with wonton noodles. You can also use chow mein noodles or even crushed up top ramen noodles.
- Prepare the salad dressing in advance. That way it’s ready to toss in the salad when it’s go-time.
- Take your cooked chicken breasts or chicken tenderloin’s and shred them using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. It’s the easiest way of all time to shred chicken!
- Mise en place: Gather all of your ingredients and chop them to make the salad process smoother. For example, place ingredients like the green onions, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, etc. in small bowls.
- Switch it up! Use cashews instead of almonds or add in cucumbers and bell peppers.
FAQ
Can I Make this ahead of time?
Yes! Just be sure to leave out the wonton noodles and the dressing until you’re ready to serve. No soggy salads please! You can also store the chicken separately if you prefer.
How long will chicken salad last?
About 3-5 days stored properly in the fridge.
All in all, this chopped chicken salad is heaven in a bowl and:
- Big on flavor
- Can add on toppings galore
- Comes together quickly
- Can be made in advance
- Healthy and nutritious
- So dang GOOD!
Thank you Sprouts for sponsoring this post!
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Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Chopped Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing
Ingredients
For the salad
- 2 cups shredded Romaine lettuce
- 2 cups shredded Napa Cabbage
- 2 cups shredded Red Cabbage
- 2 large carrots, julienned (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup shelled edamame
- 3 cups shredded chicken (~1 1/2 lbs. chicken)
- 3.5 oz. bag Crunchy Wonton Noodles
- 1 cup mandarin orange slices, drained
- 1 bunch scallions, diced (~1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
For the dressing
- 1/4 cup Grapeseed oil (or canola oil or any other neutral flavored oil)
- 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. ginger, minced
- 1 tsp. garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp. chili-garlic sauce
- 1/4 tsp. salt & pepper
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- In a large salad bowl, combine the romaine, Napa cabbage, purple cabbage, carrots, edamame, shredded chicken and wonton noodles. Gently toss in or garnish the salad with mandarin oranges, scallions and slivered almonds.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl or mason jar and toss the salad with the dressing. Serve. (That's it! 😊)
- If you don't have a rotisserie chicken and need to make shredded chicken, season chicken tenderloins or chicken breasts with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place on a baking sheet with a rack on top and coat with oil or nonstick spray. Bake the chicken at 400°F for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F at the thickest part of the chicken.
- You can either slice the chicken up or shred. Pro tip: use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to shred your chicken with ease!
Video
Notes
- This crispy sesame chicken recipe is also a perfect chicken to make and enjoy the salad with if you don’t prefer shredded chicken.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Need More Salad Inspiration?
Look no further than my Salad Series! From Cheeseburger Salad to Avocado Corn Salad, there’s a little something for everyone!
This is the most wonderful Chinese Chicken salad recipe, We LOVE the dressing so much!! Thank you for taking so much time to perfect these recipes Kroll’s Korner.
Hey Carrie!! Yayyy! Thank you so much 🙂 my family loves this one, too!
My family LOVES this salad! Everyone goes back for seconds. I have an unreasonable aversion to edamame, so I sub julienned cucumbers instead. So delicious!
Love the cucumber addition! so glad you enjoyed it 🙂 thank you!!
This is a wonderful salad! My family approved it heartily. Will be Making it again!
Aw I am soo glad! Thank you! 🙂
This salad was so very good! Easy to make!
Beautiful! Now I am craving it:) Thank you!!
Oh wow! This is a winner! I served it at a Baby Shower on the weekend and everybody loved it! And I only used powdered ginger so I can only imagine how good it would be with the fresh stuff!
I am so glad, thank you Susan!
I make this dressing alllllll the time. It’s perfect and I have all the ingredients on hand, so it’s super easy to make in a pinch. So refreshing and has been a go to for months now.
Thank you SO much Alyssa! It’s a great dressing to have on hand for salads!! So glad you love it. xo, Tawnie
Ive been looking for a really good oriental chicken salad to make at home. My favorite local restaurant stopped making them. I especially love the edamame and oranges!
My new go-to salad for the summer! So good!
So good!!! Love the idea of shredding the chicken in the mixer with the paddle attachment…brilliant! Definitely will be making this again?
AWWW HIIII!! Thank you so much, it’s such a fun hack! Hope you’re doing well!! Thank you!! xo, Tawnie
Made this twice already! I used it as a side with ribs for Memorial Day, so yummy!!
Aw Emily! Yay that makes me so happy thank you so much! Hope you had a great Memorial Day <3 xo, Tawn