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.
Other reader favorite salads that are great for meal prep is this Cold Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing, Avocado Corn Salad, and this Italian Pasta Salad.
Dontcha 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?!), which means it’s already summer weather here in Fresno.
To me, summer means healthy, vibrant, and fresh summer salads, and this salad really checks 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 the wide range of products!
If you enjoy this Chopped Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing, you might also like my Cold Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing, Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad, or Chicken Waldorf Salad too!
The gangs all here:
(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)
- Romaine
- Napa Cabbage
- Red Cabbage
- Carrots
- Shredded chicken or Sesame chicken strips
- Wonton noodles
- Mandarin Oranges
- Scallions
- Slivered Almonds
But wait. It gets better (as if all of those fresh veggies and awesome add-ins aren’t enough!)
The sesame salad dressing is a dreamboat dressing I want to drink it’s THAT good.
When you mix the salad with the dressing you get the following:
- 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
(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)
- If you have shredded chicken on hand, this recipe is 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 tenderloins 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 and chop all of your ingredients to make the salad smoother. For example, place ingredients like 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!
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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) or you can use the pre shredded carrots
- 1 cup shelled edamame
- 3 cups shredded chicken (~1 1/2 lbs. chicken)
- 3.5 oz. bag crunchy wonton strips or crunchy chow mein noodles
- 1 cup mandarin orange slices, drained
- 1 bunch scallions, chopped (~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, minced or pressed thru a garlic press
- 1 tsp. chili garlic sauce
- 1/4 tsp. salt & pepper, or to taste
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, red cabbage, carrots, edamame, shredded chicken and wonton noodles.2 cups shredded romaine lettuce, 2 cups shredded Napa cabbage, 2 cups shredded red cabbage, 2 large carrots, julienned (about 1 cup) or you can use the pre shredded carrots, 1 cup shelled edamame, 3 cups shredded chicken (~1 1/2 lbs. chicken), 3.5 oz. bag crunchy wonton strips or crunchy chow mein noodles
- Gently toss in or garnish the salad with mandarin oranges, scallions and slivered almonds.1 cup mandarin orange slices, drained, 1 bunch scallions, chopped (~1/2 cup), 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a bowl or mason jar and toss the salad with the dressing. Serve. (That's it!?)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, minced or pressed thru a garlic press, 1 tsp. chili garlic sauce, 1/4 tsp. salt & pepper, or to taste
- Serve. (That's it!?) ENJOY!
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.
- 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 it. Pro tip: use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to easily shred your 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 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!
Oh mY goodness !!! This recipe is now in my recipe book and i will make it now and forever !!
A KeEPER !!!! I added extra garlic and ginger . Yummmmmm !!!
This looks so yummy. Question. I can’t do spicy chili type dishes. Horseradish/wasabi is fine but chili bothers me. Any substitutions you can suggest or just leave out the chili-garlic sauce? thanks
I would just leave it out:) I hope u love it!!
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!